Hobetron current regulating switch tube

Summary form only given. This paper describes a novel high power electron tube that can hold off voltages up to hundreds of kilovolts, and switch hundreds of amps of current. We call the device the "Hobetron" since it utilizes a hollow electron beam. Unlike magnetron injection gun (MIG) switch tubes, it does not require a magnet. Further, it uses nonintercepting control elements, and a dispenser cathode for long life and reliability. Finally, it features a double walled Faraday cage collector for high power dissipation capability. Current is very tightly controlled against changes in voltage across the switch (it is an almost perfect pentode), thus this tube is ideally suited for direct series switching applications. In the paper, various Hobetron designs, and the computer codes and methods used to create them, will be described.