1. A microscope probe comprising a microscope probe tip wherein the apex of the microscope probe tip has a radius of curvature less than 5 nm and the microscope probe tip has a cone angle from 60 degrees to 65 degrees and is not single crystal tungsten.
2. The microscope probe of claim 1, wherein the microscope probe tip is formed of a polycrystalline metal.
3. The microscope probe of claim 1, wherein the microscope probe tip is formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, rhenium, and combinations thereof.
4. The microscope probe of claim 3, wherein the metal is a platinum-iridium alloy.
5. The microscope probe of claim 1 wherein:
the microscope probe tip is formed of a metal coated with a conductive coating.
6. The microscope probe of claim 5, wherein the coating is a conductive diamond or diamond-like carbon coating.
7. The microscope probe of claim 5, wherein the coating is a transition metal carbide coating.
8. The microscope probe of claim 5, wherein the coating is a transition metal nitride coating.
9. The microscope probe of claim 5, wherein the metal is a transition metal.
10. The microscope probe of claim 9 where the transition metal is tungsten.
11. The microscope probe of claim 5 wherein the metal is a noble metal.
12. A field emitter comprising a field emission tip wherein the apex of the field emission tip has a radius of curvature less than 5 nm and the field emission tip has a cone angle from 60 degrees to 65 degrees and is not single crystal tungsten.
13. The field emitter of claim 12, wherein the field emission tip is formed of a polycrystalline metal.
14. The field emitter of claim 12, wherein the field emission tip is formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, rhenium, and combinations thereof.
15. The field emitter of claim 14, wherein the metal is a platinum-iridium alloy.
16. A stand-alone ion sputtering apparatus capable of sharpening a conductor having a tip with an initial radius of curvature less than one micrometer, the apparatus comprising:
a. a vacuum chamber connected to a vacuum source;
b. an ion flux source in communication with the vacuum chamber;
c. a sample holder adapted to hold the conductor to be sharpened; and
d. a source of electrical potential difference connected between the sample holder and the vacuum chamber.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the ion flux source is an ion beam source.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a focusing ring located between the ion beam source and the conductor and a second source of electrical potential difference connected to the focusing ring.
19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the sample holder is capable of rotation.
20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a heater connected to the sample holder.
21. A scanning probe microscope apparatus capable of in-situ sharpening of the probe tip, the apparatus comprising:
a. a scanning probe microscope comprising a vacuum chamber and a probe comprising a tip, the tip apex having an initial radius of curvature less than 1 micron; the probe being located within the vacuum chamber;
b. an ion beam source in communication with the vacuum chamber; and
c. a source of electrical potential difference connected to establish a potential difference between the probe and the vacuum chamber,
wherein the apparatus is adapted so that the probe can be moved within the vacuum chamber to substantially align the longitudinal axis of the tip with the longitudinal axis of the ion beam for sharpening.
22. An electron microscope apparatus capable of in-situ sharpening of the field emitter tip, the apparatus comprising:
a. a electron microscope comprising a field emitter tip and a vacuum chamber connected to a vacuum source;
b. an ion beam source in communication with the vacuum chamber; and
c. a source of electrical potential difference connected to establish an electrical potential difference between the tip and the surrounding vacuum chamber,
wherein the apparatus is adapted to allow rotation of the tip so that the longitudinal axis of the tip is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the ion beam for sharpening.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A multiplexing apparatus, comprising:
at least one band pass filter, each band pass filter communicatively coupled to a cable;
a receiver filter communicatively coupled to the cable;
a transmitter filter communicatively coupled to the cable,
wherein the receiver filter is configured to pass signals in a first spectral region from the cable to a first-band base transceiver station,
wherein the transmitter filter is configured to pass signals in the first spectral region from the first-band base transceiver station to the cable,
wherein each band pass filter is configured to filter and bi-directionally pass signals in a second spectral region between the cable and at least one other base transceiver station.
2. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiver filter in the multiplexing apparatus is communicatively coupled to a low noise amplifier.
3. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the receiver filter is a first receiver filter and wherein the low noise amplifier is operably positioned between the first receiver filter and a second receiver filter, wherein a receiver path for the first spectral region comprises the first receiver filter, the low noise amplifier, and the second receiver filter.
4. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a transmitter path for the first spectral region comprises the transmitter filter.
5. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein transceiver paths for signals in respective portions of the second spectral region each comprise a respective one of the band pass filters.
6. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one band pass filter comprises a single band pass filter, wherein the cable is a radio frequency cable communicatively coupling the multiplexing apparatus to a diplexer, wherein the diplexer is communicatively coupled to a first antenna and a second antenna, the first antenna configured to receive and transmit signals in the first spectral region and the second antenna configured to receive and transmit signals in the second spectral region.
7. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one band pass filter is at least two band pass filters, and wherein the cable is a radio frequency cable communicatively coupling the multiplexing apparatus to a multiplexer, wherein the multiplexer is communicatively coupled to a first antenna and at least two other antennae, wherein the first antenna receives and transmits signals in the first spectral region and the at least two other antennae receive and transmit signals in respective portions of the second spectral region.
8. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one band pass filter is an inline cavity filter.
9. The multiplexing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the low noise amplifier is a ground mounted amplifier.
