US2084725A - Gas-filled discharge tube - Google Patents

Gas-filled discharge tube Download PDF

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Publication number
US2084725A
US2084725A US650572A US65057233A US2084725A US 2084725 A US2084725 A US 2084725A US 650572 A US650572 A US 650572A US 65057233 A US65057233 A US 65057233A US 2084725 A US2084725 A US 2084725A
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United States
Prior art keywords
discharge
anode
current
tube
wall
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Expired - Lifetime
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US650572A
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English (en)
Inventor
Dallenbach Walter
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MEAF Machinerieen en Apparaten Fabrieken NV
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MEAF Machinerieen en Apparaten Fabrieken NV
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J17/00—Gas-filled discharge tubes with solid cathode
    • H01J17/02—Details
    • H01J17/04—Electrodes; Screens
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J25/00—Transit-time tubes, e.g. klystrons, travelling-wave tubes, magnetrons
    • H01J25/68—Tubes specially designed to act as oscillator with positive grid and retarding field, e.g. for Barkhausen-Kurz oscillators

Definitions

  • discharge-tubes ii filled with rarefied gases show with an increase of the current intensity a decrease of the drop of potential across the tube and again an increase in the case of very high current intensities.
  • Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the current potential characteristic of the tubes.
  • Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the tube according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a modification of the invention employing a' plurality of openings.
  • Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section of another vmodification of the invention employing a merminimum at B and increases from this point.
  • the object of the present invention therefore is to show a. discharge-tube with rarefied gasor vapour-content for producing, amplifying or receiving high frequency oscillations in which the path of the discharge between anode 15 and cathode is interrupted by a wall having an opening therein restricting the cross-section of the discharge, the wall cutting oil a space adjacent to the active surface of the anode from the rest of the interior of the tube, the tube being worked by current intensities which show in the space adjacent to the active surface of the anode an increasing drop of potential with increasing current intensity.
  • Fi 2 shows a'form of embodiment of the in- 25 vention.
  • I is the glass-wall of the vacuum discharge-tube, 2 the incandescent filament, 3 the anode, l a case or wall of a conducting, solid metal, preferably of copper which surrounds the anode from all sides and being isolated in a suit- 30 able way from the anode.
  • the walls of this case are placed very close to the anode because according to the invention it is necessary to obtain an impoverishment of ions inside this special space and this impoverishment is the more intensive the smaller this space is chosen; on the other hand, the smaller the space, the hotter it becomes. It has been found that a distance of about 1 mm. from the anode is suitable.
  • an opening 5 is provided as an aperture of any. suitable shape preferably being circular-shaped and having a diameter of 0,5-10 mm. preferably 3mm. in such a way that the surface of the 4r cross-section of the aperture is about 0,2- mm ⁇ , preferably 7 mm.
  • the diameter of the aperture is selected to be of the order of the mean free path lengths of the electrons in the gas filled tube.
  • 6 is the part of the space adjacent to the active surface at the anode which space is separated from the interior of the tube by means of the device provided with the aperture.
  • the'tube according to the invention is working on the rising branch of the characteristic it is possible to put a plurality of apertures or the like in front of the anode in such a way that at the same anode several paralleled discharges simultaneously exist.
  • FIG. 1 stead of an aperture 5 three apertures 5a are shown which because of the positive characteristics are able to carry simultaneously parallel to each other a current.
  • the term positive characteristic is used to signify the increase of the potential with the current as shown by the line B, C, D of the curve in Fig. 1.
  • the metal case 4 of Fig. 2 is replaced in Fig. 3 by a screen 4la with apertures 5a, the screen being either tightly molten with the glass-wall of the tube or, as shown in the figure, fitting to the wall by a narrow gap.
  • the vacuum discharge-tube may be filled by the following gases or vapours: a monatomic gas, a metal vapour, especially mercury vapour or a mixture of different monatomic gases and metal vapours. Especially mercury-vapour is advantageously used.
  • the emission of electrons travelling from the aperture to the active surface of the anode must result in the space lying between the anode and the aperture in relatively few ionizing collisions with the gasor vapour-content. It is especially advantageous that the electron emission from the aperture to the active surface of the anode amounts only to several mean free electron path-lengths in the rarefied gasor vapourcontent.
  • the emission travelling from the aperture to the active surface of the anode is indicated by l in Figs; 2 and 3.
  • the ionization and migration of the charge vehicles amount'to a multiple of the values in the remainder of the discharge chamber.
  • This concentration takes place at the wall by reason of the high current density formed by the constriction of the discharge path. Accordingly, with the increasing current, a progressively greater part of the available voltage is consumed at the wall.
  • the gas volume immediately adjacent the wall can thereby be so powerfully ionized and the charge vehicle formed by impact from the neutral gas molecules can as a result of stronger fields be carried off so rapidly as to produce a paucity ofgas molecules and charge vehicles which are primarily ions. This is at once clear when it is considered that the diffusion rate or speed of theneutral gas molecules newly arrived from the portions of the tube remote from the aperture amounts to a small fraction 10- 40 of the speed of the ions in the field.
  • the anode potential naturally rises and falls with the positive increase and disappearance of the space charges in front of the anode.
  • the potential at the tube is thus combined of a direct potential and a high frequency alternating potential component.
  • the cathode of the vacuum discharge-tube may be either a mercury-cathode or an incandescent filament of any construction.
  • the term order of the mean free path lengths means any distance that, in the operation of the gas tube, has the same operative effect as the mean free path itself. That is to say, the relation of the diameter of the aperture to the mean free path length must be such as will produce the vacuum bubble referred to above.
  • the new tube isespeciall isuitable for the production of very short electric waves such as ultra- 15' high frequency waves.
  • FIG. 4 shows the same constructional form as Fig. 3 except that a mercury cathode 8 is provided instead of an incandescent cathode.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a cathode and an ionizable medium of suflicient pressure as to be adapted to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are applied to the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes, said wall having an opening therein which is in cross section a fraction of thecross section of the remainder of the discharge space and being spaced away from said anode a distance in the order of the mean free path lengths of the electrons, whereby the discharge path is constricted at said opening to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said opening causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop in the vessel increases with increase of current.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a cathode, an ionizable medium of suflicient pressure as to be adapted to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are applied to the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes, said wall-having a plurality of openings therein, each opening having a diameter which is of the order of the magnitude of the mean free path length of the electrohsywhereby the discharge path is constricted at said openings to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said openings causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop in. the vessel increases with increase of current.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a mercury cathode and an ionizable medium of sumcient pressure as to be adapted 'to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are applied to the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes,
  • said wall having an opening therein the diameter of which is. of the order of the magnitude of the mean free path length of the electrons whereby the discharge path is constricted at said opening to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said opening causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop in the vessel increases with increase of current.
  • An electric dischargetube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a cathode, adapted to be maintained in incandescent state, a rare gas filling of suflicient pressure as to be adapted to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when the potentials are applied to'the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes, said wall having an opening therein the diameter of which is-of the order of the magnitude of the mean free path lengthof the electrons whereby the discharge path is constricted at said opening to a fraction of.the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said opening causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop in the vessel'increases with increase of current.
  • An electric discharge tube for the produc tion of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, 'an anode, a cathode adapted to be maintained in incandescent state, an ionizable medium of suiiicient pressure as to be adapted to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are applied tothe latter, a housing electrically encompassing said anode, said housing having anopening in the side toward the cathode, said opening havinga diameter which is of the order of the magnitude of the mean free path length of the electrons whereby the discharge path is constricted at said opening'to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said opening causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop in the vessel increases with increase of current.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequencyoscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a mercury cathode and an ionizable medium of suflicient pressure as to be adapted to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are ap-' plied to the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes, said wall having a plurality of openings therein, each opening having a diameter which is of the order of the magnitude of the mean free path length of the electrons whereby the discharge path-is constricted at said openings to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path and the prevailing current density of said discharge adjacent said openings causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop of the vessel increases with increase of current.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a cathode adapted to be maintained in incandescent state, an ionizable medium of suiiicient pressure to maintain an arc discharge between said electrodes when potentials are applied to the latter, a separating wall between said electrodes, said wall having an opening therein the diameter oi.' which is of the order of the magnitude of the mean Iree path length of the electrons, whereby the discharge path is constricted at said opening to a fraction of the remainder of the discharge path, and the prevailing current density oi said discharge adjacent said opening causes a periodic paucity of ions whereby the potential drop inthe vessel increases with increase of current, and whereby an oscillatory circuit may be coupled with said tube for utilization of oscillations produced within said vessel.
  • An electric discharge tube for the production of high frequency oscillations comprising a closed vessel, an anode, a cathode, an ionizable medium of suflicient pressure as to be adapted tomaintain an arc discharge 1 between said electrodes when potentials'are"ap plied tothe latter, a separating wall between said, electrodes,
  • said wall having a plurality of openings therein,- .each opening having a diameter which is of the order of the magnitude of the mean freepath length of the electrons, whereby the discharge path is constricted at said openings to a frac- WALTER. DA'LLENBACH.

