Current-voltage characteristics of underneutralized Knudsen thermionic converters with electron emission from the collector

Calculations of the potential distribution(4) are used to study the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of unneutralized Knudsen thermionic converters with unlimited electron emission from the collector. It is shown that the optimum work function of the collector satisfies the condition of unlimited emission. The effect of a number of characteristic parameters of a converter on its I-V characteristics are studied: the degree of neutralization, the ratio of the emitter and collector temperatures, and the work functions of the emitter and collector. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(99)00504-8].