Effective Work Function of Cathodes Consisting of Cubic Boron Nitride and Aluminum Nitride

Abstract

The features and advantages of multicomponent compound cathodes for vacuum electronic devices are discussed. The effects of recent experimental data on the effective work function of a composite cathode with cubic boron nitride as the principal phase, are presented. Methods to reduce the work function of new materials so as to develop high(er) efficiency cathodes, are proposed.