US 11,359,613 B1 · Electrospray thruster with inverted geometry

Abstract

The present invention relates to electrospray thrusters, processes of making electrospray thrusters, and methods of using such electrospray thrusters. Applicant's thruster incorporates a unique geometry for the emitters and extractor grid that effectively eliminates ion interception on the grid, which is the primary failure mechanism of current devices, yet maintains the electric field conditions necessary for ion emission to occur. Without grid impingement, the thrust produced by the thruster is increased and thruster operational lifetime is increased substantially. Additionally, this non-traditional geometry also allows for higher electric fields at the emitter tip for a given applied voltage, thus enabling lower operational voltage of the thruster as compared to conventional designs.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An electrospray thruster, said electrospray thruster comprising:

a) an emitter array having a platform composed of emitters disposed on a surface of the platform, each emitter of the emitters having a respective body and a respective tip;
and
b) an extractor grid having a lower surface, an upper surface and cylindrical apertures from said lower surface to said upper surface, said extractor grid being positioned such that each tip protrudes through a respective aperture among the cylindrical apertures so as to protrude past the lower surface and to protrude past the upper surface, and wherein each tip is centered in a respective aperture among the cylindrical apertures;
and
a distance between said lower surface and said surface of the platform results in an arc index of zero or less.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electrospray thruster with inverted geometry

Life of this patent

Electrospray thruster with inverted geometry

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20