Accession Number:

AD0770608

Title:

Soviet Development of Needle-Tip Field-Emission Cathodes for High- Current Electron Beams

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA

Personal Author(s):

• Kassel, Simon
• Hendricks, Charles D.

Report Date:

1973-08-01

Pagination or Media Count:

24.0

Abstract:

The paper summarizes recent Soviet theoretical and experimental work on cathodes for very high-current charged particle beams. Field emission from needle-tip cathodes is based on explosive emission from the tips, accompanied by explosion-derived plasma setting up intense local electric fields. A cathode fabrication method is described that gives stable operation through 10,000 to 100,000 pulses of about 3 nanoseconds each, for currents of 500 to 1000 A. A liquid cathode produces stable current pulses within 6 percent of 2000 A. In a large needle array, 80 percent to 100 percent of the tips maintained current value dispersion within 20 percent. Operational cathodes of the controllable tip-and-dielectric type have been developed for 500 keV and 50 kA, and of the multiple-tip types for 1 MeV and 50 kA.

Descriptors:

• *CATHODES
• *ELECTRON BEAMS
• *FIELD EMISSION
• GAMMA RAYS
• MICROWAVES
• NUCLEAR FUSION
• PLASMAS(PHYSICS)
• X RAYS

Subject Categories:

• Particle Accelerators

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE