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:
May. 28, 1991
Filed:
Jun. 16, 1988
Robert W Schumacher, Canoga Park, CA (US);
Hughes Aircraft Company, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
A plasma switch employs a cold cathode which yields secondary electrons to sustain a plasma within the switch. The cathode is provided with a series of perturbations which increase the effective cathode surface area exposed to the plasma and increase the average effective path lengths of secondary electrons emitted from the cathode and the probability of such electrons having ionizing collisions with gas molecules within the switch. The interior cathode surface is provided with a coating formed from chromium or a chromium mixture. Chromium combines a high rate of secondary electron emission with low sputtering and other advantageous properties for plasma switch operation. Various types of chromium-plated perturbations are described.