The current state and prospects of the thermionic energy conversion method development

In the first part of the work analyses the current state of research on thermionic energy conversion method. Analytical review of the data showed that the "capacity of a development" of the method has been exhausted, since the present physical and technical characteristics of existing plasma thermionic energy converters are close to the theoretically possible limits. The second part of the work is devoted to development of the foundations of the new thermal energy into electrical energy conversion method and the prototypes modeling of the vacuum energy conversion devices with electron emissive sources — cathodes with micro- or nanostructured emission surfaces. The simulation shows that, if the device use the cathodes with micro- or nanostructured surface and emission and electron transfer processes to implement under the action of special superposition electric and magnetic fields (Lorentz force), then this approach would create conversion devices, energy efficiency which can significantly (by orders of magnitude) than the effectiveness of existing plasma thermionic energy converters. It is shown that the use in the vacuum conversion devices nanotube-based field emission cathodes, enables direct conversion of heat energy environment ( T ~ 300 K) into electrical energy.