Cold Cathode Glow Discharge Tubes, GF Weston 1968
Grahame
Another book scanned by Martin Forsberg. All thanks to
him!
!!!THE BOOK!!!
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Grahame
PREFACE
Cold cathode glow discharge tubes are not new, they have
evolved over the
years from the early neon glow lamp, alongside the
thermionic valve, to find
application as indicators, voltage stabilisers, and as
switches in low-current
control circuits. Technical improvements and added
sophistication of design
in modern tubes have widened their application, and even in
the face of
competition from semiconductor devices, which have
virtually superseded
the vacuum tube, the cold cathode tube offers a versatile
and reliable active
element useful for control and computing applications where
the highest
speeds are not essential.
Most of the newer tubes have been designed to operate with
transistor
circuits. In general they are cheaper than either
semiconductor devices or
vacuum tubes, and in some applications they can perform
functions which
would require complex circuitry were alternative devices to
be used. They
have a long operational life with the added advantages of
light output (useful
for servicing purposes), and the ability to withstand
severe overloads. For
read-out and display purposes no satisfactory semiconductor
alternative as
yet exists.
However, although cold cathode tubes are simple in design
and construction,
satisfactory use by the engineer requires a deeper
knowledge of their
mechanism and behaviour than perhaps is required for
thermionic vacuum
tubes or semiconductors. For example, far more attention
has to be paid in
designing circuits to the tolerances and life stability of
cold cathode tubes
than for other devices. This is mainly due to the fact that
for valves and
semiconductors, which have continuous and reversible
control characteristics,
the wide variations within the tube and circuit can be
compensated for by
negative feedback, whereas for cold cathode tubes with
discontinuous
characteristics no such compensation can be provided. Thus
the engineer
must be familiar with the parameters and circuit techniques
peculiar to this
class of device if full advantage is to be taken of its
inherent reliability and
economy.
A much wider use could be made of cold cathode tubes if the
relevant
knowledge were more readily available. Unfortunately,
whereas there are
numerous publications dealing with thermionic and
semiconductor devices
and related circuit techniques, there is a dearth of
information on cold
cathode tubes. ln fact the circuit engineer relies almost
exclusively on the
manufacturer promoting the tubes for the necessary
information to enable
him to employ successfully the tube in his equipment. On
this point it is
noticeable the extent to which cold cathode tubes of all
types are employed
in Europe, where the manufacturing companies are most
active, compare d
with the United States where, apart from numerical
indicators, they are
hardly ever used.
The main aim of this book, therefore, is to present
comprehensive information
for the electronic engineer on the underlying physics of
the glow discharge,
on the design, construction, and performance of a wide
range of
cold cathode tubes, and on the basic circuits and their
applications. lt is
hoped that by so doing the engineer will be helped to a
better understanding
of the devices and will be enabled to make more use of
their potentialities.
The first five chapters of the book deal with that part of
gas-discharge
physics which is pertinent to cold cathode glow discharge
tubes. The subject
is dealt with in more detail than is strictly necessary for
understanding the
devices, but is aimed at bridging the gulf between the
fundamental gasdischarge
research being carried out in the universities and similar
establishments,
and the more applied physics and empirical data used by the
tube
designer. Chapter 1 deals with ionisation in the gas and
secondary emission
mechanism at the cathode, represented by the Townsend first
and second
coefficients respectively. The two processes together are
responsible for the
electron multiplication in the gas, which dictates the
values of the potential
required for initiating a glow discharge (breakdown
potential) and the
potential at which it is self-sustained (maintaining
potential). Detailed and
up-to-date data on the Townsend coefficients are given for
the inert gases
and cathode materials common to commercially available
tubes. The effects
of electric field and gas pressure are discussed. In
Chapter 2 a survey is made
of the breakdown mechanism and characteristics of a glow
discharge in the
light of Chapter 1 , together with published empirical
results. The self-sustained
discharge is similarly dealt with in Chapter 3. In these
two chapters
emphasis is laid on low pressure discharges, i.e. pressures
below atmospheric,
and in the case of the self-sustained discharge the
cathode-fall zone is mainly
dealt with. Chapter 4 is devoted to cathodic sputtering,
the removal of
cathode material by the impinging ions, since it plays an
important rote in
the processing and performance of cold cathode tubes.
Account is given of
the work at low pressures or in a vacuum and on the various
theories, as
weil as information on sputtering in the glow discharge. In
Chapter 5, the
temporal growth and decay of a glow dischargc is discussed.
These time
effects are important when considering the specd at which
cold cathode tubes
can be switched.
Although the gas discharge physics dealt with in these
first chapters is
limited in scope, being only that part which is relevant to
cold cathode tubes,
nevertheless within this limitation the subject has been
treated fairly thoroughly
with full bibliography and including unpublishcd work from
the
Author's laboratory. lt is thus hoped that it will prove a
useful refercnce
source for the physicist or design cngineer engaged on the
developmcnt and
manufacture of cold cathode tubes or similar devices, and
be a complementary
book for the advanced student reading gas discharge
physics.
In the four remaining chapters of the book a wide range of
tube types is
described. Attention is drawn to the basis for their design
in tcrms of the
parameters discussed in the earlier chapters, and details
are given of construction,
processing, and performance. In this the author has been
fortunate
in being able to draw upon the experience and knowledge of
the various
development and application laboratories of the
Philips/Mullard organisation,
and to present considerable previously unpublished
information. Basic
circuits, most of which have been tested in the associated
applications
laboratories are given and applications are described. The
chapters are
classified according to tube types; Chapter 6 deals with
stabilisers and
reference tubes, including corona tubes, Chapter 7 with
switching diodes and
trigger tubes, Chapter 8 with stepping tubes, and Chapter 9
with display
tubes. Other tubes which might equally be classed as cold
cathode glow
discharge tubes, such as Geiger counters, T.R. cells and
spark gaps have
been omitted, as have cold cathode arc-discharge tubes,
since they are of
different character requiring a rather different approach.
Although cross-reference between chapters occurs in some
places, attempt
has been made to keep each chapter self-contained, so that
the engineer
desiring information on a particular device can obtain a
detailed account of
the tube and its circuit application without having to read
earlier chapters.
The author gratefully acknowledges the co-operation and
encouragement
of his colleagues in the research and in the development
laboratories. He is
particularly indebted to Dr. R. F. Hall who read the
manuscript and made
many useful suggestions and corrected a number of errors.
Mullard Research Laboratories, Redhill, Surrey G.F.W.
Nick
Jon Jackson
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Dekatron42
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Dekatron42
Terry Kennedy
Don't forget Hathi Trust, they have a lot of goodies.
Audrey
Grahame
Hi
I have put Weston in the top folder of my scope clock public dropbox. Here's a link to it:
Let me know if there is a problem... or success!
Grahame
Sorry to necro but does anybody have this PDF still? The link is dead and I can't seem to find any sort of library aside from the drive. --
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Audrey
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neonixie-l
Please check the group library, Documents folder, for this and other books related to neon. Excuse that I'm down as the owner - that's an error - they should be neonixie-l and I will change that. I've left all credit data in the documents' properties untouched.
Nick
Nicholas Stock
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