M-type dispenser cathode accelerated life testing within a pierce gun configuration

摘要

Accelerated cathode life testing results are presented for M-type dispenser cathodes operating over the last two years. Emission activity curves have been taken for various cathode loadings up to 10.7 A/cm^{^2 on a monthly basis over the course of the experiment. Temperature limited to full space charge limited transition region knee temperature has been tracked over time. An attempt is made to predict end of life based on resultant trends.}