Generation and transport of high-current, low-energy electron beams in a system with a gas-filled diode

Investigations of the generation and transport of a high-current, low-energy electron beam are pet-formed in a system with a gas-filled diode based on a plasma cathode. At accelerating voltages of up to 20 kV and pressures of(1-5)x 10(-1) Pa, a beam with an emission current of 600 A, emission current density of 12 A/cm(2) and pulse duration of 30 mu s if obtained in a diode with a grid-stabilized emission opening having a diameter equal to 8 cm. The beam is transported in the absence of an external magnetic field over a distance of 20 cm. The beam is compressed by its self-magnetic field, and the current density at the collector reaches 100 A/cm(2) when the beam diameter is 3 cm. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(98)00801-0].