HYSTERESIS AND SELF-SUSTAINED OSCILLATIONS IN SPACE-CHARGE LIMITED CURRENTS

A problem of charged particle flow between parallel plate electrodes w ith arbitrary injection velocities is revisited. A steady-state analys is is advanced by the kinetic simulations which show that the system u nder consideration can exhibit features characteristic of nonlinear dy namical systems. In particular, a hysteresis between supply limited an d space charge limited currents is demonstrated as well as the existen ce of self-sustained oscillations in the space charge limited regime. These phenomena are most sharply pronounced for narrow distributions o f the initial injection energies. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physi cs.