This is a brilliant effort. Can we put them in the library section here? Weston has been out of print for ages, but is a truly excellent reference...
Nick On Saturday, 6 July 2019 08:27:00 UTC+1, Sgitheach wrote: > > Another book scanned by Martin Forsberg. All thanks to him! > > !!!THE BOOK!!! > > Download 28MB > > > https://www.dropbox.com/s/ne5vvdqw1r0pu6m/Cold%20Cathode%20Glow%20Discharge%20Tubes%20G%20F%20Weston-OCR.pdf?dl=0 > > 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 *competition from semiconductor devices, which have virtually superseded* 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.* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6aa23d5c-b196-4bd7-bf06-cddf99a530b6%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
