High voltage breakdown initiated by particle impact
High voltage breakdown initiated by particle impact across electrode gap
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High voltage breakdown initiated by particle impact across electrode gap
High voltage breakdown in electrode discharge initiated by particle impact in hypothesis of Cranberg
High voltage mercury electron bombardment ion thruster power efficiency
Electrode erosion during high voltage vacuum breakdown measured by neutron activation analysis and gamma ray spectrometry, noting plasma formation from electrode material
High voltage solar arrays for ion engines, discussing spacecraft propulsion, electric generation, insulation integrity, cell degradation and current leakage
High voltage insulator for electron bombardment ion thruster has electric field directed through dielectric material and electrons emitted by field emission are constrained in negative junction region. Surface flashover and unstable operation are eliminated, and maximum voltage is limited only by dielectric strength of material, aluminum oxide in this case.
Two distributors reduce high-voltage breakdowns and corona discharges. Both distributors are constructed to prevent air traps and facilitate servicing without soldering. Occurrence of coronas is also minimized due to smooth surfaces of device.
Preparation and encapsulation of high voltage assemblies are considered. Related problems in encapsulating are brought out in these instructions. A test sampling of four frequently used encapsulating compounds is shown in table form. The purpose of this table is to give a general idea of the working time available and the size of the container required for mixing and de-aerating.
The laboratory high voltage solar array facility is a photoelectric power generating system. Consisting of nine modules with over 23,000 solar cells, the facility is capable of delivering more than a kilowatt of power. The physical and electrical characteristics of the facility are described.
A high voltage multijunction solar cell is provided wherein a plurality of discrete voltage generating regions or unit cells are formed in a single generally planar semiconductor body. The unit cells are comprised of doped regions of opposite conductivity type separated by a gap or undiffused region. Metal contacts connect adjacent cells together in series so that the output voltages of the individual cells are additive. In some embodiments, doped field regions separated by a overlie the unit cells but the cells may be formed in both faces of the wafer.
Spacecraft of the future will be larger and have higher power requirements than any flown to date. For several reasons, it is desirable to operate a high power system at high voltage. While the optimal voltages for many future missions are in the range 500 to 5000 volts, the highest voltage yet flown is approximately 100 volts. The NASCAP/LEO code is being developed to embody the phenomenology needed to model the environmental interactions of high voltage spacecraft. Some plasma environment are discussed. The treatment of the surface conductivity associated with emitted electrons and some simulations by NASCAP/LEO of ground based high voltage interaction experiments are described.
Heavy ion irradiation of high-voltage power MOSFETs with long-range ions was performed using 14, 19, 22, 24, 28 and 39 MeV-cm2/mg ions.
Oxygen redox at high-voltage has emerged as a transformative paradigm for high-energy battery cathodes such as layered transition-metal oxides by offering extra capacity beyond conventional transition-metal redox. However, these cathodes suffer from voltage hysteresis, voltage fade, and capacity drop upon cycling; single-crystalline cathodes have recently shown some improvements but these challenges still remain. We reveal the fundamental origin of oxygen redox instability to be originated from the domain boundaries that are present in single-crystalline cathode particles. By synthesizing single-crystalline cathodes free of domain boundaries, we show that the elimination of domain boundaries enhances the reversible lattice oxygen redox while inhibiting the irreversible oxygen release. Further, this leads to significantly suppressed structural degradation and improved mechanical integrity during battery cycling and abuse heating. The robust oxygen redox enabled through domain boundary control provides practical opportunities towards high-energy, long-cycling, and safe batteries.
A modular design for combining piezoelectric transformers is provided for high voltage and high power conversion applications. The input portions of individual piezoelectric transformers are driven for a single power supply. This created the vibration and the conversion of electrical to electrical energy from the input to the output of the transformers. The output portions of the single piezoelectric transformers are combining in series and/or parallel to provide multiple outputs having different rating of voltage and current.
