PRINCETON SATELLITE SYSTEMS INC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration STTR Phase I: T2.01
PRINCETON SATELLITE SYSTEMS INC — STTR Phase I award from National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- Amount
- $124,869
- Agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Program / Phase
- STTR · Phase I
- Topic
- T2.01
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- NJ
- Period
- 2017-06-09 → 2018-06-08
Description
High power nuclear fusion propulsion systems will require high efficiency radio-frequency heating systems in the MHz range for plasma heating. This proposal is for a novel scalable solid state Class E amplifier using Silicon Carbide switching transistors for plasma heating. This system is potentially 100% efficient compared to 40% for linear amplifiers and can be scaled to any desired size by adding additional segments in parallel. The system includes a novel closed loop feedback control system at the antenna and from the plasma. This eliminates the need for lossy transformers and other non-ideal components. The RF amplifier will be prototyped in Phase I in preparation for a plasma heating experiment in Phase II.