page_title: Cavity magnetron
section_title: Split-anode magnetron
hierarchical_section_title: Cavity magnetron / Construction and operation / Split-anode magnetron
caption_attribution_description: English: Split-anode magnetron tube, an obsolete microwave vacuum tube invented by Albert Hull at General Electric in 1920. One of the first oscillators that could produce frequencies in the gigahertz range, it was used until the modern cavity magnetron was invented in 1940. This tube, used in 1935 in early German experiments in radar was manufactured by AEG/Telefunken and could generate 10 centimeter (3 GHz) microwaves. The image on the left shows the bare tube, about 11 cm tall; on the right shows the tube mounted for use between the poles of a strong permanent magnet. Alterations to image: combined two separate images
context_page_description: The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field while moving past a series of open metal cavities. Electrons pass by the openings to these cavities and cause microwaves to oscillate within, similar to the way a whistle produces a tone when excited by an air stream blown past its opening. The frequency of the microwaves produced, the resonant frequency, is determined by the cavities' physical dimensions. Unlike other vacuum tubes such as a klystron or a traveling-wave tube, the magnetron cannot function as an amplifier in order to increase the intensity of an applied microwave signal; the magnetron serves solely as an oscillator, generating a microwave signal from direct current electricity supplied to the vacuum tube.
  An early form of magnetron was invented by H. Gerdien in 1910. Another form of magnetron tube, the split-anode magnetron, was invented by Albert Hull of General Electric Research Laboratory in 1920, but it achieved a frequency of only 30 kHz. Similar devices were experimented with by many teams through the 1920s and 1930s.
context_section_description: The original magnetron was very difficult to keep operating at the critical value, and even then the number of electrons in the circling state at any time was fairly low. This meant that it produced very low-power signals. Nevertheless, as one of the few devices known to create microwaves, interest in the device and potential improvements was widespread.
  The first major improvement was the split-anode magnetron, also known as a negative-resistance magnetron. As the name implies, this design used an anode that was split in two—one at each end of the tube—creating two half-cylinders. When both were charged to the same voltage the system worked like the original model. But by slightly altering the voltage of the two plates, the electron's trajectory could be modified so that they would naturally travel towards the lower voltage side. The plates were connected to an oscillator that reversed the relative voltage of the two plates at a given frequency.
  At any given instant, the electron will naturally be pushed towards the lower-voltage side of the tube. The electron will then oscillate back and forth as the voltage changes. At the same time, a strong magnetic field is applied, stronger than the critical value in the original design. This would normally cause the electron to circle back to the cathode, but due to the oscillating electrical field, the electron instead follows a looping path that continues toward the anodes.
  Since all of the electrons in the flow experienced this looping motion, the amount of RF energy being radiated was greatly improved. And as the motion occurred at any field level beyond the critical value, it was no longer necessary to carefully tune the fields and voltages, and the overall stability of the device was greatly improved. Unfortunately, the higher field also meant that electrons often circled back to the cathode, depositing their energy on it and causing it to heat up. As this normally causes more electrons to be released, it could sometimes lead to a runaway effect, damaging the device.
caption: Split-anode magnetron (c. 1935). (left) The bare tube, about 11 cm high. (right) Installed for use between the poles of a strong permanent magnet
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