1. A method of converting energy from one form to another by passing a working material through a closed liquid-vapor thermodynamic cycle, comprising:
expanding at least a portion of the working material from a liquid phase into a vapor phase by addition of heat;
recovering heat from the working material after expanding; condensing the working material, after recovering heat, from the vapor phase into the liquid phase, in a condenser, thus restoring the working material to a state where the working material awaits expansion to start a new cycle;
varying the quantity of heat recovered by varying a bypass of the working material during recovering heat from the working material, so as to vary thermodynamic efficiencies and select desired specific work output; and
adding the recovered heat to working material awaiting expansion, without changing the phase thereof; whereby efficiency of the method is improved over a method lacking recovering heat.
2. An engine comprising:
a chamber defined by at least one fixed wall and at least one movable wall, the volume of the chamber variable with movement of the movable wall;
an injector arranged to inject liquid without expansion into the chamber while the chamber has a substantially minimum volume;
apparatus constructed and arranged to introduce energy into the chamber at a rate sufficient to explosively vaporize the liquid, performing work on the movable wall;
apparatus constructed and arranged to return the movable wall to a position prior to the work being performed thereon so the chamber has the substantially minimum volume; and
a valve constructed and arranged to substantially evacuate the chamber of vaporized fluid without substantially compressing the vaporized fluid,
wherein the moveable wall comprises a face of a piston, the piston including a groove, the piston configured such that the groove is aligned with an exhaust port in the fixed wall of the chamber after work is performed on the moveable wall, and
wherein the apparatus constructed and arranged to return the movable wall to a position prior to the work being performed thereon comprises a spring constructed and arranged to exert a force on the piston in a direction toward a portion of the fixed wall.
3. The engine of claim 2, wherein the spring is constructed and arranged to rotate the piston upon a movement of the piston through the chamber.
4. An engine comprising:
a chamber defined by at least one fixed wall and at least one movable wall, the volume of the chamber variable with movement of the movable wall;
an injector arranged to inject liquid without expansion into the chamber while the chamber has a substantially minimum volume;
apparatus constructed and arranged to introduce energy into the chamber at a rate sufficient to explosively vaporize the liquid, performing work on the movable wall;
apparatus constructed and arranged to return the movable wall to a position prior to the work being performed thereon so the chamber has the substantially minimum volume; and
a valve constructed and arranged to substantially evacuate the chamber of vaporized fluid without substantially compressing the vaporized fluid, and
further comprising a heat recovery jacket surrounding at least a portion of the engine and in fluid communication with a heat exchanger, an input to the heat exchanger in fluid communication with the valve, and an output of the heat exchanger in fluid communication with the injector.
5. The engine of claim 4, further comprising a bypass splitter in fluid communication with the injector, the heat recovery jacket, and a bypass line, the bypass splitter constructed and arranged to divide a portion of the liquid to be injected into the chamber into a portion flowing through the heat recovery jacket and a portion flowing through the bypass line.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the working material is expanded within a chamber and the working material is not compressed in the chamber prior to expanding the working material.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein heating the working material in the liquid phase takes place at near constant volume and the expansion takes place while heat is being input.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein expanding the working material from a liquid phase into a vapor is performed at a constant temperature and pressure.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein expanding the working material from a liquid phase into a vapor is performed in a reversible, adiabatic cycle, wherein internal energy within the cycle is converted to mechanical work.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising exhausting working material in the vapor phase from the chamber, the working material in the vapor phase maintaining at a constant volume.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein recovering heat from the working material in the vapor phase is performed with the working material in the vapor phase maintained at a constant temperature and pressure.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein recovering heat from the working material in the vapor phase is performed with the working material in the vapor phase maintained at a constant volume.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the working material in the vapor phase is condensed at a constant pressure and temperature.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein recovering heat from the working material in the vapor phase comprises adding the recovered heat to working material awaiting expansion while maintaining a constant volume of the working material awaiting expansion.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the temperature of the system is maintained at a constant level as energy is added to the system.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein varying a bypass of the working material during recovering heat from the working material comprises varying a ratio of feed liquid mass flow in a heat recovery jacket to a total feed liquid mass flow, the heat recovery jacket surrounding a portion of an engine in which the method is performed.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising decreasing a specific power output of the engine while increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine by increasing the ratio of feed liquid mass flow in the heat recovery jacket to the total feed liquid mass flow.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the working material is water.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising putting the water in a supercritical state.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
I claim:
1. A method of making a magnetic read head which has an air bearing surface (ABS), comprising the steps of:
making a tunnel junction sensor including the steps of:
forming a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure with a magnetic moment;
forming an antiferromagnetic pinning layer exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure;
forming a ferromagnetic free layer structure with a magnetic moment;
forming a nonmagnetic electrically insulative barrier layer between the free layer structure and the pinned layer structure; and
forming the pinned layer structure or the free layer structure with an oxidized monolayer that interfaces the barrier layer.
2. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 1 wherein any oxidized monolayer is formed in a sputtering chamber with an oxygen partial pressure of 5105 Torr.
3. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 2 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer which is formed with said oxidized monolayer.
4. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
5. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 4 including the steps of:
forming ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
forming the tunnel junction sensor between the first and second shield layers.
6. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of forming the barrier layer includes the steps of:
forming at least a first portion of the barrier layer in an unoxidized state;
forming said at least a first portion of the barrier layer with an oxidized monolayer;
forming at least a second portion of the barrier layer in an unoxidized state on said oxidized monolayer of said at least a first portion of the barrier layer; and
oxidizing said at least first and second portions of the barrier layer.
7. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 6 wherein any oxidized monolayer is formed in a sputtering chamber with an oxygen partial pressure of 5105 Torr.
8. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 7 wherein the barrier layer is formed of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) after oxidizing said at least first and second said portions of the barrier layer.
9. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 8 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer which is formed with said oxidized monolayer.
10. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 9 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
11. A method of making a magnetic read head as claimed in claim 10 including the steps of:
forming ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
forming the tunnel junction sensor between the first and second shield layers.
12. A method of making a magnetic head assembly having an air bearing surface (ABS), comprising the steps of:
making a write head including the steps of:
forming ferromagnetic first and second pole piece layers that have a yoke portion between a pole tip portion and a back gap portion;
forming a nonmagnetic write gap layer located between the pole tip portions of the first and second pole piece layers;
forming an insulation stack with at least one coil layer embedded therein between the yoke portions of the first and second pole piece layers; and
forming the first and second pole piece layers at their back gap portions; and
making a read head including the steps of:
forming a first shield layer;
forming a tunnel junction sensor located between the first shield layer and the first pole piece layer;
making the tunnel junction sensor including the steps of:
forming a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure that has a magnetic moment;
forming an antiferromagnetic pinning layer structure exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure;
forming a ferromagnetic free layer structure which has a magnetic moment; and
forming a nonmagnetic electrically insulative barrier layer between the free layer structure and the pinned layer structure; and
forming the pinned layer structure or the free layer structure with an oxidized monolayer that is adjacent the barrier layer.
13. A method of making a magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein any oxidized monolayer is formed in a sputtering chamber at or less than 5105 Torrminute.
14. A method of making a magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 13 wherein the barrier layer is formed of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) after oxidizing said first and second said portions of the barrier layer.
15. A method of making a magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 14 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer which is formed with said oxidized monolayer.
16. A method of making a magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 15 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
17. A method of making a magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 16 including the steps of:
forming ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
forming the tunnel junction sensor between the first and second shield layers.
18. A magnetic read head which has an air bearing surface (ABS), comprising:
a tunnel junction sensor including:
a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure that has a magnetic moment;
an antiferromagnetic pinning layer exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure;
a ferromagnetic free layer structure which has a magnetic moment;
a nonmagnetic electrically insulative barrier layer located between the free layer structure and the pinned layer structure; and
the pinned layer structure or the free layer structure having an oxidized monolayer that is adjacent the barrier layer.
19. A magnetic read head as claimed in claim 18 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer that has said oxidized monolayer.
20. A magnetic read head as claimed in claim 19 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
21. A magnetic read head as claimed in claim 20 including:
ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
the tunnel junction sensor being located between the first and second shield layers.
22. A magnetic head assembly having an air bearing surface (ABS), comprising:
a write head including:
ferromagnetic first and second pole piece layers that have a yoke portion located between a pole tip portion and a back gap portion;
a nonmagnetic write gap layer located between the pole tip portions of the first and second pole piece layers;
an insulation stack with at least one coil layer embedded therein located between the yoke portions of the first and second pole piece layers; and
the first and second pole piece layers being connected at their back gap portions; and
a read head including:
a first shield layer;
a tunnel junction sensor located between the first shield layer and the first pole piece layer;
the tunnel junction sensor including:
a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure that has a magnetic moment;
an antiferromagnetic pinning layer structure exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure;
a ferromagnetic free layer structure which has a magnetic moment; and
a nonmagnetic electrically insulative barrier layer located between the free layer structure and the pinned layer structure; and
the pinned layer structure or the free layer structure having an oxidized monolayer that is adjacent the barrier layer.
23. A magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 22 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer that has said oxidized monolayer.
24. A magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 23 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
25. A magnetic head assembly as claimed in claim 24 including:
ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
the tunnel junction sensor being located between the first and second shield layers.
26. A magnetic disk drive including at least one magnetic head assembly that has an a write head, a read head and an air bearing surface (ABS) comprising:
the write head including:
ferromagnetic first and second pole piece layers that have a yoke portion located between a pole tip portion and a back gap portion;
a nonmagnetic write gap layer located between the pole tip portions of the first and second pole piece layers;
an insulation stack with at least one coil layer embedded therein located between the yoke portions of the first and second pole piece layers; and
the first and second pole piece layers being connected at their back gap portions; and
the read head including:
a first shield layer;
a tunnel junction sensor located between the first shield layer and the first pole piece layer;
the tunnel junction sensor including:
a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure that has a magnetic moment;
an antiferromagnetic pinning layer exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure;
a ferromagnetic free layer structure which has a magnetic moment;
a nonmagnetic electrically insulative barrier layer located between the free layer structure and the pinned layer structure; and
the pinned layer structure or the free layer structure having an oxidized monolayer that interfaces the barrier layer;
a housing;
a magnetic disk rotatably supported in the housing;
a support mounted in the housing for supporting the magnetic head assembly with said ABS facing the magnetic disk so that the magnetic head assembly is in a transducing relationship with the magnetic disk;
a spindle motor for rotating the magnetic disk;
an actuator positioning means connected to the support for moving the magnetic head assembly to multiple positions with respect to said magnetic disk; and
a processor connected to the magnetic head assembly, to the spindle motor and to the actuator for exchanging signals with the magnetic head assembly, for controlling movement of the magnetic disk and for controlling the position of the magnetic head assembly.
27. A magnetic disk drive as claimed in claim 26 wherein the pinned layer structure includes a cobalt based layer that has said oxidized monolayer.
28. A magnetic disk drive as claimed in claim 27 wherein the cobalt based layer is cobalt iron (CoFe).
29. A magnetic disk drive as claimed in claim 27 including:
ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and
the tunnel junction sensor being located between the first and second shield layers.