Showing papers by "Isaiah W. Cox published in 2002"

Thermotunnel converter with spacers between the electrodes

Abstract: A thermotunneling converter is disclosed comprising a pair of electrodes having inner surfaces substantially facing one another, and a spacer or plurality of spacers positioned between the two electrodes, having a height substantially equal to the distance between the electrodes, and having a total cross-sectional area that is less than the cross-sectional area of either of the electrodes. In a preferred embodiment, a vacuum is introduced, and in a particularly preferred embodiment, gold that has been exposed to cesium vapor is used as one or both of the electrodes. In a further embodiment, the spacer is made of small particles disposed between the electrodes. In a yet further embodiment, a sandwich is made containing the electrodes with an unoxidized spacer. The sandwich is separated and the spacer is oxidized, which makes it grow to a required height whilst giving it insulatory properties, to allow for tunneling between the electrodes.

Electrode sandwich separation

Abstract: Materials bonded together are separated using electrical current, thermal stresses, mechanical force, any combination of the above methods, or any other application or removal of energy until the bonds disappear and the materials are separated. In one embodiment the original bonding was composed of two layers of material. In another embodiment, the sandwich was composed of three layers. In a further embodiment, the parts of the sandwich are firmly maintained in their respective positions during the application of current so as to be able to subsequently align the materials relative to one another.

Electron tunneling through large area vacuum gap-preliminary results

Abstract: We have obtained tunneling currents of over 10 /spl Aring/ through the vacuum gap between conformal electrodes having an effective area on the order of 0.1-1 cm/sup 2/. The large area vacuum gap is obtained by using a surface replication method that allows for two electrodes to have precisely matched topographies. The width of the vacuum gap within the range of 30-100 /spl Aring/ is regulated using piezoelectric actuators. These same actuators are used to regulate angles between the electrodes. Measured I-V characteristics show that the overall current through the system can be represented as the sum of the tunneling current and the current running through the short circuits between electrodes, and that tunneling current becomes dominant at distances greater than 30 /spl Aring/. The dependence of the capacitance and conductance on the distance between electrodes is in good agreement with the simple model of electrodes separated by a vacuum gap. Such an electron tunneling device could be used for cooling and power generation, as well as for other applications.