Thyratron

A thyratron is a type of gas filled tube used as a high energy electrical switch and controlled rectifier. Triode, Tetrode and Pentode variations of the thyratron have been manufactured in the past, though most are of the triode design. Gases used include mercury vapor, xenon, neon, and (in special high-voltage applications or applications requiring very short switching times) hydrogen. [ L.W. Turner,(ed), "Electronics Engineer's Reference Book", 4th ed. Newnes-Butterworth, London 1976 ISBN 0 408 00168 2, pages 7-177 and 7-180 ] Unlike a vacuum tube, a thyratron cannot be used to amplify signals linearly.

In the 1920s Thyratrons were derived from early vacuum tubes such as the UV-200, which contained a small amount of argon gas to increase its sensitivity as a radio signal detector; and the German LRS Relay tube, which also contained argon gas. Gas rectifiers which predated vacuum tubes, such as the argon-filled General Electric "Tungar bulb" and the Cooper-Hewitt mercury pool rectifier, also provided an influence. A thyratron is basically a "controlled gas rectifier". Irving Langmuir and G. S. Meikle of GE are usually cited as the first investigators to study controlled rectification in gas tubes, about 1914. The first commercial thyratrons didn't appear until around 1928.

Construction

A typical hot-cathode thyratron uses a heated filament cathode, completely contained within a shield assembly with a control grid on one open side, which faces the plate-shaped anode. When positive voltage is applied to the anode, if the control electrode is kept at cathode potential, no current flows. When the control electrode is made slightly positive, gas between the anode and cathode ionizes and conducts current. The shield prevents ionized current paths that might form within other parts of the tube. The gas in a thyratron is typically at a fraction of the pressure of air at sea level; 15 to 30 millibars (1.5 to 3 kPa) is typical.

Both hot- and cold-cathode versions are encountered. A hot cathode is an advantage, as ionization of the gas is made easier; thus, the tube's control electrode is more sensitive. Once turned on, the thyratron will remain on (conducting) as long as there is a significant current flowing through it. When the anode voltage or current falls to zero, the device switches off.

Applications

Small thyratrons were manufactured in the past for controlling electromechanical relays and for industrial applications such as motor and arc-welding controllers. Large thyratrons are still manufactured, and are capable of operation up to tens of kiloamperes (kA) and tens of kilovolts (kV).

Modern applications include pulse drivers for pulsed radar equipment, high-energy gas lasers, radiotherapy devices, particle accelerators and in Tesla coils and similar devices. Thyratrons are also used in high-power UHF television transmitters, to protect inductive output tubes from internal shorts, by grounding the incoming high-voltage supply during the time it takes for a circuit breaker to open and reactive components to drain their stored charges. This is commonly called a "crowbar" circuit.

Thyratrons have been replaced in most low and medium-power applications by corresponding semiconductor devices known as thyristors (sometimes called silicon-controlled rectifiers, or SCRs) and triacs. However, switching service requiring voltages above 20 kV and involving very short risetimes remains within the domain of the thyratron. Variations of the thyratron idea are the krytron, the sprytron, the ignitron, and the triggered spark gap, all still used today in special applications.

References

*Stokes, John, "70 Years of Radio Tubes and Valves," Vestal Press, NY, 1982, pp. 111-115.
*Thrower, Keith, "History of the British Radio Valve to 1940," MMA International, 1982, p. 30, 31, 81.
*Hull, A. W., "Gas-Filled Thermionic Valves", Trans. AIEE, 47, 1928, pp. 753-763.

ee also

* Ignitron
* Krytron
* Thyristor
* IGBT

External links

* [http://www.tpub.com/content/neets/14184/css/14184_128.htm tpub.com]
* [http://www.e2v.com/download.cfm?type=document&document=613 Detailed description of hydrogen Thyratrons (PDF document)]
* [http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/pulse.html Article about switch tubes by John Pasley]
* [http://www.tubecollector.org/list.php?L=-Y&M=Y&H=Thyratrons Thyratron collection at the Virtual Valve Museum]