10. A system for transceiving radio frequency signals, the system comprising:
a multiplexing apparatus communicatively coupled to a cable, the multiplexing apparatus including a transmitter path, a portion of a receiver path, and at least one transceiver path; and
a low noise amplifier operable to amplify signals in a first spectral region, the low noise amplifier communicatively coupled to the multiplexing apparatus, wherein the multiplexing apparatus is configured to pass signals in the first spectral region between the cable and a first-band base transceiver station via the low noise amplifier, and wherein the multiplexing apparatus is further configured to pass signals in a second spectral region between the cable and at least one second-band base transceiver station.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the multiplexing apparatus includes:
at least one band pass filter communicatively coupled between the cable and a respective one of the at least one second-band base transceiver station;
a first receiver filter communicatively coupled between the cable and the low noise amplifier; and
a transmitter filter communicatively coupled between the cable and the first-band base transceiver station,
wherein the system further comprises a second receiver filter,
wherein the transmitter filter is configured to pass signals in the first spectral region from the first-band base transceiver station to the cable,
wherein the first receiver filter is configured to pass signals in the first spectral region from the cable to the first-band base transceiver station via the low noise amplifier and the second receiver filter,
wherein each of the at least one band pass filters is configured to filter and pass signals in respective portions of the second spectral region between the cable and a respective one of the second-band base transceiver stations.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the transmitter path and the receiver path are between the cable and the first-band base transceiver station,
wherein the transmitter path comprises the transmitter filter operably positioned between the cable and the first-band base transceiver station, and
wherein the receiver path comprises the first receiver filter, the low noise amplifier, and the second receiver filter.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the low noise amplifier is communicatively coupled between the first and second receiver filters.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the low noise amplifier is a ground mounted amplifier.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one band pass filter is an inline cavity filter.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the multiplexing apparatus is a diplexing apparatus, wherein the at least one transceiver path comprises a single transceiver path, wherein the transceiver path comprises a band pass filter positioned between the cable and a single second-band base transceiver station, the transceiver path operable to transmit and receive signals in the second spectral region.
17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:
the cable;
a diplexer communicatively coupled to the cable;
a first antenna configured to receive and transmit signals in the first spectral region; and
a second antenna, wherein the second antenna is configured to receive and transmit signals in the second spectral region, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are communicatively coupled to the cable via the diplexer.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one transceiver path comprises at least two transceiver paths for transmitting and receiving signals in respective portions of the second spectral region, wherein each of the at least two transceiver paths comprises a respective band pass filter positioned between the cable and a respective one of second-band base transceiver stations, each of the second-band base transceiver stations configured to transceive signals in a respective portion of the second spectral region.
19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:
the cable;
a multiplexer communicatively coupled to the cable;
a first antenna configured to receive and transmit signals in the first spectral region; and
at least two other antennae, wherein each of the other antennae is configured to receive and transmit signals in a respective portion of the second spectral region, wherein the first antenna and the at least two other antennae are communicatively coupled to the cable via the multiplexer.
20. A method of transceiving signals in a multiplexing apparatus, the method comprising:
receiving a combined signal comprising signals in two spectral regions via a radio frequency cable at the multiplexing apparatus;
splitting the combined signal into a signal in a first spectral region and at least one signal in a second spectral region in the multiplexing apparatus;
sending the signal in the first spectral region from the multiplexing apparatus to a first receiver in a first-band base transceiver station via a receiver filter in the multiplexing apparatus and a low-noise amplifier; and
sending the at least one signal in a respective at least one portion of the second spectral region from the multiplexing apparatus to at least one receiver in at least one respective second-band base transceiver station via a respective band pass filter in the multiplexing apparatus.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one signal in the respective at least one portion of the second spectral region is at least two signals in a respective at least two portions of the second spectral region, and wherein the at least one second-band base transceiver station is at least two respective second-band base transceiver stations, the method further comprising:
receiving a signal in the first spectral region from a transmitter in the first-band base transceiver station at the multiplexing apparatus;
receiving the at least two signals in the respective at least two portions of the second spectral region from the at least two respective transmitters in the at least two second transceiver base stations at the multiplexing apparatus;
combining the received signal in the first spectral region with the received at least two signals in the respective at least two portions of the second spectral region at the multiplexing apparatus; and
sending the combined signal from the multiplexing apparatus via the radio frequency cable.
22. The method of claim 21, the method further comprising:
receiving the combined signal from the multiplexing apparatus at a multiplexer via the radio frequency cable;
splitting the combined signal into the plurality of signals at the multiplexer;
sending the signal in the first spectral region from the multiplexer to a first antenna;
sending the at least two signals in the at least two portions of the second spectral region from the multiplexer to at least two other antennae, respectively;
transmitting signal in the first spectral region from the first antenna responsive to receiving the signals in the first spectral region from the multiplexer; and
transmitting the at least two signals in the respective at least two portions of the second spectral region from the respective at least two other antennae responsive to receiving the signals in the portions of the second spectral region from the multiplexer.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one signal in the respective at least one portion of the second spectral region is one signal in a single portion of the second spectral region, wherein the at least one second-band base transceiver station is one second-band base transceiver station, and wherein the multiplexing apparatus is a diplexing apparatus, the method further comprising
receiving a signal in the first spectral region from a transmitter in the first-band base transceiver station at the diplexing apparatus;
receiving the signal in the second spectral region from the transmitter in the second transceiver base station at the diplexing apparatus;
combining the received signal in the first spectral region with the received signal in the second spectral region at the diplexing apparatus; and
sending the combined signal from the diplexing apparatus via the radio frequency cable.
24. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising:
receiving the combined signal from the diplexing apparatus at a diplexer via the radio frequency cable;
splitting the combined signal into two signals at the diplexer;
sending the signal in the first spectral region from the diplexer to a first antenna;
sending the signal in the second spectral region from the diplexer to a second antenna;
transmitting signals in the first spectral region from the first antenna responsive to receiving the signal in the first spectral region from the diplexer; and
transmitting the signal in the second spectral region from the second antenna responsive to receiving the signal in the single portion of the second spectral region from the diplexer.