A thermionic energy converter includes an anode, a cathode spaced from the anode to define a gap therebetween and an operating environment of hydrogen wherein the anode and the cathode are disposed in the hydrogen operating environment so that molecular hydrogen is incorporated into the gap and the anode and the cathode are substantially exposed to the molecular hydrogen. Exposure of diamond samples to a hydrogen plasma reduces the resistance of the bulk diamond film. Hydrogen enhances electron transport through the bulk of the diamond and improves the thermionic emission current. Impregnation of a diamond electrode with hydrogen enhances bulk electron transport of the diamond due to hydrogen lying in the interstitial space between the carbon atoms. Hydrogen increases the bulk conductivity of diamonds films by interact with the diamond surface to form polarized CH bonds reducing the electron affinity and in turn, reducing the work function. Exposure of diamond cathodes to a low energy hydrogen plasma drastically enhances thermionic emission current relative to as-grown diamond films by up to four orders of magnitude due to surface termination of diamond with hydrogen (i.e. hydrogenation of the diamond surface). Difficulty arises when attempting to utilize hydrogenated diamond electrodes for thermionic generators due to the hydrogen desorbing from the diamond surface following a predictable time-dependent Arrhenius behavior. When hydrogenated diamond cathodes are heated to temperatures above 600 C., the desorption of the performance-enhancing hydrogen begin to decrease with increasing temperature. The present invention provides means for preventing desorption of hydrogen from hydrogenated diamond films at elevated temperatures to overcome the performance-limiting effect of the desorbtion of the hydrogen from the diamond surface by filling the gap between the cathode and anode with molecular hydrogen at a selected specific pressure in equilibrium. The thermionic generator is sealed and pressure remains constant or steady-state so that molecular hydrogen is introduced into the gap at a selected flow rate to replace any molecular hydrogen exiting the gap at the same flow rate whereby a selected pressure and volume of hydrogen is maintained in the gap throughout the process.

Process for manufacturing a printhead for a 3D manufacturing system that uses metal electrodeposition to construct parts. The printhead may be constructed by depositing layers on top of a backplane that contains control and power circuits. Deposited layers may include insulating layers and an anode layer that contain deposition anodes that are in contact with the electrolyte to drive electrodeposition. Insulating layers may for example be constructed of silicon nitride or silicon dioxide; the anode layer may contain an insoluble conductive material such as platinum group metals and their associated oxides, highly doped semiconducting materials, and carbon based conductors. The anode layer may be deposited using chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition. Alternatively in one or more embodiments the printhead may be constructed by manufacturing a separate anode plane component, and then bonding the anode plane to the backplane.

A synthetic diamond heat spreader that includes a first layer of synthetic diamond material forming a base support layer and a second layer of synthetic diamond material disposed on the first layer of synthetic diamond material and forming a diamond surface layer. The diamond surface layer has a thickness equal to or less than a thickness of the base support layer. The diamond surface layer has a nitrogen content less than that of the base support layer. The nitrogen content of the diamond surface layer and the diamond support layer is selected such that the thermal conductivity of the base support layer is in a range 1000 W/mK to 1800 W/mK and the thermal conductivity of the surface support layer is in a range 1900 W/mK to 2800 W/mK.

The method involves a substrate 21 near which reagents 25 are provided. Pump (26) and Raman (27) photons make it possible to create a stimulated Raman emission during the synthesis (29) of the material. The Raman emission can be Stokes or anti-Stokes. In one embodiment of the invention, the zone where the synthesis (29) occurs is in an optical cavity and Raman photons (27) emitted by the Raman emission are reoriented toward the zone where the synthesis (29) occurs. In another embodiment of the invention, the zone where the synthesis (29) occurs is not in an optical cavity, and a stream of Raman photons (27) is created in an outside optical cavity before being sent toward the zone where the synthesis (29) occurs. The synthesis (29) preferably involves a CVD method or solidification by the Czochralski method.

Apparatuses and methods are provided for manufacturing diamond electronic devices. The method includes at least one of the following acts: positioning a substrate in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor; controlling temperature of the substrate by manipulating microwave power, chamber pressure, and gas flow rates of the PECVD reactor; and growing phosphorus doped diamond layer on the substrate using a pulsed deposition comprising a growth cycle and a cooling cycle.

