Propulsion System

16/06/2026
USPTO Patent Application — Noah ArkCore Hybrid Propulsion System
United States Patent and Trademark Office — Utility Patent Application
Hybrid Quantum Vacuum Energy Extraction & Antimatter Confinement Propulsion System
with Embedded Quantum Error Correction Control
Type: Non-Provisional Application
Status: Filing Pending
App. No.: [USPTO Assigned]
Filing Date: [To Be Assigned]
Docket: NK2-NAQTL-2026-P001
NAQTL Seal
Applicant
Legal EntityAddressCountryForm
Noah's Ark Quantum Tech Lab142 Avenue René Cassin, 81100 Castres, FranceFrance 🇫🇷SAS
Inventors
NameResidenceCitizenshipTechnical ContributionORCID
Noah Kouadri KhazarCastres, FranceFrenchSystem architecture · Casimir physics · Antimatter confinement design0009-0001-5332-9083
Adam KouadriCastres, FranceFrenchAI optimisation · Quantum control algorithms · Embedded systems—
Sarah KouadriCastres, FranceFrenchEcological design · Materials lifecycle · Thermal management—
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/XXX,XXX and under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to French Application No. FR 2026/XXXXX. Both are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Background of the Invention
Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates generally to advanced spacecraft propulsion systems, and more particularly to a hybrid propulsion architecture combining quantum vacuum energy extraction, antimatter confinement and annihilation, and quantum error correction (QEC) based real-time control for high-specific-impulse, high-thrust-density space propulsion and terrestrial energy generation applications.

Description of Related Art

[0005] Conventional spacecraft propulsion relies on chemical combustion of propellants (hydrazine, liquid oxygen/kerosene, liquid hydrogen/oxygen) or electric propulsion (ion engines, Hall-effect thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters). These systems are fundamentally limited by the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, requiring exponential propellant mass for high delta-V missions. Specific impulses (Isp) range from 300–450 s for chemical systems to 1,500–3,000 s for electric systems.

[0007] Antimatter propulsion has been theorized since the 1950s. The annihilation of protons and antiprotons (p + p̄) converts 100% of rest mass to energy (E = mc²), yielding specific energies of 9×10¹³ J/g for proton-antiproton. Practical implementation faces three fundamental challenges: (a) Production — current antiproton yield at CERN is ~10⁷ p̄/year; (b) Confinement — charged antimatter must be stored in Penning traps with lifetimes limited by vacuum quality; (c) Thrust conversion — efficient conversion of annihilation products to directed thrust requires complex magnetic nozzle systems.

[0009] Zero-point energy (ZPE) extraction via the Casimir effect has been theoretically studied and experimentally demonstrated at nanometer scales. The dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in non-stationary systems and analogue Hawking radiation in Bose-Einstein condensates suggest energy extraction from quantum vacuum fluctuations is physically possible under specific conditions. Recent metamaterial-enhanced Casimir systems and analogue dynamic Schwinger effect demonstrations (ACS Photonics, 2025; TechRxiv, 2025) have advanced the field.

[0011] No prior art combines: (i) quantum vacuum energy extraction via metamaterial-enhanced dynamical Casimir effect; (ii) antimatter confinement in integrated Penning micro-traps; (iii) hybrid energy transduction via magnon-photon coupling and Josephson junction arrays; and (iv) real-time quantum error correction control using embedded neural networks for autonomous optimisation of all subsystems simultaneously.

Brief Summary of the Invention

[0012] The present invention provides a hybrid propulsion system and method that overcomes the limitations of prior art by synergistically combining four technological pillars:

Four Pillars of Innovation

I. Metamaterial-Enhanced DCR: Extracts energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations via controlled THz-frequency modulation of boundary conditions using piezoelectric actuation of nanostructured plasmonic surfaces.

II. Integrated Penning Micro-Trap Array (IPMTA): Confines antiprotons and/or positrons using superimposed static magnetic and electric fields on a 10 mm × 10 mm semiconductor chip with 64 independent sites.

III. Hybrid Transduction Chain (HTC): Converts extracted ZPE and antimatter annihilation energy into directed thrust via YIG magnon-photon coupling, Josephson junction AC-DC conversion, and quantum Stirling heat engines.

