High Efficiency Multi-Mode Power Processing Units for Hall Effect Thrusters

The Department of Defense and NASA are developing electric thrusters having high specific impulse for satellite station keeping and long deep space flights. Light weight, spaceflight-capable power supplies are needed for these thrusters, but their development has lagged. The challenge is that the thruster power supply must have high efficiency, be thermally managed under extreme temperature ranges, operational for long periods of time with high reliability, and hardened for high radiation. The Air Force desired a thruster power supply power of 10 kW with a weight of less than 3kg/kW and efficiency over 94% - a significant design challenge. In Phase I, DTI will to develop and evaluate new a multi-phase boost regulator power supply design based upon DTI’s multi-phase buck regulator technology. This fault tolerant power supply will be substantially more efficient, lighter, and reliable than competing designs. In Phase II, DTI will refine the production design developed in Phase I, and build a unit capable of providing at least 10 kW of power, at high efficiency, and at significantly reduced size and weight. We will also begin the process of moving towards space qualification of the resulting design, to support future space missions in Phase III.