激光烧蚀微推力器研究进展

State of Art of Laser Ablation Microthruster

激光烧蚀微推力器以其具有的许多显著优势成为最具应用前景的微推力器备选方案之一。其原理是通过星载固体或半导体激光器,烧蚀靶材产生微小推力,其主要特点包括比冲高、冲量动态范围宽、最小冲量比特小、功耗低、能量耦合效率高,以及易于实现轻量化和数字化控制。在回顾相关文献的基础上,从激光烧蚀机理、微推力器结构设计、烧蚀推进性能、烧蚀靶材和靶结构等方面对激光烧蚀微推力器的研究进展和技术水平进行了系统的总结和评述,并指出激光烧蚀微推力器研究所涉及的关键问题包括:激光烧蚀的理论描述、星载激光器、微推力器的性能参数体系、性能参数测量以及微推力器的一体化设计等方面。

Laser ablation microthruster is one of the most promising concepts of microthruster for its many significant advantages. This kind of microthruster produces microthrust by propellant ablation using a solid or diode laser on board. Its features mainly include high specific impulse, broad dynamic range of impulse, small minimum impulse bit （M/B）, low power consumption, high energy coupling efficiency and affording facilities for lightweight and digital control. Based on a review of the relative references, this article is intended as a systematic overview of the evolvement and state of the art of laser ablation microthruster. Included in the discussions are ablation mechanism, structure design, ablative propulsion performance, ablation target and its structure, as well as critical questions in this field such as theoretical description of laser ablation, onboard laser, microthruster＇s performance parameter system, performance parameter measurement and integrative design.