Electron velocity fluctuations in two-dimensional systems.

The phase-space method of calculating electron velocity fluctuations generated by a thermionic cathode is extended to problems encountered in two-dimensional systems. Expressions are derived for volume and current density of the emitted electrons. Numerical results are obtained for the case of a semi-infinite, plane cathode immersed in a constant magnetic field. The two cases of interest, when the field is either parallel or perpendicular to the cathode, are considered separately. A method of reducing the cathode edge effect is discussed in the last section of the paper.
The main object of the paper is to present a method of calculating electron velocity fluctuations and the corresponding volume and current density distributions in systems which are basically two-dimensional in character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]