Generation and control of a powerful electron-beam current in an accelerator based on a secondary-emission source and its application

An electron accelerator in which magnetron guns with secondary-emission cathodes of two types are used as a particle source is described. The electron-beam parameters are investigated in an electron energy range of 20–150 keV at a pulse length of 10–50 μs. Results of target irradiation by an electron beam are represented. The target surface structure is studied by the metallographic method, and the microhardness and strength of zirconium materials are measured. The possibility of beam current control by factors of 2.5–3.5 with various methods is shown.     

Fast generation of an electron beam in a magnetron gun with a secondary-emission metallic cathode

The formation of an electron layer and the generation of an electron beam in magnetron guns where secondary emission is triggered by nanosecond pulses are studied. In the guns with small cross sizes, hollow electron beams with an outer diameter of 3–6 mm are generated. The beam current is 1–2 A, and the cathode voltage is 5–7 kV. Results obtained indicate that the generation of nanosecond beam-current pulses is a possibility.     

A new approach for evaluating the current and charge density distributions in electron guns and beams

Current and space-charge density distribution calculation is of great significance for numerical analysis and design of high-current electron guns and beams. When the electrons’ thermal initial velocities are taken into account, though there have been some numerical methods published, the calculation is very complicated. By introducing equivalent meridional potential and projection trajectory theory, the curvilinear axis trajectory equation for electrons neighboring to a central curved trajectory in rotationally symmetric electro-magnetic fields is derived in first- and second-order approximations. The evolution equation of the current density distribution of toroidal electron sub-beams is derived and it can be used to calculate the current and charge density distribution in electron beams and guns in iteration calculation. A compact numerical algorithm for calculating round high-current electron guns and beams was developed and related program was written as well. As examples, the evolution of the current density distribution of a Pierce gun and a periodic magnetic focusing high-current electron beam is simulated. This proves that this method is effective and practical.     

Electron Optic System of Powerful Large Orbit Gyrotron with Pulse Magnetic Field

Short-pulse powerful Large Orbit Gyrotron with total electron energy about 400 kV and beam power in the cavity up to 100 MW is now under developing at FIR FU. Suitable for 200 ns pulse duration electron-optic system is analyzed. Results of numerical simulation for explosion emission cusp-type electron guns and magnetic field intensity about 8 T are presented. Sensitivity of the guns to small deviations from the nominal operating regime is investigated. Some versions of the gun with different accelerating potential as well as different beam current passing through the cavity (60-300A) are suggested. Current reduction simplifies the problems of mode competition and potential depression in the cavity, but at the same time decrease output power. To diminish current special diaphragms are suggested. Results of numerical simulation of collector corresponding to each version of the gun design including power density distributions along its surface are presented. It is shown that beam quality and collector regimes are suitable for LOG operation.     

Hollow cathode electron gun for the excitation of cw lasers

Well collimated electron beam discharges with an energy of 1 kW, at currents up to 0.1 A, have been obtained at ambient pressures up to 0.4 Torr in Ar and 1.4 Torr in He using hollow cathode electron guns. The guns operate on a continuous or dc basis. These guns have the unique feature of providing a clear optical path through the axis. We suggest the use of such an electron beam discharge for excitation of cw ion lasers.     

Computer Simulation of Axis-Encircling Beams Generated by an Electron Gun with a Permanent Magnet System

Results from computer aided design of a novel electron gun generating axis-encircling beams are presented and discussed. Numerical experiments were performed by the new version of the software package GUN-MIG named GUN-MIG/CUSP. It is based on a self-consistent relativistic model and is developed as a problem oriented tool for analysis of electron-optical systems with magnetron injection guns (MIG) and electron guns with field reversal (cusp guns), forming axis-encircling beams. As a result of the simulations an electron-optical design of a novel electron gun with permanent magnet system was accomplished. The gun is expected to form high quality beams with small velocity spread and beam ripple. Parameters of the generated beams are appropriate for a prospective weakly relativistic high harmonic large orbit gyrotron (LOG). The development of such device is in progress now at the Research Center for Development of Far-Infrared Region (FIR Center) at Fukui University.     

Experimental studies of gyrotron electron beam systems

In order to provide electron beams of powerful gyrotrons, magnetron-injection guns operating in the regime of the temperature limited current are used. The electron beam quality and gyrotron performances are defined both by the cathode emission processes and the processes occurring in the electron beam during its formation and transportation. The results of measurements of the energy spectrum and velocity spread of the gyrotron electron beam in different regimes are given. Experimental data on the parameter of efficient emission inhomogeneity for different regimes are presented, as well as the dependencies of electron beam parameters on efficient inhomogeneity of the cathode     

Beam rotation and shear in a large electron beam diode

The time-averaged electron-beam current distribution of one of the electron guns of the large Aperture Module (LAM) of the Aurora laser was measured as part of a larger set of experiments designed to study the electron beam transport to and energy deposition in the LAM laser chamber. The radiograms made on the center line of the LAM laser chamber while the laser chamber was at vacuum pressure demonstrated several of the expected results. The beam was relatively uniform over the aperture, with the exception of shadows cast by the diode anode wires, the Hibachi ribs, and the Hibachi support structure. At a depth of 50 cm into the laser chamber, the self-magnetic field of the beam produced a shear in the top and bottom edges of 15 cm. At the same depth the applied magnetic field caused a rotation of the entire beam profile of about 3°     

The spread of the initial energy of electrons in a gyrotron due to the negative-mass instability developing in a magnetron-injector gun

The formation of an electron beam in a magnetron-injector gun of a gyrotron is investigated in the case when it is affected by the negative-mass instability due to the Coulomb repulsion and nonisochronous cyclotron rotation of particles. A technique is proposed for calculating the spread of the initial energy of electrons caused by the instability, which develops as the electron beam moves in the presence of a nonuniform magnetostatic field of the magnetron-injector gun. It is demonstrated that this instability can be one of the main factors providing the energy spread in electron guns of gyrotrons.     

Heat load of a GaAs photocathode in an SRF electron gun

A great deal of effort has been made over the last decades to develop a better polarized electron source for high energy physics. Several laboratories operate DC guns with a gallium arsenide photocathode, which yield a highly polarized electron beam. However, the beam's emittance might well be improved by using a superconducting radio frequency (SRF) electron gun, which delivers beams of a higher brightness than that from DC guns because the field gradient at the cathode is higher. SRF guns with metal and CsTe cathodes have been tested successfully. To produce polarized electrons, a Gallium-Arsenide photo-cathode must be used: an experiment to do so in a superconducting RF gun is under way at BNL. Since a bulk gallium arsenide (GaAs) photocathode is normal conducting, a problem arises from the heat load stemming from the cathode. We present our measurements of the electrical resistance of GaAs at cryogenic temperatures, a prediction of the heat load and verification by measuring the quality factor of the gun with and without the cathode at 2 K. We simulate heat generation and flow from the GaAs cathode using the ANSYS program. By following the findings with the heat load model, we designed and fabricated a new cathode holder (plug) to decrease the heat load from GaAs.     

Generation of a pulsed high-current low-energy beam in a plasma electron source with a self-heated cathode

The transition of a low-current discharge with a self-heated hollow cathode to a high-current discharge is studied, and stability conditions for the latter in the pulsed–periodic mode with a current of 0.1–1.0 kA, pulse width of 0.1–1.0 ms, and a pulse repetition rate of 0.1–1.0 kHz are determined. The thermal conditions of the hollow cathode are analyzed, and the conclusion is drawn that the emission current high density is due to pulsed self-heating of the cathode’s surface layer. Conditions for stable emission from a plasma cathode with a grid acting as a plasma boundary using such a discharge are found at low accelerating voltage (100–200 eV) and a gas pressure of 0.1–0.4 Pa. The density of the ion current from a plasma generated by a pulsed beam with a current of 100 A is found to reach 0.1 A/cm². Probe diagnostics data for the emitting and beam plasmas in the electron source are presented, and a mechanism behind the instability of electron emission from the plasma is suggested on their basis.     

Numerical simulation of low-frequency oscillations of the space charge and potential in the electron-optical system of a gyrotron

We present the results of simulating magnetron-injection guns of gyrotrons using the PIC technique for large values of the pitch factor, in which case intense oscillations of the space charge cloud and the related oscillations of the potential in the beam are observed. Time dependences are found for the charge located in the adiabatic trap. The temporal evolution of the potential in different cross sections of the beam and the corresponding frequency spectra are calculated. The process of reflected-particle bombardment of the cathode and the role of the secondary electron emission in the process of particle accumulation in the trap are studied. The beam parameters for regimes with a great share of trapped particles are found and compared with those calculated within the framework of the static model. Time dependences of the current of the beam entering the operating space are analyzed and the electron energy distribution at the input of the gyrotron cavity is found. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 49, No. 10, pp. 872–879, October 2006.     

Numerical simulation and experimental study of magnetron injection guns of high-power shortwave gyrotrons

The results of numerical simulation and experimental study of magnetron injection guns for high-power gyrotrons that form intense helical electron beams are compared. Three types of beams are studied: those with regularly intersecting trajectories, laminar, and mixed (with irregularly intersecting trajectories). The corresponding guns differ in the angle of inclination of the emitting surface to the axis of axial symmetry. Numerical simulation was performed using the ÉPOS program, which takes into account the effect of the space-charge field on the velocity distribution. The experimental studies of the latter were performed by the retarding-field method. It is established that with allowance for temperature deformations of the electrode systems, the experimental data are in satisfactory agreement with the theoretical. It is shown that for a maximal beam current, the best velocity-distribution characteristics (velocity spread and pitch factor) are provided by guns that form laminar and boundary beams (an intermediate case between laminar and regularly intersecting beams).     

关于热阴极微波电子枪中电子反轰问题的研究

 提出了热阴极微波电子枪的设计中可以通过缩短腔长减小电子反轰功率，并通过模拟计算详细研究了腔长对电子反轰及枪出口束流品质的影响。     

Beam lifetime measurement and analysis in Indus-2 electron storage ring

In this paper, the beam lifetime measurement and its theoretical analysis are presented using measured vacuum pressure and applied radio frequency (RF) cavity voltage in Indus-2 electron storage ring at 2 GeV beam energy. Experimental studies of the effect of RF cavity voltage and bunched beam filling pattern on beam lifetime are also presented. An equation of stable beam current decay is evolved and this equation closely follows the observed beam current decay pattern. It shows that the beam is stable and the beam current decay is due to the beam–residual gas interaction (vacuum lifetime) and electron–electron interaction within a bunch (Touschek lifetime). The estimated vacuum, Touschek and total beam lifetimes from analytical formulations are also compared with the measured beam lifetime.     

月表尘埃颗粒带电的机理及应用研究

研究月尘颗粒在电子束环境下以及紫外源辐照下的带电机理,利用数值方法模拟月尘颗粒在不同背景环境下的充电过程,以探索月表尘埃颗粒的带电机理,进而便于地面月尘环境模拟装置选择合适的月尘带电方式进行空间模拟实验.给出了尘埃在电子束环境下的充电方程,并将紫外辐射带电与具体应用相结合.通过模拟结果可知,在电子束环境下,月尘表面的电荷数随粒径尺寸增大,随电子枪辐照束斑半径减少,随电子枪流强的增加而增多;在紫外源的辐照下,月尘表面电荷数随颗粒尺寸的增大以及紫外线辐照度的增加而增多.由月尘颗粒受太阳紫外辐照带电的数值模拟结果可知,月尘需要在太阳长时间的辐照下才可以带上可观的电荷数,地面模拟该过程需增加辐照源来加速实验.通过模拟结果的分析比较并结合"空间环境模拟装置"中对月尘舱的设计要求,最终优选紫外源辐照带电方式作为月尘颗粒的带电方案.     

热阴极微波电子枪模拟计算

用模拟计算方法,研究了热阴极微波电子枪的束流动力学行为,采用笛卡尔坐标,编制了准三维模拟计算程序──HOTGUN.计算中除考虑了射频场外,还充分考虑了空间电荷效应(空间电荷场为轴对称场)、肖特基效应及稳态负载效应等.文中给出了HOTGUN程序与PARMELA部分模拟结果及中科院高能所自由电子激光室微波电子枪热测实验台部分实验结果的比较,最后以用于北京自由电子激光器的多腔热阴极微波电子枪为例,给出了详细的HOTGUN程序模拟计算结果.     

Electron Gun for Powerful Short Pulse Gyrotron with Operating Magnetic Field 8 T

High power short pulse gyrotron with operating frequency 395 GHz operating on the second cyclotron harmonic is now under developing at FIR FU. The gyrotron is planned to use in future experiments for plasma diagnostics. For this purpose the output power about 100 kW and pulse duration 100 ns at least are needed. Preliminary estimations of parameters of some versions of the electron guns with accelerating potential U₀= 70-100 kV were performed. Possibilities of non-adiabatic as well as adiabatic guns were considered. It was shown that non-adiabatic system is not reliable for such rather low value of U₀, the adiabatic magnetron injection gun (MIG) is more preferable for the gyrotron design. Analytical estimations of the suitable MIG dimensions and operating regime to form good quality electron beam were fulfilled. Numerical optimization of the gun shape and position was performed. It was shown that in spite of the extremely big ratio of the operating current (I₀= 18 A) to the Langmuir current of the gun, close to 0.4-0.5, the suggested MIG can form the helical electron beam (HEB) which is suitable for gyrotron operation properties.     

Self-oscillating mode of electron beam generation in a source with a grid plasma emitter

Plasma processes and electron beam generation in an electron source with a grid plasma cathode are investigated. Experiments are conducted under the conditions of efficient electron extraction and an intense counter ion flux, which break grid stabilization. It is shown that a rise in the gas pressure and in the emitting plasma potential leads to the plasma potential modulation in the frequency range 10⁴–10⁵ Hz. Under the self-oscillation conditions, an electron beam is obtained with a constant current of up to 16 A and an electron energy modulated up to 100% of the accelerating voltage level (100–300 V). An explanation is given for relaxation self-oscillations arising when the plasma potential grows and for the system’s inertial non-linearity arising when the plasma potential induced by the space charge of the counter ion flux lags behind the current of electron-beam-generated ions.     

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. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 44–48 (January 1998)