IV. Quantum Error Correction Controller (QECC): Embedded NV-center diamond qubits with neural network-based surface-code decoding maintain subsystem coherence and optimise thrust vectoring in real time.

[0017] The invention achieves theoretical specific impulses exceeding 106 seconds with thrust-to-power ratios of 10–100 N/MW, enabling rapid transit to Mars (≤45 days), outer planet missions (≤2 years to Saturn), and ultimately interstellar precursor missions.

Drawings
FIG. 1 Complete Noah ArkCore System 10 — Schematic Overview with Thermal Stratification
QECC 60 NV-Center Diamond Surface Code d=7 T = 10 mK Fidélité >99.2% MDCR 40 Casimir Resonator Ti/SiO₂/Au/Graphene T = 10 mK IPMTA 30 Penning Micro-Traps 64 sites · 10 mm² T = 10 mK HTC 50 YIG · Josephson · Stirling T = 10 mK → 300 K η > 90% MSCS 70 Cryogenic System 4 K – 300 K ³He/⁴He · N₂ ASM 20 Antimatter Source ²²Na / CERN 10⁶ e⁺/p̄ 4 K – 300 K EAIOE 80 Neural Net AI TF Quantum THRUST e⁺/p̄ ZPE Annih. NOAH ARKCORE SYSTEM 10 Spacecraft Installation · Thermal Stratification View Energy flow Control signal 100 mm
FIG. 1 — Schematic perspective of the complete Noah ArkCore hybrid propulsion system 10 installed in a spacecraft hull 12. Thermal stratification is shown by the radial colour gradient (deep blue = 10 mK core; red periphery = 300 K). Solid red arrows indicate energy flows; blue dashed arrows indicate control/feedback signals. Seven principal subsystems (20–80) are labelled with their reference numerals, operating temperature ranges, and key parameters.
FIG. 2 System Architecture Block Diagram — Energy & Control Signal Paths
ASM 20 ²²Na Radioisotope / CERN Antiproton e⁺/p̄ IPMTA 30 Penning Micro-Trap 64 sites · 10 mK Annih. HTC 50 YIG · Josephson · Stirling Transduction Chain THRUST I_sp >10⁶ s MDCR 40 Casimir Resonator ZPE Extraction ZPE QUANTUM CONTROL QECC 60 NV-Center Surface Code EAIOE 80 GNN Decoder · TF Quantum Control MSCS 70 Cryogenic System 10 mK → 300 K → Space Energy / mass flow Control / feedback
FIG. 2 — System architecture block diagram. Solid red arrows denote energy/mass flows; blue dashed arrows denote bidirectional control and feedback signals. The quantum control sub-block (dashed purple border) encompasses both the QECC 60 surface-code processor and the EAIOE 80 neural network decoder, which together optimise all subsystems in real time at <1 µs latency.
TABLE 1 Principal Subsystems — Reference Numbers, Functions, and Mass
Ref.Subsystem NamePrimary FunctionOperating TMass (kg)
20Antimatter Source Module (ASM)Production / storage of antiprotons & positrons via ²²Na or CERN interface4 K – 300 K35
30Integrated Penning Micro-Trap Array (IPMTA)Confinement & manipulation of charged antimatter (64 independent sites)10 mK – 4 K12
40Metamaterial Dynamical Casimir Resonator (MDCR)Extraction of energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations via THz piezo-modulation10 mK – 1 K8
50Hybrid Transduction Chain (HTC)Conversion of ZPE & annihilation energy to directed thrust via YIG·Josephson·Stirling stages10 mK – 300 K15
60Quantum Error Correction Controller (QECC)Real-time stabilisation of all quantum subsystems using NV-center surface code10 mK – 4 K5
70Multi-Stage Cryogenic System (MSCS)Thermal management from 10 mK to 300 K; heat rejection to space via radiators4 K – 300 K120
80Embedded AI Optimisation Engine (EAIOE)Graph Neural Network decoder for QEC + adaptive thrust optimisation4 K – 300 K3
TOTAL SYSTEM MASS~198 kg
FIG. 3 MDCR 40 — Cross-Sectional Layer Stack & Piezoelectric Actuation
2.5 mm
SUBSTRATE 52 — Titanium Grade 2 (structural)
200 nm
INSULATING LAYER 54 — SiO₂ (PECVD, 200 nm)
100 nm
BOTTOM ELECTRODE 56 — Au (e-beam evaporation)
~50 nm
ACTIVE STACK 58 — [HfO₂ 10 nm / Graphene 0.34 nm] × 10
~150 nm
TOP METASURFACE 60 — Bi₂Se₃ + Au Nanopillar Array (200 nm period)
2 μm
PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR 62 — PZT Thin Film
—
INTERDIGITATED ELECTRODES 64 — Au (IDT contacts)
d(t) = d₀ + δd · sin(Ωt), where d₀ = 100 nm, δd/d₀ ≈ 0.1, Ω ≈ 2ωcav ≈ 1–10 THz
FIG. 3 — Cross-sectional view of MDCR 40 from substrate to top surface (not to scale). The active stack 58 consists of 10 alternating layers of HfO₂ and single-layer graphene. The piezoelectric actuator 62 (PZT) dynamically modulates the plate separation d(t) at the cavity resonance frequency Ω, driving the dynamical Casimir effect. Total fabricated thickness (excluding substrate): ~2.5 μm.
FIG. 4 IPMTA 30 — 8×8 Penning Micro-Trap Array Chip Top View
CMOS MULTIPLEXING 36
MPX
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BOND PADS 35 — 48 contacts

