Ion Thrusters: HDLT vs DS4G

Recently there have been announcements about new and improved ion
thrusters.

One of them was the Helicon Double Layer Ion Thruster, and the latest
one is the DS4G Thruster.

Each represents different improvements in ion thruster design. I would
like to ask -- are these respective improvements mutually exclusive, or
can they be combined together in complementary fashion for an even
greater performance boost?

Besides these, any other ion thruster improvements on the horizon?

Originally Posted by manofsanATyahoo.com

Recently there have been announcements about new and improved ion
thrusters.

One of them was the Helicon Double Layer Ion Thruster, and the latest
one is the DS4G Thruster.

Each represents different improvements in ion thruster design. I would
like to ask -- are these respective improvements mutually exclusive, or
can they be combined together in complementary fashion for an even
greater performance boost?

Besides these, any other ion thruster improvements on the horizon?

These two ion thrusters are new and great improvements will come. I think that a new helicon double-layer MULTI-STAGE is possible with variable isp and variable thrust (like VASIMIR) and with so many other advantages!!!...

"""Solid mass and urine, which is uric acid, is what the Space Station has trouble getting rid of tons of. They have a Russian system that presses this to get the water out of it, which is what people drink at the ISS. But then you have to get rid of it, and it's got a PH level of 1, which means it's fairly vicious. But in our system (HDLT) you could use that"""
Rémy

manofsanATyahoo.com wrote:
Recently there have been announcements about new and improved ion
thrusters.

One of them was the Helicon Double Layer Ion Thruster, and the latest
one is the DS4G Thruster.

Each represents different improvements in ion thruster design. I would
like to ask -- are these respective improvements mutually exclusive, or
can they be combined together in complementary fashion for an even
greater performance boost?

I dunno, they look pretty mutually exclusive to me.
http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/propulsion/ultra_ion.htm

One of the advantages with the DS4G is that the
double grid reduces the severe grid erosion inherent
in other ion drive designs.

Still, where's the power source going to come from? The ESA SMART-1
probe that went to the moon was solar-powered, if I'm not mistaken. So
if the tenfold improvement claim is correct, then that could mean that
a SMART-1 probe using DS4G could go to Mars, which is almost ten times
farther than the moon. But I guess solar energy drops off significantly
as you go out towards Mars, so that would be a problem.

And do solar panels really offer good power-to-mass ratio?

Gee, if only there were some good power source that fit the bill,
without the hazards of nuclear energy.