The 2026 thermionic converters roadmap
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Thermionic technologies are based on electron emission from a material occurring at high temperatures, following the physical mechanism discovered by Richardson at the beginning of the 20th century. Although thermionic emitters were successfully used to produce commercial electronic devices, sensors, and electron sources, the large potential of this technology for the development of energetically active devices for space and terrestrial applications is still unexploited, since several challenges remain unresolved to enable practical implementation of competitive energy converters. This roadmap aims to collect the main efforts of the research and industrial community focused on thermionic technologies, covering aspects related to active materials, components and system engineering for the development of related devices. Additionally, contributions related to the progress of promising approaches for the prediction and design of the systems, as well as hybridization with other technologies or physical mechanisms, are also considered. The scope is to provide a guide for researchers and developers who are experienced on this topic—but also who are starting to work with it—by analytically describing state-of-the-art, technological challenges and future paths for a full development of thermionic technologies.
Date Issued
2026-07-03
Date Acceptance
2026-04-17
Citation
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2026, 59 (26)
ISSN
0022-3727
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume
59
Issue
26
Copyright Statement
©2026TheAuthor(s). Published by IOPPublishing Ltd Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
263001
Date Publish Online
2026-07-02