Multi-pulsed intense electron beam emission from velvet,carbon fibers,carbon nano-tubes and dispenser cathodes

The experimental results of studies of four kinds of cathode emitting intense electron beams are demonstrated under multi-pulsed mode based on an experimental setup including two multi-pulse high voltage sources.The tested cathodes include velvet,carbon fibers,carbon nano-tubes(CNTs)and dispenser cathodes.The results indicate that all four are able to emit multi-pulsed beams.For velvet,carbon fiber and CNTs,the electron induced cathode plasma emission may be the main process and this means that there are differences in beam parameters from pulse to pulse.For dispenser cathodes tested in the experiment,although there is a little difference from pulse to pulse for some reason,thermal-electric field emission may be the main process.     

碳纤维阴极的电子发射机制

 建立了金属阴极和碳纤维阴极的电子发射机制模型,发射后的阴极和碳纤维阴极的微观照片证实了模型的正确性。实验结果与分析表明：一种优化的阴极应该具备多种电子发射机制,整个阴极的电子发射更均匀,碳纤维阴极的电子发射不仅具有尖端的场发射,而且伴随着侧向的表面闪络(随纹)。此外和金属阴极相比较,处理后碳纤维阴极具有较慢的等离子体膨胀速度(≤1 cm/μs)并使该实验用微波源具有较宽的微波脉冲输出(≥200 ns)。     

碳纤维阴极的电子发射机制

建立了金属阴极和碳纤维阴极的电子发射机制模型,发射后的阴极和碳纤维阴极的微观照片证实了模型的正确性。实验结果与分析表明：一种优化的阴极应该具备多种电子发射机制,整个阴极的电子发射更均匀,碳纤维阴极的电子发射不仅具有尖端的场发射,而且伴随着侧向的表面闪络(随纹)。此外和金属阴极相比较,处理后碳纤维阴极具有较慢的等离子体膨胀速度(≤1 cm/μs)并使该实验用微波源具有较宽的微波脉冲输出(≥200 ns)。     

Application of a ferroelectric plasma cathode as a high-current switch

In this paper the parameters of two types of high-current switches based on ferroelectric BaTiO₃ ignition are presented. Both types of switches showed a reliable and controllable operation with a repetition rate of several Hz. The first type is a vacuum two-electrode switch ignited by the plasma which is generated by a BaTiO₃ cathode. This type of switch was tested in the voltage range of 3-25 kV and switched current amplitude of 2-15 kA with either negative or positive polarity of the high-voltage electrode. The second type is a BaTiO₃ surface flashover strip-like switch ignited by a driving pulse which has an amplitude of several kV. It was shown that the application of the driving pulse (>10 kV) leads to the appearance of many non-complete surface discharges which transform further to a multi-channel discharge. This type of switch was tested in the voltage range of 1-25 kV and current amplitude of 0.5-15 kA. The design of the switches, their lifetime, the time jitter and the parameters of the switched current for different discharge conditions are presented. Received 5 November 2001     

High quality CVD diamond: a Raman scattering and photoluminescence study

High quality synthetic diamonds were grown on single-crystal silicon by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (CVD). A careful optimisation of both the experimental setup and the growth parameters was necessary before that the achievement of the best results was made possible. The films were deposited using a CH₄-H₂ gas mixture at methane concentrations variable in the range 0.6-2.2%, while the substrate temperature was fixed at 750 ^°C. Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) were utilised to monitor the quality of the deposited films and to study the spatial distribution of defects, respectively. Micro-Raman analysis shows that linewidths of the diamond peak lower than 2.4 cm^-1 can be easily measured at the growth surface, indicating that the crystalline quality of individual grains is comparable to that of the best natural diamonds. The excellent phase purity of the diamond microcrystals at the growth surface is witnessed by the complete absence of any non-diamond carbon feature and by a very weak luminescence background in the 1.6-2.4 eV spectral range. A worsening of the quality of the diamond particles is found moving from the growth surface towards the film-substrate interface. A photoluminescence feature at about 1.68 eV, commonly associated to Si impurities, is distinctly observed as the exciting laser beam is focused close to the interface. A progressive degradation of the global quality of the films is found with increasing methane concentration in the gas mixture, as witnessed by an increased PL background in the films grown at higher methane concentrations. Received 24 November 2000     

