Operating Modes of Magnetron Auxiliary Cathode

In this paper, theoretical investigations of the auxiliary cathode operation in magnetrons with secondary-emission cold cathode have been performed. It is shown that in the current magnetron design, the emission current of the auxiliary cathode depends on the temperature. It is also shown that a spatial-charge limited emission regime of the auxiliary cathode operation can be realized by introducing some changes to the magnetron design. Basing on the obtained results, a modification of the auxiliary cathode design is proposed. This modification provides the limitation of the auxiliary cathode emission by the spatial-charge, and, therefore, eliminates the temperature dependence of the emission current.