Precision measurements of the characteristics of a low-energy cesium vapor plasma diode

A series of experiments have been performed with a plane-parallel cesium plasma diode on the influence of interelectrode spacing, electrode temperature, and cesium pressure on the characteristics of a low energy cesium vapor plasma. Steady-state measurements have been made of the diode current versus spacing at constant voltage, diode voltage versus spacing at constant current and the dependence of the diode characteristics at various spacing on the temperatures of the emitter, collector, and cesium reservoir. AC sweep measurements also were made of the diode volt-ampere characteristics about several steady-state operating points. These measurements provide accurate parametric data for applications to the design of a cesium vapor converter employing rhenium electrodes. The data also provide a family of parametric curves which display the important characteristics of a low energy cesium vapor plasma and its behavior in different plasma modes.