Comparison of velvet- and cesium iodide-coated carbon fibercathodes

Presents results of an experimental comparison of a velvet cathode- and a carbon fiber cathode-coated with cesium iodide (CsI) salt. Each cathode had a planar geometry, with similar emission areas. The cathodes were tested at electric field strengths of 50 kV/cm at anode-cathode (A-K) gaps of 4.0 cm. The applied voltage had a 1-μs duration and the pulser was operated at up to a 1-Hz repetition rate. The system had a low base pressure (<1.0×10^-7 torr). This paper reports the results and comparisons of experiments on each cathode. We address the current and voltage characteristics, the shot-to-shot reproducibility, the pressure evolution of the diode under 1-Hz operation, and the lifetime of the cathodes     

Quasiperiodically driven Josephson junctions: strange nonchaotic attractors, symmetries and transport

We consider the dynamics of the overdamped Josephson junction under the influence of an external quasiperiodic driving field. In dependence on parameter values either a quasiperiodic motion or a strange nochaotic attractor (SNA) can be observed. The latter corresponds to a resistive state in the current-voltage characteristics while for quasiperiodic motion a finite superconducting current exists for zero voltage. It is shown that in the case of SNA a nonzero mean voltage across the junction can appear due to symmetry breakings. Based on this observation a detailed symmetry consideration of the generalized equation of motion is performed and symmetry conditions ensuring zero mean voltage across the junction are found. Received 16 August 2001 and Received in final form 22 January 2002     

AC Stark effect in toroidal carbon nanotubes threaded with an ac magnetic flux

The ac Stark effect is investigated in the toroidal carbon nanotube system threaded with an ac magnetic flux. The Floquet theory is employed to deal with the time-dependent quantum problems. The time-averaged energy of the system is derived and is found to exhibit a strong relationship with an external field, and the modified energy gap has been presented. The ac flux enhances energy gaps to cause metal-semiconductor transition. The steady current has been obtained by employing the free energy approach, and the persistent current is a special case as the magnitude of the ac flux approaches zero. The photon-assisted current is quite different from the persistent current due to the absorption and emission of photons. The local density of states is obtained by calculating the Green's function in the Floquet state, and photon-resonant structures are observed. All of the novel features are associated with the ac Stark effect, which is caused by the modification of energy levels. Received 20 November 2002 / Received in final form 7 February 2003 Published online 20 June 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: zhaohonk@yahoo.com     

氢等离子体处理——一种有效提高碳纳米管场发射性能的方法

研究了经氢等离子体处理后多壁碳纳米管的场发射性能。测量了处理前后样品的电流电压特性和表面形貌。结果表明经氢等离子体处理后,发射性能明显改善,发射点密度由未经处理的104/cm2提高到106/cm2。发现了一种新的碳纳米管结构,称之为多结的碳纳米管,并讨论了样品发射性能提高的可能机理。这种处理提供了一种有效提高发射点密度和基于碳纳米管的平板显示器性能的方法,非常适用于低成本大面积场发射阴极的制作。     

Modeling of impedance collapse in high-voltage diodes

Electron-beam diodes driven by fast-rising, high-voltage pulses often operate with cold cathodes for which the presence of a plasma adjacent to the cathode surface is essential to obtain adequate electron emission. A consequence of such surface plasma, however, is closure of the interelectrode gap by plasma motion. Resistive heating of the plasma competes with work performed in expanding the plasma and heat transfer to the cold-cathode boundary. The resulting closure speed is calculated, using an MHD code, and found to agree well with results of experiments using organic-cloth cathodes at 35 kV. Computed plasma speeds are typically 8-12 km/s, and are relatively insensitive to the applied voltage. Gap closure due to the plasma motion calculated numerically corresponds to estimates based on impedance collapse in the experiments     

Experimental study and Monte Carlo simulation of the correlation between electron emission and stopping power for swift proton impact on amorphous carbon target

