The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 03, 1981
Filed:
Nov. 29, 1979
Fred N Huffman, Sudbury, MA (US);
Thermo Electron Corporation, Waltham, MA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus are described for producing negative deuterium ions for use in controlled thermonuclear reactions such as fusion. Negative ions are obtained by bombarding the surface of an ionization electrode with positive ions and extracting negative ions from the electrode. The unique surface layer of the electrode is formed by depositing onto a substrate the products of thermal decomposition of cesium carbonate. This layer, which is easily formed and renewed, is characterized by a very low value of work function of about 1.05 electron volts, which facilitates formation of large quantities of negative ions. Properties of the surface layer, particularly the low value of work function, are reproducible and relatively insensitive to variations in the thickness of the layer and to the substrate material selected for the electrode.