The temporal structure of a runaway electron beam generated in air at atmospheric pressure

Supershort avalanche electron beams (SAEBs) generated in air at atmospheric pressure have been studied with picosecond time resolution. It is established that an SAEB has a complicated structure that depends on the interelectrode gap width and cathode design. In a gas-filled diode with a small gap width, an SAEB current pulse with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ??25 ps has been observed behind a collimator with a hole diameter of 1 mm. As the gap width is increased or decreased relative to the optimum value that corresponds to the maximum beam current, the SAEB current pulse shape changes and pulses with two peaks are more likely detected. The two-peak SAEB current pulse shape is retained behind aluminum foil with a thickness of 60 and 110 ??m.     

Effective regimes of runaway electron beam generation in helium,hydrogen, and nitrogen

Runaway electron beam parameters and current-voltage characteristics of discharge in helium, hydrogen, and nitrogen at pressures in the range of several Torr to several hundred Torr have been studied. It is found that the maximum amplitudes of supershort avalanche electron beams (SAEBs) with a pulse full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼100 ps are achieved in helium, hydrogen, and nitrogen at a pressure of ∼60, ∼30, and ∼10 Torr, respectively. It is shown that, as the gas pressure is increased in the indicated range, the breakdown voltage of the gas-filled gap decreases, which leads to a decrease in the SAEB current amplitude. At pressures of helium within 20–60 Torr, hydrogen within 10–30 Torr, and nitrogen within 3–10 Torr, the regime of the runaway electron beam generation changes and, by varying the pressure in the gas-filled diode in the indicated intervals, it is possible to smoothly control the current pulse duration (FWHM) from ∼100 to ∼500 ps, while the beam current amplitude increases by a factor of 1.5–3.     

Production of high-current electron beams in an explosive-emission diode at gas pressures ∼ 10− 2–10−1 torr

Data on production of electron beams with ∼200 keV electrons and above ∼100 A beam current in a diode with an explosive-emission cathode at background gas pressures ∼10⁻²−10⁻¹ torr are presented. Discharge regimes with high-voltage stage duration up to 500–800 ns at 10⁻² torr and 80 ns at 10⁻¹ torr have been obtained. The duration of the electron beam behind a 50 μm thick titanium foil was equal to 200 and 400 ns, respectively, and was limited by the transmittance of the foil. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 88–92 (January 26, 1998)     

Long-lived explosive-emission cathode for high-power microwave radiation generators

The operation of cold explosive-emission cathodes having a current density of ∼10⁴ A/cm², fabricated using various materials, was investigated under a large number of switching cycles. The cathode voltage was ∼500 kV, the maximum current ∼5 kA, and the pulse duration ∼20 ns. It is shown that when the number of switchings is small (⩽10³ pulses), cathodes having similar geometry exhibit similar emission properties. For most of the materials studied, as the number of switching cycles increases (⩾10³ pulses), the current rise time increases (as far as the pulse duration) and the maximum vacuum diode current decreases. When a graphite cathode was used, the maximum current remained unchanged up to 10⁸ switching cycles. The mass removed from the cathode was determined for various materials. The results were used to achieve continuous operation of a relativistic 3 cm backward-wave tube having an output power of 350–400MW and an almost constant power level during 10⁸ pulses at a repetition frequency of 100–150 Hz. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 84–94 (November 26, 1999)     

Protecting the anode foil of a high-current electron accelerator against arc-discharge damage

The mechanism of anode foil damage during the extraction of a high-power pulsed electron beam from a high-current diode has been experimentally studied on a TEU-500 electron accelerator [1]. It is established that the breakage of the anode foil is caused by the appearance of cathode spots on its surface, the intense electron emission from these spots during positive voltage pulses (postpulses following the main negative pulse of accelerating voltage), and the formation of arc discharge in the interelectrode gap. The improvement of diode matching to the pulse-forming line of the accelerator and the use of an auxiliary electrode (anode) forming additional vacuum discharge gap (crowbar) with the cathode practically excludes the anode foil breakage by arc discharge and significantly increases the working life of the foil (up to ∼10⁵ electron beam pulses).     

Pulsed cathodoluminescence of diamond,calcite, spodumene,and fluorite under the action of subnanosecond electron beam

Amplitude and temporal characteristics of pulsed cathodoluminescence (PCL) of diamond (natural and synthetic), calcite, spodumene, and fluorite have been studied at a temporal resolution of ∼0.3 ns. The PCL was generated by electron beam pulses with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.1, 0.25, and 0.65 ns. The PCL spectra have been measured for the emission induced by 0.1- and 0.25-ns pulses at a beam current density of ∼90 A/cm².     

