| Abstract: | Some of the techniques commonly used (e.g. SLEEP and thermionic emission microscope) for measuring emission or work function uniformity of thermionic cathode surfaces require the use of very low or near zero current densities, thus the cathode is characterized at current densities and temperatures much lower than that of a normally operating cathode. The system reported on here uses a high voltage pulse technique and is capable of measuring emission densities in the range 1 to 80 A/cm2 at normal cathode operating temperatures. The cathode surface is scanned with an anode having a 0.025 mm aperture whose position is controlled by computer operated stepping motors. The current through the aperture to a collector electrode is measured using a sample-and-hold amplifier. Pulsing and sampling are computer synchronized with the scanning, and data for each pulse are accumulated and can be processed and displayed in several ways using the computer, including a detailed “three-dimensional” map of either the electron emission density or work function variations. The entire surface of the cathode or any portion of it can be mapped in steps as small as 0.001 mm (1μm), but typically steps of 5–100 μm were used. Measurements are presented illustrating the uniformity or nonuniformity of the electron emission densities and work functions for type-B and type-M cathodes. |
