• Record the characteristic for a thermionic diode at different cathode heater voltage
• Identify the space charge and saturation regions
• Confirm the Schottky-Langmuir law
In a thermionic diode, free electrons carry a flow of current between the heated cathode and the anode when a positive voltage is applied between the cathode and anode. The current increases along with the voltage until a saturation point is reached. However, if the voltage is negative, the current is zero.