# US 11,092,142 B2 · Plasma electric propulsion device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,092,142 B2 - Document ID: US11092142B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/818,474 - Filed: 2017-11-20 - Published: 2019-05-23 - Granted: 2021-08-17 - Earliest claimed: 2017-11-20 - Assignees: Capacitor Sciences Incorporated - Applicants: Capacitor Sciences Incorporated - Inventors: Pavel Ivan Lazarev - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11092142B2 ## CPC - F03H 1/0018: {Arrangements or adaptations of power supply systems (for cosmonautic vehicles B64G1/42)} - F03H 1/0037: {Electrostatic ion thrusters} - F03H 1/0081: {Electromagnetic plasma thrusters} - F03H 1/0093: {Electro-thermal plasma thrusters, i.e. thrusters heating the particles in a plasma (resistojets per se B64G1/415)} - H01G 4/00: Fixed capacitors; Processes of their manufacture (electrolytic capacitors H01G9/00) - H01G 4/14: Organic dielectrics - H01G 4/40: Structural combinations of fixed capacitors with other electric elements, the structure mainly consisting of a capacitor, e.g. RC combinations - H05H 1/2441: {characterised by the physical-chemical properties of the dielectric, e.g. porous dielectric} - H05H 1/2437: {Multilayer systems} - F03H: PRODUCING A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (from combustion products F02K) - H01G: CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE (selection of specified materials as dielectric H01B3/00; capacitors having potential barriers H10D1/62, H10K10/10) - H05H: PLASMA TECHNIQUE (apparatus or processes specially adapted for producing X-rays H05G2/00); PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS ## Abstract The present disclosure provides a plasma electric propulsion device comprising a capacitive energy storage device as a power source for an engine configured to heat and/or ionize and/or accelerate a propellant due to action of an electric field and/or magnetic field. The energy storage device comprises: a first electrically conductive electrode, a second electrically conductive electrode; and at least one metadielectric layer located between the first and second conductive electrodes. The metadielectric layer comprises at least one organic compound with at least one electrically resistive substituent and at least one polarizable unit. The polarizable unit is selected from intramolecular and intermolecular polarizable units. The organic compound is selected from the list comprising compounds with rigid electro-polarizable organic units, composite organic polarizable compounds, composite electro-polarizable organic compounds, composite non-linear electro-polarizable compounds, Sharp polymers, Furuta co-polymers, para-Furuta polymers, YanLi polymers, and any combination thereof. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A plasma electric propulsion device comprising: an engine configured to heat and/or ionize and/or accelerate a propellant due to action of an electric field and/or magnetic field; and a capacitive energy storage device coupled to the engine as a power source for the engine, wherein the capacitive energy storage device, comprises: a first electrically conductive electrode, a second electrically conductive electrode; and at least one metadielectric layer located between the first electrically conductive electrode and the second electrically conductive electrode, wherein the at least one metadielectric layer comprises at least one organic compound, the at least one organic compound comprising: i) at least one electrically resistive substituent and ii) at least one polarizable unit, wherein the at least one organic compound is selected from the list consisting of compounds with rigid electro-polarizable organic units, composite organic polarizable compounds, composite electro-polarizable organic compounds, composite non-linear electro-polarizable compounds, Sharp polymers, Furuta polymers, YanLi polymers, and any combination thereof; wherein the at least one electrically resistive substituent i) is selected from alkyl, aryl, substituted alkyl, substituted aryl, fluorinated alkyl, chlorinated alkyl, branched alkyl, branched fluorinated alkyl, branched chlorinated alkyl groups, and any combination thereof, and wherein the aryl group is selected from substituted and unsubstituted phenyl, benzyl groups, naphthyl groups, siloxane, and polyethylene glycol as linear or branched chains; wherein the at least one electrically resistive substituent is CXQ2X+1, where X≥1 and each instance of Q is selected from hydrogen (Fl), fluorine (F), or chlorine (Cl), and wherein the at least one electrically resistive substituent is selected from the group consisting of single chain, branched chain, and polycyclic species, and wherein the at least one polarizable unit ii) is independently selected from intramolecular and intermolecular polarizable units. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the engine is an electrostatic propulsion engine configured to accelerate propellant by direct application of an electrostatic electric field to ionized particles. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the engine is an electromagnetic propulsion engine configured to accelerate the propellant under combined action of electric and magnetic fields. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one organic compound is selected from chromophores, tictiods, anisometric conjugated aromatic ring systems, rylene fragments, phenyl groups, naphthyl groups, anthryl groups, and any combination thereof. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one organic compound of the at least one metadielectric layer comprises domain structures selected from any combination of nematic structures, chematic structures, and chiral nematic structures. