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Voltage transformation and power/energy utilization of radioisotopic thermoelectric generator source /RTG/ for space applications, analyzing components, inverter/converter circuits, etc
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Encapsulation technique for multiple chip silicon switching transistors with silver-Teflon contacts
Voltage converter/regulator for primary and secondary power sources in deep space missions
Solar array design for any spacecraft is determined by the orbit parameters. For example, operational voltage for spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is limited by significant differential charging due to interactions with low temperature plasma. In order to avoid arcing in LEO, solar array is designed to generate electrical power at comparatively low voltages (below 100 V) or to operate at higher voltages with encapsulated of all suspected discharge locations. In Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) differential charging is caused by energetic electrons that produce differential potential between coverglass and conductive spacecraft body in a kilovolt range. In such a case, weakly conductive layer over coverglass (ITO) is one of possible measures to eliminate dangerous discharges on array surface. Temperature variations for solar arrays in both orbits are measured and documented within the range of -150 C +110 C. This wide interval of operational temperatures is regularly reproduced in ground tests with radiative heating and cooling inside shroud with flowing liquid nitrogen. The requirements to solar array design and tests turn out to be more complicated when planned trajectory crosses these two orbits and goes closer to Sun. Conductive layer over coverglass causes sharp increase in parasitic current collected from LEO plasma, high temperature may cause cracks in encapsulating material (RTV), radiative heating of coupon in vacuum chamber becomes practically impossible above 150 C, conductivities of glass and adhesive go up with temperature that decrease array efficiency, and mechanical stresses grow up to critical magnitudes. A few test arrangements and respective results are presented in current paper. Coupons were tested against arcing in simulated LEO and GEO environments under elevated temperatures up to 200 C. The dependence of leakage current on temperature was measured, and electrostatic cleanness was verified for coupons with antireflection (AR) coating over ITO layer.
Solar array design for any spacecraft is determined by the orbit parameters. For example, operational voltage for spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is limited by significant differential charging due to interactions with low temperature plasma. In order to avoid arcing in LEO, solar array is designed to generate electrical power at comparatively low voltages (below 100 volts) or to operate at higher voltages with encapsulation of all suspected discharge locations. In Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) differential charging is caused by energetic electrons that produce differential potential between the coverglass and the conductive spacecraft body in a kilovolt range. In such a case, the weakly conductive layer over coverglass, indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the possible measures to eliminate dangerous discharges on array surface. Temperature variations for solar arrays in both orbits are measured and documented within the range of minus150 degrees Centigrade to plus 1100 degrees Centigrade. This wide interval of operational temperatures is regularly reproduced in ground tests with radiative heating and cooling inside a shroud with flowing liquid nitrogen. The requirements to solar array design and tests turn out to be more complicated when planned trajectory crosses these two orbits and goes closer to the Sun. The conductive layer over coverglass causes a sharp increase in parasitic current collected from LEO plasma, high temperature may cause cracks in encapsulating (Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) material; radiative heating of a coupon in vacuum chamber becomes practically impossible above 1500 degrees Centigrade; conductivities of glass and adhesive go up with temperature that decrease array efficiency; and mechanical stresses grow up to critical magnitudes. A few test arrangements and respective results are presented in current paper. Coupons were tested against arcing in simulated LEO and GEO environments under elevated temperatures up to 2000 degrees Centigrade. The dependence of leakage current on temperature was measured, and electrostatic cleanness was verified for coupons with antireflection (AR) coating over the indium tin oxide (ITO) layer.
The CALIPSO mission payload status update is presented. The contents include: 1) Wide Field Camera Overview; 2) WFC Temperatures; 3) WFC Voltages; 4) Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) Health; 5) IIR Voltages; 6) Payload Control (PLC) Voltages; 7) PLC Temperatures; 8) Low Voltage Power Supply (LVPS) (CALOPS0025N); 9) PLC Radiation Effects; 10) SDS Status (CALOPS0020N); 11) CALIOP LIDAR; 12) Laser Energy Trends; 13) Laser Energy Zoom; 14) Laser Management Approach; 15) Green / Red Ratio; 16) Pedestal @ SHG Temperature Trends; 17) LOM Heater Duty Cycle Trends; 18) LOM Pressure Trends; 19) Boresight Trend; 20) 1064 Dark Noise Trend; 21) 532 SNR Trend; 22) Spike Trends; 23) LIDAR Highlights; 24) Backup Laser Status; and 25) Future Plans.
