Minimum current principle and variational method in theory of space charge limited flow

TL;DR

This paper introduces a variational method based on the minimum current principle to analyze space charge limited electron flow, offering a theoretical approach that complements numerical techniques and aids understanding of flow formation.

Contribution

It applies the variational method to space charge limited flow, providing a new analytical tool for complex geometries where standard methods are challenging.

Findings

Variational method effectively estimates minimum current in simple geometries.

The approach offers insights into flow formation mechanisms.

Method can be extended to complex device shapes.

Abstract

In spirit of the principle of least action, which means that when a perturbation is applied to a physical system its reaction is such that it modifies its state to "agree" with the perturbation by "minimal" change of its initial state. In particular, the electron field emission should produce the minimum current consistent with boundary conditions. It can be found theoretically by solving corresponding equations using different techniques. We apply here for the current calculation the variational method, which can be quite effective even when involving a short set of trial functions. The approach to a better result can be monitored by the total current that should decrease when we on the right track. Here we present only an illustration for simple geometries of devices with the electron flow. The development of this methods can be useful when the emitter and/or anode shapes make difficult the use of standard approaches. Though direct numerical calculations including PIC technique are very effective, but theoretical calculations can provide an important insight for understanding general features of flow formation and even sometimes be realized by simpler routines.