Claims
- 1. A method for reducing surface deformation of gap diode electrodes comprising the step of increasing a vapor pressure of a material in a space between said electrodes, thereby reducing evaporative losses from said surface, whereby surface deformation will be reduced.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said material comprises a material that exerts a significant vapor pressure at an operating temperature of said gap diode.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said material comprises a metal.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said metal is chosen from the group consisting of: Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Thallium, Bismuth, Tin, Selenium, Lithium, Indium, Sodium, Potassium, Gallium, and Cesium.
- 5. The method of claim 3 wherein said metal comprises Cesium.
- 6. The method of claim 1 in which one or both of said electrodes comprise said material in solid form, and wherein said step of increasing a vapor pressure comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature of said gap diode to a value at which a vapor pressure of said material is sufficient to prevent said evaporative losses.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said material comprises a metal.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said metal is chosen from the group consisting of: Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Thallium, Bismuth, Tin, Selenium, Lithium, Indium, Sodium, Potassium, Gallium, and Cesium.
- 9. The method of claim 7 wherein said material comprises Cesium and wherein said step of increasing an operating temperature comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature to a temperature greater than 30° C.
- 10. The method of claim 7 wherein said material comprises Cadmium and wherein said step of increasing an operating temperature comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature to a temperature greater than 350° C.
- 11. A method for reducing evaporative losses of electrode material from one or both electrodes of a gap diode device comprising the step of introducing a further material in vapor form into a space between said electrodes, whereby a vapor pressure of said further material reduces said evaporative losses.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said material comprises a material that exerts a significant vapor pressure at an operating temperature of said gap diode.
- 13. The method of claim 11 wherein said material comprises a metal.
- 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said metal is chosen from the group consisting of: Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Thallium, Bismuth, Tin, Selenium, Lithium, Indium, Sodium, Potassium, Gallium, and Cesium.
- 15. The method of claim 13 wherein said metal comprises Cesium.
- 16. The method of claim 11 in which one or both of said electrodes comprise said material in solid form, and wherein said step of introducing a further material in vapor form comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature of said gap diode to a value at which a vapor pressure of said material is sufficient to prevent said evaporative losses.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein said metal is chosen from the group consisting of: Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Thallium, Bismuth, Tin, Selenium, Lithium, Indium, Sodium, Potassium, Gallium, and Cesium.
- 18. The method of claim 16 wherein said material comprises Cesium and wherein said step of increasing an operating temperature comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature to a temperature greater than 30° C.
- 19. The method of claim 16 wherein said material comprises Cadmium and wherein said step of increasing an operating temperature comprises the step of increasing an operating temperature to a temperature greater than 350° C.
- 20. The method of claim 1 wherein said gap diode is used for tunnel emission of electrons.
- 21. The method of claim 1 wherein said gap diode is used for thermionic emission of electrons.
- 22. The method of claim 1 wherein said gap diode is used for field emission of electrons.
- 23. The method of claim 11 wherein said gap diode is used for tunnel emission of electrons.
- 24. The method of claim 11 wherein said gap diode is used for thermionic emission of electrons.
- 25. The method of claim 11 wherein said gap diode is used for field emission of electrons.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/400,959, filed Aug. 1, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60400959 |
Aug 2002 |
US |