A forevacuum plasma source of pulsed electron beams

A plasma electron source designed for generation of a pulsed wide-aperture electron beam in the forevacuum pressure range (5–20 Pa) is described. The source is based on the use of a hollow-cathode glow discharge. At an accelerating voltage of 20 kV, a current pulse length of 100 μs, and a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz, the electron beam current is 100 A, and the maximum density of the beam pulse power is 10 J/cm². The obtained parameters of the electron beam and the features of the source functioning in the forevacuum pressure range show that this source can be used to good effect to modify the surface properties of nonconducting materials.