Carbon Nanotube Based Anode for High Power Microwave Systems

摘要

High power microwave tubes are used for both civilian and military applications. Due to the power requirement, tremendous amounts of electrons (up to 100A/cm2) are extracted from the cathodes and bombard on the anodes with very high kinetic energy. Overheating, out-gassing, and formation of secondary electrons of the anode cause serious problems. Preliminary results at the AFRL suggest that carbon coating can reduce SE. We investigated the effect of carbon nanotube (CNT) coating on the anode surface. Initial experiments show that CNT is more efficient in absorbing SE compared to the reference metal at low energy. Further experiments are required to study and understand the effect at high energy.