The principles of Spiral Line Vector Inversion Generators is introduced and described in terms of frequency, efficiency and pulsed power levels for space applications. Spiral generators are a variant of the familiar Blumlein voltage doubler. They allow the production of high voltage-high power radio frequency energy from electrostatically stored energy in a one-step one component process. They are extremely simple devices to build and demonstrate. Spiral line vector inversion generators can operate as a pulser or in an oscillator mode, In the oscillator mode, devices have been built by the author that can operate at frequencies as high as 200 Mhz at peak power levels in excess of 50 megawatts. At lower frequencies, devices have been built which operate at the megavolt level at about 10 Mhz. Energy storage and conversion efficiency are on the order of 2-3 kilojoules/pulse for large generators and greater than 50% respectively in optimum geometry. Average power is deter-mined by the repetition rate. This paper will describe the state of the art for these generators, present the performance of several small laboratory units and show how they can be used to power small thrusters such as rf arcjets. Problems and limitations will be discussed within the context of space applications.