Effect of nitrogen pressure on the energy of runaway electrons generated in a gas diode

The energy spectra of runaway electrons generated in a gas diode under the action of voltage pulses with a front width of ∼300 ps and amplitude of ∼140 kV have been studied using a time-of-flight spectrometer at nitrogen pressures in a range of 0.1–760 Torr. The delay of runaway electron beam pulse relative to the driving voltage pulse has been determined. The electron energy depends in a complicated manner on the nitrogen pressure in the gas diode and on the cathode geometry. A minimum breakdown voltage for a gap between tubular cathode and flat anode has been observed at a nitrogen pressure of ∼100 Torr. A decrease in the nitrogen pressure below 100 Torr leads to an increase in the maximum of voltage drop on the gap and the energy of the main fraction of electrons.     

Subnanosecond pulsed X-ray source based on nanosecond discharge in air at atmospheric pressure

We have studied the characteristics of an X-ray source based on a gas diode filled with air at atmospheric pressure. Driven by a SLEP-150 pulser with a maximum voltage amplitude of ∼140 kV, a pulse full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼1 ns, and a leading front width of ∼0.3 ns, a soft X-ray source produces subnanosecond pulses with an FWHM not exceeding 600 ps and an exposure dose of ∼3 mR per pulse. It is shown that the main contribution to the measured exposure dose is due to X-ray quanta with an effective energy of ∼7.5 keV.     

Demonstrating gain in a dielectric Cherenkov maser with a rod slow-wave system

We report the first results of experiments that demonstrate the amplification of megawatt nanosecond microwave pulses in a Cherenkov maser with a dielectric rod and moderately relativistic annular electric beam generated in a compact linear induction accelerator module. The input signal was generated by a resonant microwave compressor operating in a 3-cm wavelength range. A maximum gain of ∼12.5 dB and a maximum output power of ∼16 MW for a pulse duration of ∼4 ns at a frequency of 9.388 GHz were obtained with a quartz rod. The dependence of the gain on the compressor power was determined for various values of the accelerating voltage and beam current.     

Pulsed cathodoluminescence of calcite crystals of various origins

We have studied the luminescence of calcites from phlogopite-calcite veins, marbles, leucogranites, apatite-calcite ores, and carbonatites in the spectral range 300–800 nm under excitation with nanosecond electron pulses at an electron beam current density of ∼10 A/cm². All of the calcite varieties have a fast emission component, with a broad spectrum in the near-UV and visible spectral regions, whose decay time is comparable to the excitation pulse duration, and a slow emission component, with a peak-emission wavelength of 610–620 nm and decay time of tens of milliseconds. The spectral composition of the emission depends on the nature of the calcite sample. We analyze the evolution of the spectrum after excitation and discuss the luminescence excitation mechanisms and the nature of the emission centers.     

Comparative study of generation characteristics of CdS crystal laser pumped by low- and high-energy electron beams

A CdS crystal has been excited by radially converging pulsed electron beam with an electron energy of up to E ≈ 18 keV, a beam current density at the target of up to 4 kA/cm², and a pulse full width at half maximum within τ ≈ 12–100 ns. For comparison, the same crystal was pumped by electrons with E = 170 keV at τ = 2.2 ns. A specific distinctive feature of the excitation by powerful low- and high-voltage electron beams is the appearance of previously unreported long-wavelength generation with a peak at λ ≈ 535 nm in the electron-hole plasma band. In the region of the interband transition with a peak at λ ≈ 515 nm, the generation spectra are similar to those known from the literature.     

Picosecond stability of injection of parallel high-current pulsed electron beams

The stability of operation of parallel explosive-emission cathodes driven by a split high-voltage pulse with a subnanosecond leading front has been studied. It is established that, upon the training of graphite cathodes in vacuum with up to ∼10⁴ pulses, the current pulse fronts of injected high-current electron beams exhibit a mutual temporal dispersion not exceeding ten picoseconds. The dynamics of this parameter during the training stage, the variation of the absolute spread, and the growth of a relative delay of the moments of beam injection have been investigated.     

High-rate deformation and spall fracture of hadfield steel under action of high-current nanosecond relativistic electron beam

Features of the plastic deformation and dynamic spall fracture of Hadfield steel under conditions of shock wave loading at a straining rate of ∼10⁶ s⁻¹ have been studied. The shock load (∼30 GPa, ∼0.2 μs) was produced by pulses of a SINUS-7 electron accelerator, which generated relativistic electron bunches with an electron energy of up to 1.35 MeV, a duration of 45 ns, and a peak power on the target of 3.4 × 10¹⁰ W/cm². It is established that the spalling proceeds via mixed viscous-brittle intergranular fracture, unlike the cases of quasi-static tensile and impact loading, where viscous transgranular fracture is typical. It is shown that the intergranular character of the spall fracture is caused by the localization of plastic deformation at grain boundaries containing precipitated carbide inclusions.     

