High performance electric contacts

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One aspect of the present invention is to provide electrical components and devices which are capable of higher power applications than the electronic signal level devices previously described, and in general, while being capable of operating in the signal level regime are also capable of operating above the signal level regime to employ currents in the single amp and greater regime and potentials substantially above the signal level regime.
The electrical components according to the present invention provide a multiplicity (greater than 3) of independently acting contacts in the brush-like structure which are not achieved in a conventional solid metal structure.
The fiber contacts are contained within a metallic matrix which permits the expansion of this contact's use into higher current carrying capacities because overall low electrical resistance is a particular improvement over the above described prior art.
Accordingly, the possible utilization of the electrical components and devices according to the present invention is greatly expanded over that in the devices described above in the prior art.
In a further aspect of the present invention the metallic matrix is provided by a material having metallic conductivity such as metals including noble metals, metal alloys including eutectic metal alloys, and synthetic metals such as linear-chain polymeric conductors.
In a further aspect of the present invention the electrical component and device has a DC volume resistivity of less than about 10 micro ohm cm.
In a further aspect of the present invention the electrical component has applications across a broad range of power regimes from about less than 1 microwatt up to about 2500 watts, these generally corresponding to current levels of about 1 microamp to about 2 kiloamp.
In a further aspect of the present invention at least one end of the composite member is fibrillated by for example a water jet to form a short length brush-like structure, which is at least substantially free of the metallic matrix, and the metallic matrix is softer than the carbon fiber and preferentially erodes under energy of the water jet