Substrate 32: Si · 10 mm × 10 mm × 0.5 mm  |  Pitch: 1.2 mm  |  Trap sites 34: 64  |  B = 1–3 T

FIG. 4 — Top plan view of IPMTA 30. Green cells represent active Penning trap sites 34 (8×8 array). Gold cells represent CMOS multiplexing circuitry 36 surrounding the array. Each trap site 34 has an 80 μm ring electrode radius (r₀) and 100 μm endcap separation (2z₀), with individual voltage control via the CMOS bus. Vacuum: <10⁻¹⁰ mbar.
FIG. 5 IPMTA 30 — Single Trap Site 34 Cross-Section with Field Configuration
MAGNET 42 / 44 · B = 1 – 3 T (NdFeB or NbTi) B ↑ ENDCAP 40a · +V₀/2 RF 46 RF 46 RING 38 · V_ring e⁺ cyclotron ENDCAP 40b · −V₀/2 2r₀ = 160 μm 2z₀ = 100 μm V(r,z) = V₀/(2d²) × (r² − 2z²)
FIG. 5 — Cross-section of a single Penning trap site 34. Three vertical B-field lines (blue) indicate the solenoidal magnetic field. The gold ring electrode 38 and two endcaps 40a/40b create the electrostatic quadrupole well V(r,z). An antiparticle (e⁺ shown in orange) undergoes circular cyclotron motion at radius r_c. RF injection ports 46 allow sideband cooling. Key dimensions: r₀ = 80 μm, z₀ = 50 μm.
TABLE 3 IPMTA 30 — Key Operating Parameters
ParameterValueUnitPhysical Significance
Magnetic field B1.0 – 3.0TCyclotron frequency f_c = 27.9 – 83.8 GHz
Ring voltage V₀1.0 – 10.0VAxial frequency f_z = 10 – 100 MHz
Trap depth1.0 – 10.0eVConfines particles at T equivalent to 10⁵ K
Vacuum pressure<10⁻¹⁰mbarPositron lifetime >1000 s
Number of trap sites64—8×8 array, individually addressable
Loading efficiency>10%From moderated beam injection
Operating temperature10mKDilution refrigerator stage, ³He/⁴He
FIG. 6 HTC 50 — Hybrid Transduction Chain: YIG → Josephson → Stirling → Nozzle
STAGE 50A YIG Sphere 72 YIG Ø 1 mm Cavity 74 (TE₀₁₁) g/2π > 50 MHz μwave STAGE 50B Josephson Array 76 ×1000 junctions Al/AlOₓ/Al η > 90% DC V STAGE 50C Quantum Stirling 77 ErNi / Gd 78 η ≥ η_Carnot MECHANICAL OUTPUT → Nozzle 82 50–80% η >90% η 40–60% η 30–50% η Hybrid Transduction Chain (HTC) 50
TABLE 6 — HTC Performance Parameters
StageInputOutputEfficiencyKey Material
50A — YIGZPE photons (GHz)Coherent magnons50–80%Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (YIG)
50B — JosephsonMagnon microwave fieldDC voltage>90%Al/AlOₓ/Al
50C — StirlingDC electrical powerMechanical work40–60%ErNi, Gd
50D — NozzleParticle/photon momentumDirected thrust30–50%NbTi, W-Cu
FIG. 6 — Schematic of the Hybrid Transduction Chain 50 showing four cascaded conversion stages. Energy flows left-to-right (solid red). Stage 50A converts quantum photons to coherent magnons in a YIG sphere 72 inside a TE₀₁₁ microwave cavity 74 with coupling strength g/2π >50 MHz. Stage 50B uses 1000 Josephson junctions in an Al/AlOₓ/Al array 76 for AC-DC rectification (η >90%). Stage 50C is a quantum Stirling heat engine using ErNi/Gd magnetocaloric materials 78. Stage 50D is a magnetic nozzle 82 delivering directed thrust.
FIG. 7 QECC 60 — NV-Center Array, Surface Code Layout & GNN Decoder Architecture
NV ARRAY 90 7×7 · 2 μm pitch · Diamond 49 physical qubits SURFACE CODE 92 Distance d = 7 X stabilizer Z stabilizer data qubit 1 logical qubit GNN DECODER 96 Graph Neural Network · 3 layers Latency <1 μs · 10⁶ syndromes/s qLDPC 94 — Alternative [[144, 12, 12]] Bicycle code Overhead ≈5× smaller than surface QECC PERFORMANCE TARGETS Logical error rate: <10⁻¹⁵ per cycle Physical qubit fidelity: >99.2% gate F Operating temperature: 10 mK (dilution) QEC decoder latency: <1 μs (GNN)
FIG. 7 — QECC 60 block diagram. The NV-center qubit array 90 (7×7 = 49 physical qubits) encodes one logical qubit via the d=7 surface code 92. X-type stabilisers (orange) and Z-type stabilisers (blue) are measured continuously. Syndrome measurements feed the Graph Neural Network decoder 96 operating at <1 μs latency. An alternative qLDPC encoding 94 ([[144,12,12]] bicycle code) offers 5× reduced overhead. Bottom bar shows key performance targets.
Claims

The invention claimed is:

