Experiments on space-charge waves in electron beams propagating through a resistive-wall channel

Localized longitudinal space-charge waves in a transport channel with a resistive wall are investigated experimentally. The space-charge waves with various pulse widths are generated in electron beams with energies of 3.0 endash 8.5 keV and currents of 30 endash 135 mA, and they are transported through a resistive channel with a resistance of 5 endash 10 kΩ and a length of 1 m. The resistive channel, made of a glass tube with a resistive material coating, is surrounded by a long solenoid which provides the focusing for the beam. The localized space-charge waves are measured with current monitors and energy analyzers at the entrance and exit of the resistive channel, and the wave-amplitude growth and damping rates are determined. The measured results are compared with the theory in the long-wavelength range. For localized waves with short widths, where the long-wavelength approximation is not valid any more, dispersion and distributed capacitance effects on the growth/damping rates are discussed. In addition, preliminary results on the energy width measurements of space-charge waves are presented. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics