TWT efficiency enhancement with textured carbon surfaces on copper MDC electrodesA method of improving the efficiency of multistage depressed collectors (MDC's) for traveling-wave tubes (TWT's) has been demonstrated at the NASA Lewis Research Center. A significant increase in MDC efficiency was brought about by the application of a thin layer of highly-textured carbon to the surfaces of oxygen-free, high-conductivity (OFHC) copper collector electrodes in an experimental TWT. The textured carbon layer was applied by means of a NASA developed sputtering procedure. In an experimental investigation recently completed, this electrode surface modification resulted in an increase in MDC efficiency by as much as 8.6 percentage points relative to that of the same MDC with untreated copper electrode surfaces. This increase in MDC efficiency was reflected by an increase in overall TWT efficiency by as much as 5.4 percentage points.
Document ID
19860064879
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Curren, A. N. (NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Ramins, P. (NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)