The command module television camera monitor exhibited loss of horizontal synchronization during the initial usage. This condition cleared and performance of the monitor was normal until the press conference telecast during the transearth coast phase. At that time, the monitor had the same horizontal synchronization problem reported during the initial usage. The horizontal hold control adjustment would not correct the condition. The monitor was turned off for approximately 5 minutes, then turned back on, after which the monitor's picture was normal. The loss of horizontal synchronization was most likely caused by either an intermittent condition in the precision voltage regulator circuit assembly in the low voltage power supply, or the shift of the stable range of the horizontal potentiometer setting when warming up after turn-on.
Pulsed or steady outputs up to 20 kV produced by commercial components. Circuit produces adjustable high-voltage output in response to low-voltage input. Output voltage changes approximately linearly up to 20 kilovolts as input voltage varied from 0 to 5 volts. Output steady, or sine wave varied at rates up to 100 pulses per second. Output current about 100 microamperes. Reduction in output-filter capacitance confers additional benefit by reducing pulse rise time.
Synchronous rectifying circuit behaves like diode having unusually low voltage drop during forward-voltage half cycles. Circuit particularly useful in power supplies with potentials of 5 Vdc or less, where normal forward-voltage drops in ordinary diodes unacceptably large. Fabricated as monolithic assembly or as hybrid. Synchronous half-wave rectifier includes active circuits to attain low forward voltage drop and high rectification efficiency.
Although it looks like module level voltage drives the cutoff for charge, the actual cutoff is due to unbalanced cell voltages that drive the module voltage up. Individual cell voltage drives the cutoff for discharge Low resistance cells are the first to reach the low-voltage cutoff Cell-to-Cell voltage differences are generally small and show similar trends for each cycle Increase for a distinct window during charge and at the end of discharge Increase in max to min cell voltage difference with time/cycles Decrease in max to min cell voltage difference during high current pulses with time/cycles Individual cell voltage trends (with respect to other cells) are very repeatable from cycle to cycle, although voltage slowly degrades with time/cycles (resistance growth) Much more difference observed near end of discharge Little change in order of cell voltage (cell with highest voltage to cell with lowest voltage) Temp sensor on the side of cell (between 2 cells) shows much greater rise during discharge than for single cell tests (18 C vs 5 C) Conclusion: Serial Charging of this string of cells is feasible as it has only a minor impact on useful capacity
Two simple circuits developed to provide voltage regulation for highvoltage (i.e., is greater than 75 volts) and low-voltage (i.e., is less than 36 volts) photovoltaic/battery power systems. Use of these circuits results in voltage regulator small, low-cost, and reliable, with very low power dissipation. Simple oscillator circuit controls photovoltaic-array current to regulate system voltage and control battery charging. Circuit senses battery (and system) voltage and adjusts array current to keep battery voltage from exceeding maximum voltage.
As with other bipolar analog devices, voltage regulators are known to be sensitive to single event transients (SET). In typical applications, large output capacitors are used to provide noise immunity. Therefore, since SET amplitude and duration are generally small, they are often of secondary importance due to this capacitance filtering. In low voltage applications, however, even small SET are a concern. Over-voltages may cause destructive conditions. Under-voltages may cause functional interrupts and may also trigger electrical latchup conditions. In addition, internal protection circuits which are affected by load as well as internal thermal effects can also be triggered from heavy ions, causing dropouts or shutdown ranging from milliseconds to seconds. In the case of FPGA power supplies applications, SETS are critical. For example, in the case of Actel FPGA RTAX family, core power supply voltage is 1.5V. Manufacturer specifies an absolute maximum rating of 1.6V and recommended operating conditions between 1.425V and 1.575V. Therefore, according to the manufacturer, any transient of amplitude greater than 75 mV can disrupt normal circuit functions, and overvoltages greater than 100 mV may damage the FPGA. We tested five low dropout voltage regulators for SET sensitivity under a large range of circuit application conditions.
