| 摘要 |
<p>An improved design for maintaining nanometer separation between electrodes in tunneling, thermo-tunneling, diode, thermionic, thermoelectric, thermo-photovoltaic and other devices is disclosed. At least one electrode is of a curved shape. All embodiments reduce the thermal conduction between the two electrodes when compared to the prior art. Some embodiments provide a large tunneling area surrounding a small contact area. Other embodiments remove the contact area completely. The end result is an electronic device that maintains two closely spaced parallel electrodes in stable equilibrium with a nanometer gap there-between over a large area in a simple configuration for simplified manufacturability and use to convert heat to electricity or electricity to cooling.</p> |
