A brief history of the development of vacuum electron devices in China

Abstract

2004 is the year of the 100th anniversary of the invention of vacuum electron device and also the discovery of oxide coated cathode. One hundred years ago, in 1904, the first vacuum electron device, diode was invented by John Ambrase Fleming, and the oxide coated cathode had been invented by A. Wehnelt in 1903. Later, in 1906, purring a control grid into the Fleming diode, the triode was invented by Lee de Forest. Detection and amplification was realized by means of vacuum electron devices. This leads the way to the earlier steps of signal processing, transmission and detection. Wireless telecommunication, broadcasting and other applications systems were then developed and extended rapidly all over the world,. including China, which was just under the transition from an empire to a republic. In this paper, a brief history of the development of vacuum electron devices in China is presented. The current state of art is described.