Experimental investigation of current modulation in a planar Cs-Ba tacitron

The Cs-Ba tacitron is being considered as a switch, or as an inverter consisting of two switches operating in a push-pull mode, for power conditioning of low voltage/high current dc power sources operating in high radiation/high temperature environment, beyond the limits of semiconductor switches. This paper presents new experimental results delineating the effect of the various operating parameters on the grid potential needed for ignition, V_g⁺, and extinguishing, V_g^-, during stable current modulation of a planar Cs-Ba tacitron. Parameters investigated are Cs pressure, emitter temperature, T_E, discharge current, I_C , and modulation frequency, f_g. The value of V_g ⁺, which is independent of T_E, decreases as Cs pressure increases, but increases as either I_C or f_g increases. Increasing the emitter temperature from 1100-1200°C only slightly decreases the forward voltage drop in the device by ~0.2 V. The value of |V_g^-| increases with Cs pressure, decreases with increased T_E, and is sensitive to changes in fg. At I_C=5 A, the value of |V_g ^-| for stable modulation shows a maximum between 8 kHz and 10 kHz. The Cs pressure, I_C, fg, and V_g⁺ all affect the ignition delay time; depending on the operating conditions, it increases from 5-30 μs to an equilibrium value of 10-45 μs during the first 2 ms in the pulse train