Title :
A super-emissive self-heated cathode for high-power applications
Author :
Hartmann, W. ; Kirkman, G. ; Dominic, V. ; Gundersen, M.A.
Author_Institution :
Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
fDate :
4/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A superemissive cathode for high-power glow-discharge applications, such as high-current thyratrons, based on a self-heated thermionic emission mechanism is reported, and the mechanism is discussed. The results suggest that high-brightness cathode design for glow-discharge switches can be significantly improved. By tailoring the area of ion-beam heating, it should be possible to optimize operating conditions according to pulse length, current risetime, voltage falltime, peak current and electrode material. The superemission characteristics which are ≈2 orders of magnitude larger than typical thermionic emitters, suggest that there are a number of important applications
Keywords :
glow discharges; thermionic cathodes; thermionic emission; thyratrons; current risetime; electrode material; gas discharge tubes; glow-discharge switches; high-current thyratrons; high-power applications; ion beam area; operating conditions optimisation; peak current; pulse length; self-heated cathode; self-heated thermionic emission mechanism; superemission characteristics; superemissive cathode; voltage falltime; Cathodes; Electrodes; Glow discharges; Plasma applications; Plasma density; Plasma devices; Plasma measurements; Spark gaps; Thermionic emission; Thyratrons;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
