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Abstract

An improved design for maintaining separation between electrodes in tunneling, diode, thermionic, and other devices is disclosed. At least one electrode is made from flexible material. A magnetic field is present to combine with the current flowing in the flexible electrode and generate a force that counterbalances the electrostatic force between the electrodes. The balancing of forces allows the separation and parallelism between the electrodes to be maintained at a very small spacing without requiring the use of multiple control systems, actuators, or other manipulating means, or spacers. The shape of one or both electrodes is designed to maintain a constant separation over the entire overlapping area of the electrodes. The end result is an electronic device that maintains two closely spaced parallel electrodes in stable equilibrium with a uniform gap therebetween over a large area in a simple configuration for simplified manufacturability and use to convert heat to electricity or electricity to cooling.

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First Claim