Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems – Cathode ray tube circuits – Combined cathode ray tube and circuit element structure
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-15
2003-06-24
Lee, Benny T. (Department: 2817)
Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems
Cathode ray tube circuits
Combined cathode ray tube and circuit element structure
C315S005370, C315S005330, C315S039300, C313S309000, C313S351000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06583567
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electron tube device, more particularly to an electron tube device mounted with a cold cathode having an electron gun which uses a cold cathode provided with an array of field emitters as an election source, and a method of impressing voltages on electrodes of the electron tube device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Collision of positive ions with the cold cathode is one of the reasons for cathode degradation in an electron tube that uses the cold cathode as an electron source. Positive ions are generated when beam collide with an electrode such as a collector electrode or an accelerating electrode having electric potential higher than that of the emitters or the residual gas in an electron tube. Since generated positive ions tend to proceed in the direction of lower electric potential, some of the ions proceed toward the cold cathode. When these positive ions collide with a cold cathode emitter, the emitter is deformed. The beam current from the cold cathode is highly sensitive to deformation of the shape of the emitter. The beam current can be easily changed, or degraded, by altering the shape of the emitter. The degradation of characteristics of a cold cathode caused by collision of positive ions is remarkably larger than in a hot cathode. Therefore, in an electron tube having a cold cathode as an electron source, degradation of characteristics proceeds rapidly.
In order to prevent the degradation characteristic in a cold cathode, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 63489/97, an electron tube mounted with a cold cathode of this kind has hitherto been provided with a mechanism which prevents the degradation of the cold cathode caused by collision against the cold cathode by positive ions generated on the collector electrode side.
FIGS. 1A and 1B
show an example of a structure of an electron tube mounted with a cold cathode disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 63489/97. In close proximity to cold cathode
11
, which is used for emitting electron beam e, there is provided Wehnelt electrode
12
, with accelerating electrode
13
, ion trap electrode
14
and collector electrode
15
also provided. In cold cathode
11
, for example, a part of which is shown in an enlarged view in
FIG. 1B
, a number of needle-shaped emitters
22
are regularly disposed on the surface of silicon substrate
21
, and gate electrodes
24
are disposed each having gate hole
23
which is disposed in front of and near the top of the emitter
22
corresponding to each emitter. Gate electrode
24
is composed of a metallic thin film and disposed on substrate
21
through insulation layer
25
. When the electron tube is operated, as shown in
FIG. 1A
, a control voltage in a range of 0± several volts is applied from gate power supply
31
to gate electrode
24
against cold cathode
11
. Further, a negative voltage of several hundred V is given to Wehnelt electrode
12
from Wehnelt power supply
32
, and a positive accelerating voltage of several kV is impressed on accelerating electrode
13
from power supply
33
. Further, a negative voltage of several hundred V against collector electrode
15
is applied from power supply
35
to ion trap electrode
14
.
The operation of the electron tube device mounted with the cold cathode will next be described. By controlling gate electrode
24
to the proper electric potential, electrons are emitted from the top of each emitter
22
and radiated in the direction of collector electrode
15
passing through each corresponding gate hole
23
with the acceleration potential generated by accelerating electrode
13
. At this time, positive ions generated in collector electrode
15
have a tendency to proceed in the direction of a cathode of low electric potential (direction of ion trap electrode
14
). However, since the electric potential of accelerating electrode
13
is sufficiently high, positive ions are repelled by means of the electric potential of the accelerating electrode
13
and acquired by ion trap electrode
14
. Therefore, positive ions can hardly reach cold cathode
11
and hence deterioration of the cold cathode can be prevented.
Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 192638/95, there are disclosed conditions that prevent deterioration of a cathode caused by the collision of positive ions against the cathode in a traveling waye tube device which is one of electron tube devices mounted with cold cathodes, the positive ions being generated in a slow wave circuit or the collector electrode side of the traveling wave tube device.
FIG. 2
shows an example of a structure of the traveling wave tube disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 192638/95. A traveling wave tube is an electron tube which amplifies a microwave by utilizing the interaction between the electron beam and the microwave, and has slow wave circuit
2
which makes the electron beam and the microwave interact between an electron gun and a collector electrode (not shown). The electron gun includes cathode
10
, Wehnelt electrode
12
, accelerating electrode
13
and ion barrier electrode
16
. If a beam current is denoted as Io (A), a beam radius ro (m), the inside diameter of ion barrier electrode
16
rib (m), electric potential of slow wave circuit
2
Vo (V), the inside diameter rib and the electric potential Vib of ion barrier electrode
16
are determined so that they can satisfy the following relationship.
Vo
<
Vib
-
aI0
Vib
[
2
log
rib
ro
+
1
]
&agr;=1.515×10
4
(
V
3/2
/A
)
According to the present invention, the ion barrier electrode can prevent ions from reaching the cathode by always forming a surface of high electric potential which can prevent the generation of positive ions to caused in a slow wave circuit or the collector electrode side, that is, a barrier. The patent has no description with reference to a cold cathode, but it is also applicable to a traveling wave tube mounted with a cold cathode.
In this way, a mechanism is proposed which can prevent the deterioration of the characteristics of a cathode caused by collision of a cathode with positive ions generated in a collector electrode or a slow wave circuit other than an electron gun.
In an electron gun using a hot cathode as an electron source, the maximum emission current to be obtained from the electron gun is determined by the Langmuir-Child law. In other words, according to the Langmuir-Child law, the maximum emission current is determined by the product of a coefficient inevitably determined by the electron gun structure (hereinafter called a perveance) and 3/2 power of the accelerating electrode voltage.
On the other hand, in the electron gun using a cold cathode as the electron source, the emission current is necessarily determined by the gate electrode impressed voltage and does not satisfy the above Langmuir-Child law. Consequently, when a cold cathode is used as the electron source, a beam current in excess of the product of an electron gun perveance determined by the structure of the electron gun and 3/2 power of the accelerating electrode voltage can be removed from the cathode.
In this case, when the beam current emits electrons from the cathode under an operating condition exceeding the operating conditions of a space charge restriction region indicated by the product of the perveance of the electron gun and 3/2 power of the accelerating electrode voltage, there is a problem that electric charges in excess of the electric charges allowed by the electron gun structure will exist in the space in the vicinity of the cathode. Particularly, an array of cold cathodes composed of two or more emitters form a domain where electron density becomes high within the region in which electrons emitted from neighboring emitters interact. That is, in a cold cathode composed of a single emitter, the beam current receives only space charge restrictions formed in the extreme vicinity of the emitter surface. Electrons which override the space cha
Imura Hironori
Makishima Hideo
Tsuida Shunji
Lee Benny T.
NEC Microwave Tube, Ltd.
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