Monolithic prestressed ceramic devices and method for making same
First Claim
1. An internally asymmetrically stress biased ceramic element comprising:
- a concave shaped ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces;
said first surface being a conductive reduced layer of the ceramic material and in tension; and
said second surface being in compression.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Monolithic, internally asymmetrically stress biased electrically active ceramic devices and a method for making same is disclosed. The first step in the method of the present invention is to fabricate a ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces. Next, only the first surface is chemically reduced by heat treatment in a reducing atmosphere. This produces a concave shaped, internally asymmetrically stress biased ceramic element and an electrically conducting, chemically reduced layer on the first surface which serves as one of the electrodes of the device. Another electrode can be deposited on the second surface to complete the device. In another embodiment of the present invention two dome shaped ceramic devices can be placed together to form a completed clamshell structure or an accordion type structure. In a further embodiment, the clamshell or accordion type structures can be placed on top of one another. In another embodiment, a pair of dome shaped ceramic devices having opposing temperature characteristics can be placed on top of each other to produce an athermalized ceramic device.
103 Citations
46 Claims
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1. An internally asymmetrically stress biased ceramic element comprising:
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a concave shaped ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces; said first surface being a conductive reduced layer of the ceramic material and in tension; and said second surface being in compression. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of operating an internally asymmetrically stress biased concave shaped ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces, said first surface being a conductive reduced layer of the ceramic material and in tension and said second surface being in compression, the method comprising the step of:
applying a pulsed DC or AC voltage at a frequency to said ceramic element such that said ceramic element displaces in accordance with the frequency of the applied pulse. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A ceramic device comprising:
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at least one clamshell structure having first and second internally asymmetrically stress biased ceramic elements; each of said ceramic elements comprising; a concave shaped ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces; and said first surface being a conductive reduced layer of the ceramic material and in tension and said second surface being in compression; said first ceramic element being disposed on said second ceramic element such that at least a portion of said reduced layer of said first element is in contact with at least a portion of the reduced layer of said second element. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A ceramic device comprising:
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at least two internally asymmetrically stress biased ceramic elements in a stacked arrangement; each of said ceramic elements comprising; a concave shaped ceramic element having first and second opposing surfaces; and said first surface being a conductive reduced layer of the ceramic material and in tension and said second surface being in compression; each of said ceramic elements being arranged such that the first surface of any element is facing the second surface of an adjacent element. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification