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Ross A Douglas. Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, IFGW, Unicamp, 13.081, Campinas, S.P., Brazil
A study was made of forced oscillations in an Orbitron produced by the application of a radio frequency
modulation voltage to the cathode. The results are interpreted on the basis of a model in which the electrons
move in orbits around the anode. The model predicts the frequencies of the various modes and how they
depend on the Orbitron parameters. Reasonably good agreement is obtained with this model.
1. introduction
2. The Orbitron
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The anode, consisting of a stretched copper wire of 0.1 cm
diameter, and the cathode, a stainless steel cylinder of 7.96 cm Figure 1. The experimental arrangement of the Orbitron.
internal diameter, were mounted on a steel table in a vacuum
bell jar. The anode was maintained at a voltage (V.) of
typically +300 V. The electron source was a small tungsten
are modulated around this potential by an external rf sweep
filament mounted on tantalum supports (Figure 1) and typi-
generator (50 kHz-65 MHz). The current collected by the
cally held at +3 V (V,). The end plates served as electrostatic
cathode was measured with an electrometer. The system was
mirrors for electron reflection at the extremities of the Or-
diffusion pumped and reached 10m4Pa.
bitron. The cathode was divided into three parts, which permit-
ted modulation and/or current collection in three regions along
3. The theoretical model
the axis of the Orbitron. The end plates and the cathode parts
are usually maintained at ground potential except when they Electron trajectories were calculated for a purely logarithmic
potential by Hooverman4. Feidt’ extended these calculations to
include the distortion of the potential by the electron emitter.
*This work was supported by PADCT-FINEP, and FAPESP. These authors showed that the type of orbit obtained depends
TScholarship from CNPq. on how the electron is launched, which can be specified by such
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J C Thomaz Jr et al: Forced oscillations in the Orbitron
0
orbits and be collected by the cathode. Normally the cathode ® ®
15.00-
collects the positive ions produced by the electron bombard-
ment of the residual gas molecules in the Orbitron. Thus the
• , * Exp.
resonance condition is observed by a decrease in the cathode ++ ~ t~ti¢ol
-
current which may become negative if the number of electrons ~0.00
(2n~1)= 3
A a A exp.
collected is sufficiently great. Since all electrons (except those in A •
tion, the area of the resonance should be large in comparison 5,00 - (2n-l) = 5
field is shaped so as to produce electron reflections in the axial ,4.00 ,45o 15.oo ,~5o ls.oo ~.5o
direction. In the region of the filament the field does not (volts)
possess angular symmetry. Modulations applied in these re- Figure 3. The variation of the frequencies of the principal modes of
gions are expected to excite various types of oscillations so that forced oscillations as a function of the square root of the anode
the resonance spectrum will be complex. voltage.
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J C Thomaz Jr et al: Forced oscillations in the Orbitron
measure of the importance of space charge changes to the periodicities. The observed dependence of these frequencies on
distortion of the logarithmic potential. The resonance frequen- the parameters of the Orbitron is in agreement with the predic-
cies decrease by about 5% as the emission current increases tions of the orbit theory.
from 10 to 40 #A. This weak dependence shows that space
charge changes were relatively unimportant in the range of References
Orbitron parameters investigated here. I R A Douglas, J Zabritski and R G Herb, Rev Scient Instrum, 36, 1
(1965).
5. Conclusions 2 S J Troise, Oscila~res de Radio-Frequrncia no Orbitron, thesis,
University of Silo Paulo (1970).
Forced oscillations resulting from a voltage modulation of the 3 C V Speller, Um Estudo de Oscila~;6esForqadas no Orbitron, thesis,
cathode potential have been observed in an Orbitron in the University of Brasilia (1975).
4 R H Hooverman, J Appl Phys, 34, 3505 (1963).
form of resonant-like structures in the current collected by the 5 M L Feidt, Contribution a l'Etude des Conditions de Fonctionnement
cathode. These structures are interpreted as the result of the d'une Pompe Ionique a Champ Electrostatique Radial, thesis, Univer-
expansion of electron orbits due to their radial or angular sity of Nancy (1972).
2034