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US650572A 1932-03-03 1933-01-06 Gas-filled discharge tube Expired - Lifetime US2084725A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE404455X 1932-03-03

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US2084725A true US2084725A (en) 1937-06-22

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US (1) US2084725A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR748152A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB404455A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL40381C (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2431136A (en) * 1940-12-02 1947-11-18 Hartford Nat Bank & Trust Co Electric discharge device
US2520218A (en) * 1943-03-06 1950-08-29 Hartford Nat Bank & Trust Co Gas-filled rectifying tube
US2522871A (en) * 1945-03-09 1950-09-19 Rca Corp Mercury arc oscillator circuits
US2770752A (en) * 1952-01-26 1956-11-13 Electrons Inc Insulated shielding structure for gaseous discharge tube
US3409793A (en) * 1949-06-25 1968-11-05 Raytheon Co Gas-filled discharge device having a grid with an element particularly spaced from the cathode

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2431136A (en) * 1940-12-02 1947-11-18 Hartford Nat Bank & Trust Co Electric discharge device
US2520218A (en) * 1943-03-06 1950-08-29 Hartford Nat Bank & Trust Co Gas-filled rectifying tube
US2522871A (en) * 1945-03-09 1950-09-19 Rca Corp Mercury arc oscillator circuits
US3409793A (en) * 1949-06-25 1968-11-05 Raytheon Co Gas-filled discharge device having a grid with an element particularly spaced from the cathode
US2770752A (en) * 1952-01-26 1956-11-13 Electrons Inc Insulated shielding structure for gaseous discharge tube

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB404455A (en) 1934-01-18
FR748152A (fr) 1933-06-29
NL40381C (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

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