There are provided a food container having a silicon incorporated diamond like carbon (Si-DLC) layer and a method thereof. The food container includes a container made of a plastic material; an intermediate thin layer formed on a surface of the container; and a Si-DLC layer formed on the intermediate thin layer. Accordingly, it is possible to provide porous plastic container having a Si-DLC layer and a manufacturing method thereof, which can implement high oxygen barrier properties and excellent mechanical characteristics by stably depositing a Si-DLC layer on a food container having lower surface energy without breaking the Si-DLC layer.

A thermionic energy converter includes an anode, a cathode spaced from the anode to define a gap therebetween and an operating environment of hydrogen wherein the anode and the cathode are disposed in the hydrogen operating environment so that molecular hydrogen is incorporated into the gap and the anode and the cathode are substantially exposed to the molecular hydrogen. Exposure of diamond samples to a hydrogen plasma reduces the resistance of the bulk diamond film. Hydrogen enhances electron transport through the bulk of the diamond and improves the thermionic emission current. Impregnation of a diamond electrode with hydrogen enhances bulk electron transport of the diamond due to hydrogen lying in the interstitial space between the carbon atoms. Hydrogen increases the bulk conductivity of diamonds films by interact with the diamond surface to form polarized CH bonds reducing the electron affinity and in turn, reducing the work function. Exposure of diamond cathodes to a low energy hydrogen plasma drastically enhances thermionic emission current relative to as-grown diamond films by up to four orders of magnitude due to surface termination of diamond with hydrogen (i.e. hydrogenation of the diamond surface). Difficulty arises when attempting to utilize hydrogenated diamond electrodes for thermionic generators due to the hydrogen desorbing from the diamond surface following a predictable time-dependent Arrhenius behavior. When hydrogenated diamond cathodes are heated to temperatures above 600 C., the desorption of the performance-enhancing hydrogen begin to decrease with increasing temperature. The present invention provides means for preventing desorption of hydrogen from hydrogenated diamond films at elevated temperatures to overcome the performance-limiting effect of the desorbtion of the hydrogen from the diamond surface by filling the gap between the cathode and anode with molecular hydrogen at a selected specific pressure in equilibrium. The thermionic generator is sealed and pressure remains constant or steady-state so that molecular hydrogen is introduced into the gap at a selected flow rate to replace any molecular hydrogen exiting the gap at the same flow rate whereby a selected pressure and volume of hydrogen is maintained in the gap throughout the process.

A polycrystalline CVD diamond material comprising a surface having a surface roughness R.sub.q of less than 5 nm, wherein said surface is damage free to the extent that if an anisotropic thermal revealing etch is applied thereto, a number density of defects revealed by the anisotropic thermal revealing etch is less than 100 per mm.sup.2.

An electrochemical-deposition printhead assembly includes a substrate made of an insulating material and including openings that extend from a top surface to a bottom surface of the substrate. The electrochemical-deposition printhead assembly also includes deposition anodes that include conductive material that fills the openings. The electrochemical-deposition printhead assembly additionally includes a backplane that is coupled to the substrate. The backplane includes a grid control circuit, which includes an array of row traces, an array of column traces, a row driver circuit, electrically coupled to the row traces, and a column driver circuit, electrically coupled to the column traces. The backplane also includes a power distribution circuit and deposition-control circuits aligned with a deposition grid. Each one of the deposition-control circuits is electrically coupled to the power distribution circuit, an associated one of the row traces, and an associated one of the column traces.

A monocrystalline diamond having a corrected full width at half maxima after accounting for the Rayleigh width of a 514.5 nm laser, and exhibiting: a presence or absence of negatively-charged silicon vacancy defect depending on the diamond quality; a concentration level of neutral substitutional nitrogen at an absorption coefficient of 270 nm; an FTIR transmittance value at a 10.6 m wavelength; a concentration of positively-charged substitutional nitrogen when the peak height is at 1332.5 cm.sup.1; an absence of nitrogen-vacancy-hydrogen defect species when the wavelength is at 3123 cm.sup.1; normalisation of spectra when the first order Raman peak is at 552.37 nm using 514.5 nm laser excitation; either a black or white sector and having a refractive index of retardation to thickness of diamond plates; or a reddish glow and a blue glow when the diamond is placed under 355 nm laser irradiation at room temperature in the dark.