Accelerator of high-current microsecond electron beams

Basic design and physical characteristics are given of a hiah-current electron accelerator which makes it possible to obtain electron beams with a current pulse duration of about 10 μs at the current of approximately 5 kA and electron energy of approximately 0.5 MeV. The electron accelerator is a magnetic-insulated diode. The magnetic field protects the surface of the accelerating tube both against electrons emitted from the surface of the cathode holder, and against electrons coming from the diode area. It has been found that reliable magnetic insulation of the accelerating tube is provided at a magnetic field exceeding 1 KOe. The accelerating tube is made of two fibre-glass cylinders the space between which is filled with a solution of blue vitriol to even the potential distribution over the tube length. The cathode unit consists of interchanaeable cathodes and a cathode-holder permitting the displacement of the cathode along the system axis over a wide range. The geometry of the anode unit is variable. Typical oscillograms of voltages across the accelerating tube show that the magnetic field (approximately 2 kOe) greatly increases the duration of the electron beam pulse