The Electrical Power Branch at Marshall Space Flight Center has a Power System Development Facility where various power circuit breadboards are tested and evaluated. This project relates to the evaluation of a particular remote power controller (RPC) energizing high power loads. The Facility equipment permits the thorough testing and evaluation of high-voltage, high-power solid-state remote power controllers. The purpose is to evaluate a Type E, 30 Ampere, 200 V dc remote power controller. Three phases of the RPC evaluation are presented. The RPC is evaluated within a low-voltage, low-power circuit to check its operational capability. The RPC is then evaluated while performing switch/circuit breaker functions within a 200 V dc, 30 Ampere power circuit. The final effort of the project relates to the recommended procedures for installing these RPC's into the existing Autonomously Managed Power System (AMPS) breadboard/test facility at MSFC.
An optocoupler is a semiconductor device that is used to transfer a signal between different parts of a circuit that need to be electrically isolated from one another - for example, where a high voltage is to be switched with a low voltage control signal. Optocouplers often can be used in place of relays. These optocouplers utilize an infrared LED (light emitting diode) and a photodetector such as a silicon controlled rectifier or photosensitive silicon diode for the transfer of the electronic signal between components of a circuit by means of a short optical transmission channel. For maximum coupling, the wave-length responses of the LED and the detector should be very similar. In switch-mode power supply applications, optocouplers offer advantages over transformers by virtue of simpler circuit design, reduced weight, and DC coupling capability. The effects of extreme temperature exposure and thermal cycling on the performance of a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) optocoupler, Fairchild FOD3150, were evaluated in this work. This 1.0 A output current, high noise immunity gate drive optocoupler utilizes an aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) LED, is capable of driving most 800V/20A IGBT/MOSFETs, and is suited for fast switching in motor control inverter applications and high performance power systems. Some of the specifications of the isolator chip are listed. The device was evaluated in terms of output response, output rise (t(sub r)) and fall times (t(sub f)), and propagation delays (using a 50% level between input and output during low to high (t(sub PLH)) and high to low (t(sub PLH)) transitions). The output supply current was also obtained. These parameters were recorded at various test temperatures between -190 C and +110 C.
Time dependence of absorption voltages (Vabs) in different types of low-voltage X5R and X7R ceramic capacitors was monitored for a maximum duration of hundred hours after polarization. To evaluate the effect of mechanical defects on Vabs, cracks in the dielectric were introduced either mechanically or by thermal shock. The maximum absorption voltage, time to roll-off, and the rate of voltage decrease are shown to depend on the crack-related leakage currents and insulation resistance in the parts. A simple model that is based on the Dow equivalent circuit for capacitors with absorption has been developed to assess the insulation resistance of capacitors. Standard measurements of the insulation resistance, contrary to the measurements based on Vabs, are not sensitive to the presence of mechanical defects and fail to reveal capacitors with cracks. Index Terms: Ceramic capacitor, insulation resistance, dielectric absorption, cracking.
In this paper, we present as a proof-of-concept (POC) the design, integration, and performance of a novel reconfigurable GaN based fully solid-state MPM. The module synergistically integrates diplexers, pre-amplifiers, multistage medium power amplifiers (MPAs), SPDT switches, and CW/Pulsed high power amplifiers (HPAs) with a voltage sequencer, a DC blanking controller, and a low voltage electronic power conditioner. The POC SSMPM operates at both S-band and X-band to serve multiple roles. The SSMPM can be reconfigured to deliver Psat of 39 dBm (8 W CW) at S-band, Psat of 46 dBm (40 W CW) at X-band, and Psat of >50 dBm (>100 W Pulsed) at X-band. Lastly, our link budget calculations indicate that the SSMPM with Psat = 40 W when coupled to a 10 cm X-band transmit antenna on a low Earth orbiting (900 km) satellite can close a 1 Gbps (QPSK) data downlink to a 1 m receive antenna on ground with 3 dB margin.
A current from a sustaining power supply flows through the mercury vapor lamp and, as there are no resistors in series with this supply, the power is efficiently used. This high voltage igniting device protects the transistorized high current, low voltage power supply.