Theory of Negative Resistance Characteristics in Irradiated Gas Thermionic Diodes

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Abstract
A theory explaining negative resistance effects in the anode current-voltage characteristics of inert gas-filled thermionic diodes exposed to ionizing radiation is proposed. The theory shows that these effects are observed in argon-, krypton,- and xenon-filled diodes under appropriate conditions of anode spacing, gas pressure, and radiation dosage because these gases have a Ramsauer minimum in their electron scattering cross-section data. The theory also shows that gases not having this anomaly in their scattering cross section, such as neon or helium, do not show negative resistance effects.