Control Grid - Grid Variations

Grid Variations

A variation of the control grid is to produce the helix with a variable pitch. This gives the resultant valve a distinct non-linear characteristic. This is often exploited in R.F. amplifiers where an alteration of the grid bias changes the mutual conductance and hence the gain of the device. This variation usually appears in the pentode form of the valve, where it is then called a variable-mu pentode or remote-cutoff pentode.

One of the principal limitations of the triode valve is that there is considerable capacitance between the grid and the anode (Cag). A phenomenon known as the Miller Effect causes the input capacitance of an amplifier to be the product of Cag and amplification factor of the valve. This, and the instability of an amplifier with tuned input and output when Cag is large can severely limit the upper operating frequency. These effects can be overcome by the addition of a screen grid, however in the later years of the tube era, constructional techniques were developed that rendered this 'parasitic capacitance' so low that triodes operating in the upper VHF bands became possible. The Mullard EC91 operated at up to 250 MHz. This of course is complete nonsense. The anode-grid capacitiance of the EC91 is quoted in manufacturer's literature as 3.8 pF, which is higher than many other triodes of the era, while many triodes of the 1920s had figures which are strictly comparable, so there was no advance in this area. However, early screen-grid tetrodes of the 1920s, have Cag of only 1 or 2fF, around a thousand times less. 'Modern' pentodes have comparable values of Cag. Triodes were used in VHF amplifiers in 'grounded-grid' configuration, a circuit arrangement which prevents Miller feedback.