Low energy electron beam accelerator

A low energy electron beam accelerator with a linear or coil type filament is improved to facilitate exchange of the filament. A filament supporting structure including a filament and reflector is disposed within a cylindrical or rectangular shell provided at one end with a tank for the injection of an insulating gas for insulation of the high voltage section. The improvement comprises the adoption of a tank structure designed such that a section of the tank located on the logitudinal axis of the filament supporting structure is removable, and the provision of electrode sliding means along which the filament supporting structure may be slid. Exchange of the filament is accomplished by opening the removable section of the tank and extracting the filament supporting structure from the interior of the device by sliding it along the electrode sliding means. Since the tank need not be increased in size to facilitate removal and reinstallation of the filament supporting structure, it is possible to shorten the time required for the filament exchange operation and greatly simplify the procedure, especially in the case of filaments on the order of 1 - 1.5 meters in length. (Owens, K.J.)