Sodium monolayers on thermionic cathodes

Under certain conditions alkali vapours form dipole monolayers on metallic electrodes that can lower the work function of the bulk material. In this case, the power balance of the electrode, the electrode fall voltage and the electrode loss power can change considerably. To verify this effect a pyrometric technique was adapted and optimized for the diagnostics of tungsten electrodes in high pressure sodium discharges. Using an already verified model of thermally emitting cathodes the effect was observed in a Na DC discharge and the range of existence was investigated. An interpretation of the results is given using a Langmuir description of forming the Na monolayers and first-principles electronic structure calculations using a pseudopotential plane wave method to solve the Kohn-Sham equations of density-functional theory.