Reliable Manufacturing of Scandia-Doped Tungsten Powders for Thermionic Cathodes

In this STTR effort nGimat will partner with the University of Kentucky to develop a new process for manufacturing scandia-doped tungsten powder for use in vacuum tube cathode devices. While a significant amount of research over the last several decades has shown promise for scandate cathode materials, reliable manufacturing processes that enable commercialization of this technology have remained elusive. nGimat will use its years of proven history and experience in powder manufacturing to develop this cathode chemistry using a reliable, consistent manufacturing technique. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of the overall proposed approach, and Phase II will focus on further powder optimization, manufacturing scale-up, and cathode device testing. The end result of the entire STTR effort will be the introduction of scandia-doped powder into the cathode industry, thereby enabling new technologies related to high-power radio-frequency and terahertz devices.