New method for determining the thermoemission nonuniformity parameters of cathode materials for microwave devices

A new method developed here for studying the thermoemission nonuniformity parameters of cathode materials makes it possible to determine the temperature dependences of the average size of the thermoemission centers on the cathode surface, the average distance between thermoemission centers, the relative area of the emission-active surface of the cathodes, and the true value of the work function for emissionactive centers on the cathode surface by processing the current–voltage characteristics. The method is tested on nickel oxide, agglomerated nickel oxide, and impregnated cathodes.