It is usually well accepted that for swift protons, the induced backward and forward electron emission yield is proportional to the projectile electronic stopping power. This was observed in particular for thin amorphous carbon foils. However, this law was established from a non extensive set of experimental data and somewhat confirmed by rough macroscopic theories. We then developed a standard Monte Carlo simulation to predict the yield dependence on proton energy [0.5–10 MeV] and for a wide range of foil thickness. After evaluating the reliability of this simulation, we showed and explained why the law of proportionality cannot generally hold for forward electron emission. In particular, the ratio between forward yield and stopping power generally depends on foil thickness and proton energy. We performed a new experiment that confirmed our theoretical predictions. Received 9 March 2001     

碳纳米管和天鹅绒阴极强流发射特性的对比研究

采用电泳沉积法、碳纳米管纸和化学气相沉积直接生长法制备了三种碳纳米管阴极. 从强流发射性能、阴极等离子体膨胀、阴极起动、发射均匀性、工作稳定性以及脉冲放气特性等多个方面, 对比研究了碳纳米管阴极和化纤天鹅绒阴极的强流发射特性, 研究表明碳纳米管阵列和碳纳米管纸阴极发射性能明显优于普通化纤天鹅绒, 碳纳米管阴极发射性能与碳纳米管取向无关, 管壁的缺陷发射对无序碳纳米管阴极强流发射具有重要贡献. 碳纳米管阴极的起动场强约为普通化纤天鹅绒的2/3, 电场上升率相同时碳纳米管阴极比化纤天鹅绒阴极起动时间短12–17 ns. 碳纳米管阴极发射均匀性优于化纤天鹅绒, 尤其是碳纳米管阵列, 整个阴极表面等离子体光斑致密且均匀. 在二极管本底气压为6×10^-3 Pa时, 碳纳米管纸阴极对应的二极管峰值气压不到0.3 Pa, 约为普通化纤天鹅绒阴极的1/5, 碳纳米管阵列阴极放气量在三种阴极中最少, 仅为0.042 Pa. 结果表明, 碳纳米管阴极在强流电子束源和相关高功率微波器件领域具有潜在的应用价值.     

Simulation of the ignition transient in RF inductively-coupled plasma torches

The paper deals with the time-dependent numerical simulation of inductively-coupled plasma torches during the ignition transient, which is induced by a graphite rod and leads to the final, self-sustaining plasma condition. The study has been performed by using a 2D time-dependent fluid-magnetic code based on the SIMPLER algorithm within the assumptions of laminar flow, local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions and optically thin plasma. The graphite rod has been treated as a real obstacle for the gas and the electron emission due to the thermoionic effect has been suitably taken into account. The advantage of using a time-dependent code in order to select different plasma operating conditions that can lead to stable discharges is pointed out. Results for both argon and air discharges are presented for different torch geometries, RF frequencies and inlet gas configurations (also including the presence of a carrier gas injected along the axis of the torch). Moreover, the final self-sustaining plasma configurations obtained are compared, when available, with results coming from static models, which have been published by other authors. Received 29 December 2000     

Plasma characterization on carbon fiber cathode by spectroscopic diagnostics

This paper mainly investigates plasma characterization on carbon fiber cathodes with and without cesium iodide (CsI) coating powered by a ～300~ns, ～ 200~kV accelerating pulse. It was found that the CsI layers can not only improve the diode voltage, but also maintain a stable perveance. This indicates a slowly changed diode gap or a low cathode plasma expansion velocity. By spectroscopic diagnostics, in the vicinity of the cathode surface the average plasma density and temperature were found to be ～ 3× 10¹⁴~cm^-3 and ～ 5~eV, respectively, for an electron current density of ～ 40~A/cm². Furthermore, there exists a multicomponent plasma expansion toward the anode. The plasma expansion velocity, corresponding to the carbon and hydrogen ions, is estimated to be ～ 1.5~cm/μ s. Most notably, Cs spectroscopic line was obtained only at the distance ≤ 0.5~mm from the cathode surface. Carbon and hydrogen ions are obtained up to the distance of 2.5~mm from the cathode surface. Cs ions almost remain at the vicinity of the cathode surface. These results show that the addition of CsI enables a slow cathode plasma expansion toward the anode, providing a positive prospect for developing long-pulse electron beam sources.     

