SBIR Phase II: Investigation of Ferroelectric Materials with Properties Optimized for Electron Emission

这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目的动机是最近的研究表明，使用针对传感器应用进行优化的商业铁电材料的铁电阴极可以在50万伏特下产生超过30安培/平方厘米的电流密度，并且可以维持发射脉冲（5万伏特）超过2微秒的时间。在第一期项目中，制备和测试了用于阴极的优化铁电材料，并确定了有前途的材料进行进一步的测试和优化。第二阶段项目的目标是展示一种铁电材料，其发射特性和寿命符合工业定义的要求，可用于商业电子管的阴极。第二阶段的研究将包括两万伏特的阴极测试，每秒数百次脉冲，1微秒，根据大小、能量和发射度对铁电阴极产生的电子束进行表征，并在电子管制造商的设施中对阴极进行商业操作条件下的验证测试。预计这些测试将证明在该项目下开发的铁电阴极材料用于商业电子管的有效性。阴极用于各种各样的微波管。应用包括雷达、通信、无线电和电视传输、用于医疗、废物处理、环境和研究的加速器。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project was motivated by recent research demonstrating that ferroelectric cathodes using commercial ferroelectric materials that were optimized for transducer applications can produce current densities in excess of 30 Amperes per square centimeter at 500,000 Volts, and can sustain an emission pulse (at 50,000 Volts) for a time in excess of 2 microseconds. Under the Phase I project ferroelectric materials optimized for use as cathodes were fabricated and tested, and promising materials were identified for further testing and optimization. The objective of the Phase II project will be to demonstrate a ferroelectric material with emission characteristics and lifetime meeting industry-defined requirements for application as a cathode in a commercial electron tube. Phase II research willinclude cathode testing at 20,000 volts, 1 microsecond with hundreds of pulses per second, characterization of the electron beam produced by the ferroelectric cathode according to size, energy and emittance, and validation testing of the cathode at an electron tube manufacturer's facility under commercial operating conditions. It is anticipated that these tests will demonstrate the efficacy of the ferroelectric cathode materials developed under this project for use in commercial electron tubes.Cathodes are used in a wide variety of microwave tubes. Applications include radar, communications, radio and TV transmission, accelerators for medical, waste treatment, environmental and research applications.