Patent 7224576 was granted and assigned to Medtronic on May, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention provides improved cathodes and methods for producing such cathodes for ultimate use in conjunction with valve metal capacitors. A family of titanium carbide cathodes according to the present invention can be produced so that they inhabit a pre-existing metallic surface such as an inner surface of a titanium casing adjacent but insulated from direct electrical communication from an anode. Foil-type valve metal anodes as well as porous valve metal anodes formed from metallic powders may be used in conjunction with the titanium cathodes of the present invention.