Copper surface structuring under the action of electric discharge

The surface of copper cathode foils with thicknesses up to 50 μm has been studied after a single discharge current pulse with an amplitude of up to 60 A and a pulse duration within 50–1300 μs in air at atmospheric pressure. It is established that the foil surface upon discharge is covered by copper nanoparticles with diameters above 30 nm, which form an ordered array with a cellular structure and dimensions of up to several hundred nanometers. A possible mechanism of this self-ordered structure formation is qualitatively described.     

High-current-density subnanosecond electron beams formed in a gas-filled diode at low pressures

The formation of electron beams in a gas diode filled with various gases at low and medium pressures under the action of nanosecond voltage pulses has been studied. It is shown that subnanosecond pulses of the beam current in helium, hydrogen, neon, nitrogen, argon, methane, sulfur hexafluoride, krypton, and xenon can be obtained both at atmospheric pressure and at a pressure of several units or dozens of Torr. In particular, a beam current density above 2 kA/cm² behind the foil at a pulse duration (FWHM) of 250 ps has been obtained in helium-filled diode. On the passage from the regime of ultrashort avalanche electron beam formation to the vacuum diode regime, the beam current pulse amplitude decreases, while both the beam pulse duration (FWHM) and the pulse front width increase.     

Experimental study of the transient process in a pulsed relativistic backward-wave tube for the millimeter range

The influence of the rise time of the current pulse of a nanosecond high-current electron beam on the self-oscillation regime that is established in a relativistic backward-wave tube for the 38 GHz range is investigated experimentally. It is shown that a peak power of more than 50 MW is attained in a time of ∼300 ps. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 19–23 (May 26, 1999)     

Flash X-ray radiography source based on plasma-filled rod pinch diode

Results of experiments on the formation of a high-power focused electron beam in a plasma-filled rod pinch diode driven by a high-current MIG generator (maximum voltage, 1.3 MV; impedance, 0.65 Ω) are presented. The proposed diode with a sharpened 1.5-mm-thick tungsten rod anode provides an X-ray source for flash radiography with a size of ∼1 mm, which is capable of producing a radiation dose of 2.4 rad per pulse at a distance of 1 m. The results of comparative experiments with and without plasma injection into the diode are presented.     

Growth of cubic GaN by molecular-beam epitaxy on porous GaAs substrates

It is shown that GaN layers can be grown on (100)-and (111)-oriented porous single-crystal GaAs substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy with plasma activation of the nitrogen by an rf electron cyclotron resonance discharge. The resulting undoped epitaxial layers possessed ntype conductivity with a carrier concentration ∼10¹⁸. Data obtained by scanning electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence indicate that at thicknesses ∼2000 Å, continuous layers of the cubic GaN modification are obtained regardless of the substrate orientation. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 3–9 (January 12, 1999)     

Simulating gas-discharge processes at a single cold microscopic point

The development of ionization avalanches in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure near a single cold microscopic point on a cathode surface has been simulated under the conditions of E/P ≫ 1 kV/(cm Torr), where E is the electric field strength and P is the gas pressure. It is established that a layer of dense gas-discharge plasma with a density of ∼10¹⁶ cm⁻³ is formed within a period of ∼1 ps as a result of the gas ionization by electrons emitted from the cathode. The current of fast electrons, which appears due to gas ionization is more than ten times greater than the field emission current and can reach I ∼ 1 A for one microscopic point.     

Emissive characteristics of mesa-stripe lasers (λ=3.0–3.6 μm) made from InGaAsSb/InAsSbP double heterostructures

The directional patterns, current-voltage characteristics, and spectral characteristics of mesastripe lasers with InGaAsSb active layers, emitting at λ=3.0–3.6 μm (77 K) and having threshold currents ≥15 mA (j _th≥200 A/cm²), are investigated. The maximum output power is 1.4 mW (λ∼3.3 μm), the differential quantum efficiency ∼3%(τ=5–30 μs, f=500 Hz) for lasing in a longitudinal mode with beam divergences ΔΘ∥∼15° and ΔΘ ⊥ ∼30°. The relationship of the differential quantum efficiency to the order of the spatial mode of the lasing is demonstrated. A single-mode, current-tunable (−30 cm⁻¹/A) laser is used to measure the transmission of methane in the region of the ν ₃ absorption band. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 40–45 (June 26, 1998)