Field emission of electrons by carbon nanotube twist-yarns

Field emission with high current density at low operating voltage was found for the yarns obtained by solid state spinning process from forest of vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes. The nanotube forest was produced catalytically by CVD method. It is found that only a small fraction of carbon nanotubes from their total amount in the yarn yields to electron emission from its free end. This led to resistive heating of the emitting tubes and limiting of the emission current. The field emission microscopy pictures of MWNT yarn in free-end geometry appears to be very different from that of the conventional non-yarn carbon nanotube-based cathodes described in all previous studies. The FEM patterns are found to consist of the set of line and arc segments rather than a set of spots. Possible explanation of this effect is presented and discussed. The field emission from the lateral side of the yarns showed the self-enhanced currents increasing with operation time. We assume that this current increase may be due to untwisting and unwrapping of yarns resulted of application of the electric field. The lowest threshold field of about 0.7 V/μm was obtained after a few cycles of applied field increase. The prototypes of cathodoluminescent lamps and alphanumerical indicators based on MWNT twist-yarn cold cathodes are demonstrated. PACS 79.70.+q; 61.46.Fg; 85.45.Db     

Transport and Coulomb drag for two interacting carbon nanotubes

We study nonlinear transport for two coupled one-dimensional quantum wires or carbon nanotubes described by Luttinger liquid theory. Transport properties are shown to crucially depend on the contact length L _c. For a special interaction strength, the problem can be solved analytically for arbitrary L _c. For point-like contacts and strong interactions, a qualitatively different picture compared to a Fermi liquid emerges, characterized by zero-bias anomalies and strong dependence on the applied cross voltage. In addition, pronounced Coulomb drag phenomena are important for extended contacts. Received 28 July 2000     

Comparison of carbon fiber and cesium iodide-coated carbon fibercathodes

Presents results of an experimental comparison of a bare carbon fiber cathode and the same cathode when coated with cesium iodide salt (CsI). An annular cathode was constructed by arranging carbon fibers in an annular tuft pattern. The cathode was then operated as a bare carbon fiber cathode and in a configuration with a CsI coating. The cathode was tested at electric field strengths ranging from 50 kV/cm to 265 kV/cm at anode-cathode (A-K) gaps of 3.175 cm. The applied voltage had a 1-μs duration and the modulator was operated at up to 1 Hz repetition rate. The system had a low base pressure (<1.0×10^-7 torr). The article reports on results concerning the conditioning of the cathodes, the shot-to-shot reproducibility of the cathodes and the pressure evolution of the diode under 1 Hz operation. We also report on the impedance evolution of each of the diodes     

Field emission from nano-patterned amorphous carbon

Electron emission from nano-patterned amorphous carbon is realized in this paper. The patterned carbon consists of islands with size of tens of nanometers, and is formed by etching uniform carbon film in oxygen plasma using a bismuth island-like film as the mask. Uniform and stable electron emission is reproducibly obtained, and the emission efficiency is above 2% at an anode voltage of 3 kV. Small carbon particles between large islands are supposed to be necessary for stable electron emission.     

The He I 706.52 nm line shape characteristics in the plasma diagnostics

On the basis of the precisely recorded 706.52 nm He I line shape we have obtained the basic plasma parameters i.e. electron temperature (T) and electron density (N) using our new line deconvolution procedure in the case of five various plasmas created in a linear, low-pressure, pulsed arc discharge. Plasma parameters have been also measured using independent experimental diagnostical techniques. Excellent agreement was found among the two sets of the obtained parameters. This enables our deconvolution procedure to recommendation for plasma diagnostical purposes, especially in astrophysics where direct measurements of the plasma parameters (T and N) are not possible. Besides, on the basis of the observed asymmetry of the Stark broadened line profile we have obtained its ion broadening parameter (A) caused by influence of the ion microfield to the line broadening mechanism and also the influence of the ion dynamic effect (D) to the line shape. Our A and D parameters represent the first data obtained experimentally using the line profile deconvolution procedure. We have found stronger influence of the ion contribution to the 706.52 nm He I line profile than the existing theoretical approximations estimate. This can be important for plasma modeling or for diagnostics. Received 30 October 2002 Published online 15 April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: vladimir@ff.bg.ac.yu