CLAIM 1 — Independent
A hybrid propulsion system comprising: (a) a metamaterial dynamical Casimir resonator (MDCR) configured to extract energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations by modulating electromagnetic boundary conditions at terahertz frequencies; (b) an integrated Penning micro-trap array (IPMTA) configured to confine at least one species of charged antimatter selected from the group consisting of antiprotons and positrons; (c) a hybrid transduction chain (HTC) operatively coupled to both said MDCR and said IPMTA, configured to convert extracted vacuum energy and antimatter annihilation energy into directed thrust; and (d) a quantum error correction controller (QECC) operatively coupled to said MDCR, said IPMTA, and said HTC, configured to maintain quantum coherence of said system using real-time surface-code error correction.
CLAIM 2 — Dependent on Claim 1
The system of claim 1, wherein said MDCR comprises: (i) a titanium substrate; (ii) an active stack comprising alternating layers of hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and graphene; (iii) a bismuth selenide (Bi₂Se₃) topological insulator metasurface with gold nanopillar array having period of approximately 200 nm; and (iv) a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric actuator configured to modulate plate separation d(t) = d₀ + δd·sin(Ωt) where Ω ≈ 2ω_cav.
CLAIM 3 — Dependent on Claim 1
The system of claim 1, wherein said IPMTA comprises a silicon substrate of approximately 10 mm × 10 mm carrying a plurality of Penning trap sites arranged in an 8×8 array, each trap site having a ring electrode radius r₀ of approximately 80 μm and endcap separation 2z₀ of approximately 100 μm, with individual site control provided by CMOS multiplexing circuitry and operating at temperatures at or below 10 mK.
CLAIM 4 — Dependent on Claim 1
The system of claim 1, wherein said HTC comprises three cascaded stages: (a) a first stage comprising a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere of approximately 1 mm diameter magnetically coupled to a microwave cavity with coupling strength g/2π exceeding 50 MHz; (b) a second stage comprising an array of at least 100 superconducting Josephson tunnel junctions in an Al/AlOₓ/Al material system for AC-to-DC conversion with efficiency exceeding 90%; and (c) a third stage comprising a quantum Stirling heat engine using magnetocaloric materials selected from erbium nickel alloy (ErNi) and gadolinium (Gd).
CLAIM 5 — Dependent on Claim 1
The system of claim 1, wherein said QECC comprises: (a) an array of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center qubits in a type-IIa diamond substrate; (b) a surface code implementation with code distance d ≥ 7 providing logical error rates below 10⁻¹⁵ per code cycle; and (c) a graph neural network (GNN) decoder configured to process syndrome measurements at a rate exceeding 10⁶ measurements per second with decoding latency below 1 microsecond.
CLAIM 6 — Independent (Method)
