HIGH FREQUENCY TUNNEL DEVICE STUDY.
Abstract
In our earlier reports it was postulated that the increase and subsequent decline of the vacuum emission, as the device is operated, might be due to the agglomeration of the counterelectrode. We now believe that, while agglomeration may occur, it is of relatively minor importance. The increase in emission accompanies an increase in the sandwich current and is due principally to the same causes. The decline in emission in the later stages of life has been accounted for by the decline in the actual voltage across the sandwich resulting from the IR drop in the counterelectrode as the sandwich current increases. If the sandwich voltage is maintained at a constant value, the emission current will remain relatively constant until the end of life. DC life tests have been performed upon a large number of devices, and the results were plotted as the logarithm of the sandwich and emission currents densities against the logarithm of time. The current transferred through the thin insulator films, operated with a constant applied voltage, typically rises in the early stages of life, similar to the effect observed by Meyerhofer and Ochsin BeO. The hypothesis that this is due to a change in the barrier is strengthened by the behavior of the voltage dependence of the emission current as a function of time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0610781
Entities
People
- A. Starr
- S. R. Steele
Organizations
- RTX