An Investigation of Breakdown Voltage in AMTECs

摘要

Experiments are conducted to investigate the DC electrical breakdown voltage in cesium vapor between two planner molybdenum electrodes, 1.6 cm in diameter, separated by a 0.5 mm gap, and relate the results to the potential electrical breakdown on the cathode side of Alkali Metal Thermal-to-Electric Converters (AMTECs). In the first set of experiments, in which the electrodes are kept at 560 and 650 K, while varying the cesium pressure from 0.71 to 29 Pa, when the cooler electrode is positively biased, breakdown occurs at ～ 500 V, but at 700 V when the cooler electrode is negatively biased. In the second set of experiments, in which the electrodes are held at 625 and 1100 K and the cesium pressure varied from 1.7 to 235 Pa, when the cooler electrode is positively biased, breakdown voltage is < 4 V, but in excess of 400 V when the cooler electrode is negatively biased. Since the first ionization potential and the ionization rate constant of cesium are lower and higher, respectively, than for the sodium (5.14 V) and potassium (4.34 V) vapors in AMTECs, the DC electrical breakdown voltage in an AMTEC is expected to be higher than measured in this work for cesium vapor.