A method for hybrid space propulsion comprising: extracting energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations by dynamically modulating at terahertz frequencies boundary conditions of a metamaterial Casimir resonator structure; simultaneously confining charged antimatter in a Penning micro-trap array at temperatures below 100 mK and pressures below 10⁻¹⁰ mbar; transducing the extracted vacuum energy and annihilation energy through at least three cascaded conversion stages to produce directed thrust; and applying real-time quantum error correction using surface-code stabiliser measurements and neural-network decoding to maintain coherence of each operational stage.
CLAIMS 7–15
Claims 7–15 are directed to: multi-stage cryogenic system configurations (claim 7); embedded AI optimisation engine using TensorFlow Quantum (claim 8); antimatter source configurations including radioisotope ²²Na and CERN/BASE-STEP interface (claim 9); magnetic nozzle thrust vectoring (claim 10); use in interplanetary propulsion achieving Mars transit in ≤45 days (claim 11); use in satellite station-keeping (claim 12); use in terrestrial energy generation (claim 13); spacecraft hull integration and thermal management (claim 14); and method of manufacturing the metamaterial Casimir resonator layer stack (claim 15).
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure

A hybrid propulsion system (10) and associated methods combine four synergistic technological pillars to overcome fundamental limits of prior-art spacecraft propulsion. A metamaterial dynamical Casimir resonator (MDCR 40) extracts energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations by piezoelectrically modulating Ti/SiO₂/Au/HfO₂/Graphene/Bi₂Se₃ nanostructures at terahertz frequencies. An integrated Penning micro-trap array (IPMTA 30) confines up to 10⁶ antiprotons or positrons on a 10 mm × 10 mm silicon chip with 64 independently addressable sites at 10 mK and pressures below 10⁻¹⁰ mbar. A hybrid transduction chain (HTC 50) converts extracted energy through cascaded YIG magnon-photon coupling, Josephson junction AC-DC rectification (>90% efficiency), and quantum Stirling heat engine stages to produce directed thrust. All subsystems are controlled in real time by an embedded quantum error correction controller (QECC 60) employing NV-center diamond qubits arranged in a surface code of distance d=7, decoded by a graph neural network at latency below 1 µs. The system achieves theoretical specific impulses exceeding 10⁶ seconds, enabling Mars transit in ≤45 days, with zero operational carbon emissions.

Declarations & Signatures
Noah Kouadri Khazar
Inventor · Founder & CEO · NAQTL
Date: _______________
Adam Kouadri
Inventor · Co-founder & CTO AI · NAQTL
Date: _______________
Sarah Kouadri
Inventor · Co-founder & CDO · NAQTL
Date: _______________
Noah's Ark Quantum Tech Lab, SAS · 142 Av. René Cassin, 81100 Castres, France
Docket: NK2-NAQTL-2026-P001 · Patent Pending
noaharktechnology@gmail.com · noahsarkquantumtechlab.com
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