Cryogenic Inductive Power Transfer System

This paper presents a demonstration inductive power transfer system operating at 77 K, transferring 17 W over a 5 mm air gap. Such a system could have applications in high-temperature superconducting magnets, satellites and asteroid mining. A GaN HEMT full bridge inverter is used with careful selection of the tuning components to reduce mis-tuning effects with temperature variation. The key equations, magnetic coupler design, tuning topology and component selection are presented, and the system is simulated, constructed, and validated in the laboratory. The presented methodology can be modified for contact-less power delivery in satellite applications or for supporting HTS magnets in space or terrestrial scenarios.