Investigation of thermionic emission from an oxide cathode with a substrate made of a solid oxygen-containing electrolyte
Abstract
The application of a solid oxygen-containing electrolyte (SOCE) of ZrO2-Y2O3 composition as the substrate of a thermionically emitting oxide layer is investigated experimentally. It is shown that, when voltage is applied to the covering of the electrolyte crystal, the oxide layer is activated at a temperature 100-200 C lower than is the case for oxide on a conventional metal base; and the emission current is 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than in the case of the conventional base. It is suggested that an application of a negative potential to the upper covering of the SOCE induces the formation of oxygen donor-vacancies in the bulk of the emission coating due to the displacement of oxygen atoms from this bulk to the electrolyte crystal. This points to the dominant role of the bulk of the layer in the formation of the thermionic capacity of the cathode.
- Publication:
-
Radiotekhnika i Elektronika
- Pub Date:
- March 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985RaEl...30..592P
- Keywords:
-
- Cathodes;
- Current Density;
- Solid Electrolytes;
- Thermionic Emission;
- Yttrium Oxides;
- Zirconium Oxides;
- Donor Materials;
- Electric Potential;
- Oxide Films;
- Substrates;
- Vacancies (Crystal Defects);
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering