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 performed 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)×10^?1 Pa, a beam with an emission current of 600 A, emission current density of 12 A/cm² and pulse duration of 30 µs 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/cm² when the beam diameter is 3 cm.