Characteristics of electron beams formed in a diode with magnetic insulation

The problems of the formation of relativistic electron beams in a cylindrical diode with an annular cathode are discussed in the approximation of an infinitely strong guiding magnetic field. The beams are treated as infinitely thin. The following cases are investigated: 1) The formation of an electron beam moving off the cathode with an initial velocity. The case in which the field on the cathode is not equal to zero is investigated. It is shown that the potential of the electron beam can be determined in a nonunique fashion in the drift region. 2) The formation of a two-velocity electron beam. The possibility of controlling the flow of kinetic energy of the beam by varying the fraction of fast electrons in it is shown. 3) The formation of an electron beam in a diode with the help of two opposed cathodes at different potentials. A strong dependence of the current in the diode on the potential difference between the cathodes is obtained.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 36–39, December, 1981.