Single-Switch Quasi-Resonant DC–DC Converter for a Pulsed Plasma Thruster of Satellites

Abstract

Due to its low mass and medium impulse bit, the pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) is a suitable electric propulsion system for orbit maintenance and attitude control for nanosatellites. The PPT uses an igniter circuit to produce an arc in vacuum for plasma generation. In this paper, a new quasi-resonant converter topology is proposed for the PPT igniter. It consists of a resonant tank, a step-up transformer, and a Cockcroft–Walton voltage multiplier circuit. While other resonant converters require a switch bridge, the proposed approach uses only a single switch. This prevents the possible short-circuit of the same leg in a switch bridge caused by the noise interference or single event effect in space. Moreover, the switching control is realized without a dead time which simplifies the implementation. Both simulation and experimental results have validated that the proposed topology operates in a quasi-resonant state to realize zero-current switching. It reduces the switching noise, voltage spike, and switch's conduction loss. Moreover, the proposed topology also has a better boost capability than some of the existing resonant converters.