Generation of subnanosecond electron beams in air at atmospheric pressure

Optimum conditions for the generation of runaway electron beams with maximum current amplitudes and densities in nanosecond pulsed discharges in air at atmospheric pressure are determined. A supershort avalanche electron beam (SAEB) with a current amplitude of ∼30 A, a current density of ∼20 A/cm², and a pulse full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼100 ps has been observed behind the output foil of an air-filled diode. It is shown that the position of the SAEB current maximum relative to the voltage pulse front exhibits a time shift that varies when the small-size collector is moved over the foil surface.     

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.     

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.     

Development of picosecond time resolution optical and X-ray streak cameras

We describe the development of an optical and an X-ray streak camera with picosecond time resolution. The entire peripheral electronics and testing systems have been developed indigenously. Both the streak cameras provide ∼ 15 mm/1 ns streak rate with a sweep voltage of ∼ 1 kV amplitude and rise time of 1 ns. The time and spatial resolution of the optical streak camera have been found to be ∼ 17 ps and 100 μm respectively. The sweep pulse generator developed for this purpose provides a step pulse of rise time ≦1 ns and amplitude ∼ 2 kV. The laser diode used for testing the optical streak camera provides multiple pulsation when the pump current is increased beyond a critical threshold.     

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.     

Recombination X-ray radiation from plasma liners

The possibility of creating a high-power X-ray source based on the recombination radiation mechanism has been studied and analyzed. The recombination X-ray radiation from neon, aluminum, and argon was obtained in experiments with plasma liners performed on the GIT-12 setup using a current pulse amplitude of ∼2.5 MA and a leading pulse front width of ∼300 ns. The obtained results show that the recombination mechanism of X-ray generation offers good prospects for the development of a high-power X-ray source with photon energies in the 7–20-keV range.     

Development of single frame X-ray framing camera for pulsed plasma experiments

A single-frame X-ray framing camera has been set up for fast imaging of X-ray emissions from pulsed plasma sources. It consists of two parts, viz. an X-ray pin-hole camera using an open-ended microchannel plate (MCP) detector coupled to a CCD camera, and a high voltage short duration gate pulse for the MCP. The camera uses a 10-Μm pin-hole aperture for imaging on the MCP detector with a magnification of 6 X. The high voltage pulser circuit generates a pulse of variable duration from 5 to 30 ns (at 70% of peak amplitude) with variable amplitude from 800 V to 1.25 kV, and is triggered through a laser pulse synchronized with the event to be recorded. The performance of the system has been checked by recording X-ray emission from a laser-produced copper plasma. A reduction factor of ∼ 6.5 is seen in the dark current contribution as the MCP gate pulse is decreased from 250Μs to 5 ns duration.     

High-power source of 200–350 nm spontaneous emission excited by unipolar current pulses

Spectral, energy, and temporal characteristics of pulse discharge in xenon have been experimentally studied. Upon passing from an oscillatory regime to unipolar pulses of discharge current, the power of emission in the wavelength interval 200–350 nm increases, while the emission pulse full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreases. A quartz pulsed discharge lamp excited by a generator based on high-current high-voltage diodes radiates in the 200–350 nm interval at a peak radiant intensity above 65 kW/sr and at a pulse FWHM ∼ 2 μs.     

Design,development and performance characteristics of a large aperture disc amplifier for high power Nd: Glass laser chain

A large aperture disc amplifier has been designed, set-up and characterized for its performance on small signal gain, spatial variation of gain, and thermal recovery time. This amplifier, consisting of three elliptical Nd: phosphate glass discs of size 214 × 114 × 20 mm mounted at Brewster angle and pumped by ten xenon filled flash lamps of 600 mm arc length, provided a small signal gain of 6 at electrical pump energy of 36 kJ (in a pulse of 450 μs) using an in-house developed dual-polarity capacitor bank based power supply. It was coupled to a high power Nd: phosphate glass laser chain and a maximum output pulse energy exceeding 100 J in a 1·5 ns (FWHM) pulse has been measured. A dry nitrogen gas based cooling system was developed for cooling the glass discs with a thermal recovery time of ∼ 20 minutes.     

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.     

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.     

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)     

Design and construction of double-Blumlein HV pulse power supply

A double Blumlein pulse generator is constructed using a coaxial cable. This power supply is capable of providing a voltage up to 20 kV across a matched load and 40kV across an open load with a charging voltage of 10 kV. It is designed to provide a pulse width of 110ns. A rise time of ∼10ns is obtained with present spark gap. A rotating spark gap is also designed and constructed to get a pulse repetition rate of 25Hz. Although, in the present work this pulse generator is used to study the streamer discharge in air, it is useful in many other applications also.     

