Accelerating voltage effect on the ablation process during pulsed electron deposition

In this study, we have analyzed the effect of electron beam accelerating voltage on the maximum temperature of a graphite target during pulsed electron beam ablation (PEBA). To this end, a two stage, one dimensional thermal model is used. The target is subjected to an electron pulse with accelerating voltages of 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18 kV. The surface temperature, vaporization front velocity, ablated depth, and ablation rate are estimated from the solution of the model. Simulation results have shown that target surface temperature is not proportional to the accelerating voltage. It has been found that the surface temperature increases with the accelerating voltage from 10 kV to 15 kV, and reaches a maximum value (7500 K) at 15 kV. After 15 kV, the temperature decreases with increasing accelerating voltage. Similar trends have been observed in the vaporization front velocity, ablated depth and ablation rate, with maximum values (75 m/s, 2.1 μm, and 4 μg/mm²) at 15 kV. The calculation results are in good agreement with relevant experimental data from the literature