Battel Engineering, Inc.
10020 North 58th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85253
office: (480) 991-9747
fax: (480) 991-9748
email:
bateng@earthlink.net
200. SAM Bulb Filament
Simulator
Emission control systems require filament simulators for use during
testing of the floating ion source control electronics.
A traditional method for making a filament simulator is to use a light bulb in combination with a transistor whose base has been exposed. Battel Engineering had some fun developing this simulator in the photo using a 1000 volt TO-3 transistor in combination with a projector light bulb. It is a good match for the planned ion source filament on SAM which operates at 2 volts and 2 amps. The emission current is commandable from 10 microamps to 500 microamps. The orange glow is from the filament. The aluminum tape over the bulb improves the efficiency of the photocurrent by approximately 5X.
Image © Steve Battel, Battel Engineering, Inc. All rights reserved.