Fig. 13. Laser SPS subsystems. with binary cycle is described in Sec. 6. Photovoltaics and mirrors need no discussion. Only the Brayton cycle reverse FEL, thermoelectronic conversion, and the photon engine remain to be described. 5.1 Brayton Cycle A Brayton cycle heat engine converts heat energy into mechanical work through the use of a working fluid which follows the Brayton cycle. In that cycle, the working fluid undergoes an adiabatic compression, followed by isobaric (constant pressure) heating, followed by adiabatic expansion, and finally by isobaric heat rejection. Throughout these four processes the working fluid is in the gaseous state. This is in contrast to the Rankine cycle, which utilizes the same four processes. In that cycle the working fluid is alternately condensed into a liquid and vaporized. 5.2 Reverse FEL This alternative is essentially an FEL operated backwards to convert laser beam energy into electron kinetic energy and then into electrical power. 5.3 Thermoelectronic Conversion In a thermoelectronic laser energy converter (TELEC) device, laser beam radiation is absorbed by electrons in a plasma, resulting in a high electron temperature
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