STEADY-STATE NONEQUILIBRIUM ELECTRON DISTRIBUTIONS CHARACTERIZED BY AFLUX IN MOMENTUM-SPACE IN A SOLID-STATE PLASMA - THEORY AND APPLICATIONS

The results of studies of the exact steady-state nonequilibrium power- law solutions to the kinetic Boltzmann equation describing particle di stribution functions characterized by a flux (source and sink) in mome ntum space are reviewed. A fundamentally new radioisotope method of cu rrent generation based on secondary-electron emission induced by alpha -particles passing through thin films is proposed. It is shown that de vices in which the nonequilibrium electron distribution resulting from this process is used provide much higher current density compared to conventional thermionic generators. The results of investigations of t he energy spectrum of the secondary electrons produced by alpha-partic les from a radioisotope source are presented.