Villegas-Prados D, Blázquez-Plaza F J
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Av. de la Universidad, 30, Leganés, 28911 Madrid, Spain.
Rev Sci Instrum. 2024 Aug 1;95(8). doi: 10.1063/5.0213974.
Electrospray thrusters exhibit diverse operational modes based on the nature of ejected particles. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry is frequently employed to analyze the composition of the plume. This study introduces a novel converter-based bipolar high-voltage pulse generator aimed at producing synchronized bipolar high-voltage pulses with controllable voltage levels and frequencies, specifically tailored for the study of electrospray thrusters. The proposed topology generates bipolar high-voltage rails from a low-voltage power source through the forward-flyback with Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier topology. Subsequently, fast high-voltage MOSFETs are employed to generate high-voltage pulses. This paper outlines the operational principles and design methodologies of the pulse generator. Experimental verification corroborates its operational principles and functionalities, revealing that the pulse rise and fall times consistently remain below 30 ns, while the voltage can be tuned within the range of 300-1000 V. An electrospray thruster was employed to conduct a thorough and practical validation of the high-voltage pulse generator. This included generating time-of-flight curves and mass spectra of the plume, resulting in precise differentiation of all particles present.
基于喷射粒子的性质，电喷雾推进器呈现出多种运行模式。飞行时间质谱法经常用于分析羽流的成分。本研究介绍了一种新型的基于转换器的双极高压脉冲发生器，旨在产生具有可控电压水平和频率的同步双极高压脉冲，特别为电喷雾推进器的研究量身定制。所提出的拓扑结构通过带有考克饶夫-瓦尔顿倍压器拓扑的正反激电路，从低压电源产生双极高压轨。随后，使用快速高压MOSFET来产生高压脉冲。本文概述了脉冲发生器的工作原理和设计方法。实验验证证实了其工作原理和功能，结果表明脉冲上升和下降时间始终保持在30 ns以下，而电压可在300 - 1000 V范围内调节。使用电喷雾推进器对高压脉冲发生器进行了全面而实际的验证。这包括生成羽流的飞行时间曲线和质谱，从而精确区分所有存在的粒子。
