A Study on Thyratron Ranging and Diagnosis

Thyratrons have been used as switching tubes in power conditioning systems, primarily for radar and accelerator applications. Their function are to control power pulses to high-frequency oscillators in high-power radar sets, lasers, and other communications equipment. However, it is difficult to diagnose the switching characteristics of the thyratron. From a convection heat transfer, we have discovered the diagnostic factor of the thyratron, where the variation of the heater current occurs according to the variation of the internal gas pressure. By this diagnostic factor, thyratron ranging and diagnosis are possible. We have verified the theoretical propriety of the diagnostic factor and confirmed that the assumption used in the theory is applicable to the thyratron.