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metadielectric layer has an effective breakdown strength of at least 0.1 V/nm. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polarizable unit of the at least one organic compound is rigid, wherein the at least one polarizable unit is selected from an aromatic polycyclic conjugated molecule and an electro-conductive oligomer. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 7, wherein a distribution of the intramolecular or intermolecular rigid polarizable units of the at least one organic compound in the at least one metadielectric layer at least partially compensates an electric field applied between the first electrically conductive electrode and second electrically conductive electrode. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one organic compounds form supramolecular structures selected from the list comprising two-dimensional flat form, rod-like, column-like, disc-like forms, and any combination thereof; and wherein the at least one polarizable units are oriented in the at least one metadielectric layer such that poles of the at least one polarizable units are oriented more or less perpendicular to the first electrically conductive electrode and second electrically conductive electrode of the energy storage device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein a capacitance of the energy storage device varies non-linearly with voltage. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the energy storage device further comprises one or more intermediate layers independently located in following positions: between metadielectric layers, between the at least one metadielectric layer and the first electrically conductive electrode, between the at least one metadielectric layer and the second electrically conductive electrode, wherein the intermediate layer has a permittivity greater than a permittivity of the at least one metadielectric layer and a resistivity less than a resistivity of the at least one metadielectric layer. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 11, wherein the energy storage device further comprises at least one tunnel barrier layer independently located between the at least one metadielectric layer and at least one intermediate layer located near one of the first electrically conductive electrode and the second electrically conductive electrode, wherein the permittivity of the tunnel barrier layer is lower than the permittivity of the intermediate layer, and the breakdown voltage of the tunnel barrier layer is higher than the breakdown voltage of the intermediate layer. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 7, wherein the aromatic polycyclic conjugated molecule comprises one or more electron donor group and one or more electron acceptor group, wherein the one or more electron donor group and the one or more electron acceptor group are independently selected from —NO2, —NH3+ and —NR3+, counterion Cl− or Br−1, —CHO, —CRO, —SO3H, —SO3R, —SO2NH2, —COOH, —COOR, —COCl, —CONH2, —CF3, —CCl3, —CN; and wherein the donors are independently selected from —O—, —NH2, —NHR, —NR2, —OH, —OR, —NHCOR, —OCOR, alkyls, —C6H5, vinyls, wherein each instance of R is a radical independently selected from the list comprising alkyl, allyl, benzyl groups, phenyl and other aryl groups, and wherein the at least one polarizable unit form an anisometric molecular structure. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metadielectric layer comprises a material having a high breakdown field (Ebd) in at least one high-field regions where a breakdown field strength (Ebd) is greater than about 1 V/nm and areas of the high-field regions are less than about 1 μm2 and/or has volumes less than about 1 μm3, and wherein the high-field regions independently comprise composite organic compounds forming nematic crystals, chematic crystals, chiral nematic crystals, lamellar structures, micelle structures, and any combination thereof. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polarizable units forms a crystalline lattice located in a matrix comprising compounds selected from alkyl chains, alkyne chains, polymers, polymers with linear chains, polymers with branched chains, cross-linked polymers of all listed above types, the compounds with cross-linked chains of all listed above types, fluorinated polymers of all listed above types, the compounds with fluorinated chains of all listed above types and the matrix further electrically insulates the intramolecular and intermolecular rigid polarizable units and increases the at least one metadielectric layer's mechanical elasticity during compression and decompression from applying and removing strong electric fields. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 15, wherein the matrix has a permittivity is greater than or equal to 10,000 and resistivity greater than or equal to 1015 Ohm-cm. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 15, wherein the matrix further comprises antiferroelectric material. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one conductive layer located between adjacent metadielectric layers of the at least one metadielectric layer, wherein the plasma electric propulsion device has a breakdown field (Ebd) value of at least 0.9 V/nm. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metadielectric layer comprised of at least one non-ionic plasticizer configured to increase supramolecular order of the at least one metadielectric layer for increased resistivity and flexibility of the at least one metadielectric layer. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, having a specific storage energy between about 500 Wh/kg and about 2.5 kWh/kg. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The plasma electric propulsion device according to claim 1, having a specific storage greater than or equal to 2.5 kWh/kg.