Many scientific instruments, satellites, and planetary landers launched from Earth encounter issues with charged dust accumulation on external surfaces. This dust accumulation may impact solar power generation, viewing optics, or mechanical systems. One method for remotely removing dust from surfaces located outside the Earth's atmosphere is to excite parallel electrodes on the surface with a multi-phase AC high-voltage pulse having specific characteristics. When appropriately excited, the electrodes form an invisible conveyor that can transport dust from the surface. SLS was tasked by the NASA Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center to develop the AC power supply for generating the appropriate high-voltage pulses. The device requirements were highly stringent in terms of weight budget, power consumption, and operating temperature range.
