Photo-electric switch system and method
OwnerJohn Bennettinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for the switching of electrical current comprising a photo-cathode, an anode, one or more light sources positioned to illuminate the photo-cathode to stimulate the emission of electrons from the photo-cathode, an electrical circuit connected to and supplying a voltage across the photo-electric cathode and the anode, and a vacuum chamber enclosing at least the photo-cathode and the anode in a vacuum and holding the photo-cathode and the anode in position such that a gap exists between them.
Claims20
A power conversion circuit for the rectification of high-voltage electrical current, comprising:
- a plurality of photo-electric switches that include:
- a photo-cathode;
- an anode;
- one or more light sources;
- and
- a vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber enclosing at least the photo-cathode and the anode in a vacuum and holding the photo-cathode and the anode in position such that a gap exists between them;
- and
- an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit connected to and supplying a voltage difference across the photo-cathode and the anode of each of the plurality of photo-electric switches;
- wherein, for each of the plurality of photo-electric switches, the one or more light sources are positioned such that a plurality of photons emitted by the one or more light sources are absorbed by the photo-cathode, and wherein energy acquired by absorbing the plurality of photons causes a plurality of electrons to be emitted by the photo-cathode in a position for travel to the anode.
A high-voltage photo-electric switch, comprising:
- a photo-cathode;
- an anode;
- one or more light sources;
- a vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber enclosing at least the photo-cathode and the anode in a vacuum and holding the photo-cathode and the anode in position such that a gap exists between them;
- and
- an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit connected to and supplying a voltage difference across the photo-cathode and the anode;
- wherein the one or more light sources are positioned such that a plurality of photons emitted by the one or more light sources are absorbed by the photo-cathode, and wherein energy acquired by absorbing the plurality of photons causes a plurality of electrons to be emitted by the photo-cathode in a position to travel to the anode.
A device for the switching of electrical current comprising:
- a photo-cathode;
- an anode;
- one or more light sources, the one or more light sources positioned such that photons emitted by the one or more light sources stimulate the emission of electrons from the photo-cathode;
- an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit connected to and supplying a voltage across the photo-electric cathode and the anode;
- and
- a vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber enclosing at least the photo-cathode and the anode in a vacuum and holding the photo-cathode and the anode in position such that a gap exists between them.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.