MODELING THE EXTENDED SCHOTTKY CATHODE BY A BOUNDARY-ELEMENT METHOD

A boundary element method has been used to analyze electron emission f rom an extended Schottky cathode, consisting of an infinitely long arr ay of parallel heated wires, Space charge was ignored, It was found th at the current density may be expressed by a Richardson-Duschman equat ion in which the argument of the exponential term is corrected by an a dditive factor, Q, which is a function of temperature, wire radius, wi re separation, and voltage, Over the range of temperatures, wire radii , and voltages examined, Q is a nearly linear function of the square r oot of the applied voltage, Tentative agreement with experiment was fo und.