Emission characteristics improvement in structures with InAs/GaAsN/InGaAsN superlattices

The influence of some parameters of nitrogen-containing heterostructures InAs/GaAsN/InGaAsN with strain-compensated superlattices (SCSL) on their emission characteristics has been studied. It is established that the net strain in the structure affects the photoluminescence (PL) linewidth, internal quantum efficiency, intensity, and wavelength. The maximum PL intensity and minimum full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the PL line were achieved with small strains (0–0.2%), whereas the maximum wavelengths (∼1.76 μm) observed for large strain (about +1%). By adding multilayer InAs inserts in the active InGaAsN quantum well in combination with using strain-compensated GaAsN/InGaAsN superlattices, it is possible to control the room-temperature emission wavelength in the range of 1.45–1.76 μm without significantly deteriorating the emissiion characteristics.     

Passively Q-Switched Yb:YAG Laser with Cr(4+):YAG as the Saturable Absorber

By using a continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser as a pumping source, we demonstrated a passively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser at room temperature with Cr(4+):YAG as the saturable absorber. We achieved an average output power of as much as 55 mW at 1.03 mum with a pulse width (FWHM) as short as 350 ns. The initial transmission of the Cr(4+):YAG has an effect on the pulse duration (FWHM) and the repetition rate of the Yb:YAG passively Q-switched laser. The Yb:YAG crystal can be a most promising passively Q-switched laser crystal for compact, efficient, solid-state lasers.     

Vector characterization of photodetectors, photoreceivers, andoptical pulse sources by time-domain pulse response measurements

Deconvolution of measurement system effects from pulse response measurements is demonstrated to yield reproducible, accurate characterization of the impulse response (and vector frequency response) of a photodetector or photoreceiver, as well as the intensity waveform of an optical pulse. Calibration is based on a <3-ps FWHM (full width at half maximum) optical pulse and a 50-GHz 3-dB bandwidth electrical sampling system. Vector characterization of a photodetector/photoreceiver to >40 GHz and an optical pulse source to >30 GHz are demonstrated. Calibration and effects of noise are discussed     

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.     

Effects of pulse parameters on the pulsed-DC reactive sputtering of AlN thin films

A series of studies on the pulsed-DC reactive sputtering of highly (002)-textured aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films was conducted with systematically adjusted pulse parameters including reverse voltage, pulse frequency, and pulse duration. The film quality was evaluated by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (002) rocking curve as well as the (002) peak intensity. In the asymmetric bipolar mode, the FWHM increases while the peak intensity decreases with reverse voltage, implying a detrimental effect of reverse voltage on the quality of AlN film. Whereas in the unipolar mode, the film quality improves with pulse frequency as evidenced by the decreasing FWHM and increasing peak intensity. It is also found that there is a critical pulse duration of about 500 μs, beyond which the FWHM starts to increase while the peak intensity starts to decrease due to target poisoning. Typical measurements on thus-optimized AlN film show a roughness of 1.7 nm and a (002) FWHM of less than 1.9°.     

Raman scattering studies of ultrashallow Sb implants in strained Si

Sheet resistance (R _s) reductions are presented for antimony doped layers in strained Si. We use micro-Raman spectroscopy to characterise the impact of a low energy (2 keV) Sb implantation into a thin strained Si layer on the crystalline quality and resultant stress in the strained Si. The use of 325 nm UV laser light enables us to extract information from the top ∼9 nm of the strained Si layer. Prior to implantation the Si layer is fully strained with a tensile stress value ∼1.41 GPa, in agreement with the calculated theoretical maximum on a strain relaxed buffer with 17% Ge content. There is a clear decrease in the intensity of the Si Raman signal following Sb implantation. The lattice damage and lattice recovery achieved by subsequent rapid thermal anneal (RTA) is quantified using the amplitude and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the crystalline Si peak. The shift of the Raman Si peak is a key parameter in the interpretation of the spectra. The ion-implanted sample is studied in terms of a phonon coherence length confinement model. Carrier concentration effects are seen to play a role in the Raman shift following electrical activation of the Sb atoms by RTA.     

Aluminum nitride on silicon: Role of silicon carbide interlayer and chloride vapor-phase epitaxy technology

A new approach to the deposition of aluminum nitride (AlN) layers with thicknesses ranging within ∼0.1–10 μm on silicon single crystal substrates by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) has been developed and implemented, which involves the formation of thin (∼100-nm-thick) intermediate silicon carbide (3C-SiC) interlayers. It is established that wavy convex bands with a height of about 40 nm are present on the surface of as-grown AlN layers, which are situated at the boundaries of blocks in the layer structure. It is suggested that the formation of these wavy structures is related to morphological instability that develops due to accelerated growth of AlN at the block boundaries. Experiments show that, at low deposition rates, AlN layers grow according to a layer (quasi-two-dimensional) mechanism, which allows AlN layers characterized by half-widths (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curves of (0002) reflections about ω_θ = 2100 arc sec to be obtained.