Ion Thruster Power Control Unit

We propose to use innovative techniques including current mode switching, which is ideal for short-circuit protection; asymmetric regulator, which is ideal for high power switching; and simplified ion thruster PCU design, which is recently proposed~by NASA to develop an ion thruster PCU that is compact, light-weight, efficient, and reliable. The objective of the Phase I program to use demonstrate the advantageous use of the above mentioned innovative technique in the ion thruster PCU. A full scale breadboard with all the key components will be constructed to evaluate the proposed approach. Weight and size estimate of the flight system will also be made based on the breadboard performance. The successful result of the Phase II program will be a flight qualifiable ion thruster PCU that has a good potential to meet the need of the microspacecraft for solar system exploration.