Aspects of the ultrastructural interaction between collagen and mineral crystals in embryonic chick bone have been examined by the novel technique of high voltage electron microscopic tomography to obtain three-dimensional information concerning extracellular calcification in this tissue. Newly mineralizing osteoid along periosteal surfaces of mid-diaphyseal regions from normal chick tibiae was embedded, cut into 0.25 microns thick sections, and documented at 1.0 MV in the Albany AEI-EM7 high voltage electron microscope. The areas of the tissue studied contained electron dense mineral crystals associated with collagen fibrils, some marked by crystals disposed along their cylindrically shaped lengths. Tomographic reconstructions of one site with two mineralizing fibrils were computed from a 5 degrees tilt series of micrographs over a +/- 60 degrees range. Reconstructions showed that the mineral crystals were platelets of irregular shape. Their sizes were variable, measured here up to 80 x 30 x 8 nm in length, width, and thickness, respectively. The longest crystal dimension, corresponding to the c-axis crystallographically, was generally parallel to the collagen fibril long axis. Individual crystals were oriented parallel to one another in each fibril examined. They were also parallel in the neighboring but apparently spatially separate fibrils. Crystals were periodically (approximately 67 nm repeat distance) arranged along the fibrils and their location appeared to correspond to collagen hole and overlap zones defined by geometrical imaging techniques. The crystals appeared to be continuously distributed along a fibril, their size and number increasing in a tapered fashion from a relatively narrow tip containing smaller and infrequent crystals to wider regions having more densely packed and larger crystals. Defined for the first time by direct visual 3D imaging, these data describe the size, shape, location, orientation, and development of early crystals in normal bone collagen. The results suggest that platelet-shaped crystals are arranged in channels or grooves which are formed by collagen hole zones in register and that crystal sizes may exceed the dimensions of hole zones. Such data agree with those from mineral-matrix interaction in normally calcifying avian tendon obtained by similar high voltage tomographic means, but in addition they indicate a possible gradual and continuous deposition of crystals in collagen of bone unlike tendon and imply that individual collagen fibrils in local regions of osteoid are organized such that they all may be aligned in a coherent manner.
The main obstacle to the implementation of a high-voltage solar array in space is arcing on the conductor-dielectric junctions exposed to the surrounding plasma. One obvious solution to this problem would be the installation of fully encapsulated solar arrays which were not having exposed conductors at all. However, there are many technological difficulties that must be overcome before the employment of fully encapsulated arrays will turn into reality. An alternative solution to raise arc threshold by modifications of conventionally designed solar arrays looks more appealing, at least in the nearest future. A comprehensive study of arc inception mechanism suggests that such modifications can be done in the following directions: 1) To insulate conductor-dielectric junction from a plasma environment (wrapthrough interconnects); 2) To change a coverglass geometry (overhang); 3) To increase a coverglass thickness; 4) To outgas areas of conductor-dielectric junctions. The operation of high-voltage array in LEO produces also the parasitic current power drain on the electrical system. Moreover, the current collected from space plasma by solar arrays determines the spacecraft floating potential that is very important for the design of spacecraft and its scientific apparatus. In order to verify the validity of suggested modifications and to measure current collection five different solar array samples have been tested in a large vacuum chamber. Each sample (36 silicon based cells) consists of three strings containing 12 cells connected in series. Thus, arc rate and current collection can be measured on every string independently, or on a whole sample when strings are connected in parallel. The heater installed in the chamber provides the possibility to test samples under temperature as high as 80 C that stimulates the LEO operational temperature. The experimental setup is described below.
The main obstacle to the implementation of a high-voltage solar array in space is arcing on the conductor-dielectric junctions exposed to the surrounding plasma. One obvious solution to this problem would be the installation of fully encapsulated solar arrays which were not having exposed conductors at all. However, there are many technological difficulties that must be overcome before the employment of fully encapsulated arrays will turn into reality. An alternative solution to raise arc threshold by modifications of conventionally designed solar arrays looks more appealing, at least in the nearest future. A comprehensive study of arc inception mechanism [1-4] suggests that such modifications can be done in the following directions: i) to insulate conductor-dielectric junction from a plasma environment (wrapthrough interconnects); ii) to change a coverglass geometry (overhang); iii) to increase a coverglass thickness; iiii) to outgas areas of conductor-dielectric junctions. The operation of high-voltage array in LEO produces also the parasitic current power drain on the electrical system. Moreover, the current collected from space plasma by solar arrays determines the spacecraft floating potential that is very important for the design of spacecraft and its scientific apparatus. In order to verify the validity of suggested modifications and to measure current collection five different solar array samples have been tested in large vacuum chamber. Each sample (36 silicon based cells) consists of three strings containing 12 cells connected in series. Thus, arc rate and current collection can be measured on every string independently, or on a whole sample when strings are connected in parallel. The heater installed in the chamber provides the possibility to test samples under temperature as high as 80 C that simulates the LEO operational temperature. The experimental setup is described below.