High-Efficiency, Long-Life Pulsed Inductive Plasma Thrusters

Improved pulsed inductive plasma accelerators are undergoing development for use as long-life thrusters for propulsion of spacecraft on interplanetary missions and for maneuvering of spacecraft in orbit around the Earth. On Earth, plasma accelerators of this type could be used to produce a variety of atomic, molecular, and plasma beams for scientific experimentation and industrial processing (especially processing of materials in the fabrication of microcircuits). The principal advantages of the developmental accelerators over older pulsed inductive plasma accelerators arise from the use of advanced solid-state electronic pulse circuits, which operate at high repetition rates (as much as a couple of kilohertz), have long operating lives (1011 shots), deliver optimally shaped pulses, and recover reflected energy.