Development and characterization of pseudospark discharge based plasma cathode electron
(PD-PCE) source for high density and energetic e-beam generation for pulsed power applications

Varun^a,b, Akhilesh Mishra^a,b, Navin Kumar Sharma^c, Ram Prakash Lamba^a,b and Udit Narayan Pal^a,b
aCSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani-333 031, India
^bAcademy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201 002, India
^cSchool of Physics, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore-452 001, India
Dedicated to Prof B N Basu

The development and characterization study of a multi-gap pseudospark discharge based plasma cathode (PD-PCE) has been carried out for the generation of high density, energetic and short pulsed electron beams, suitable for potential applications in EUV/Soft X-ray, and surface modification studies. The investigations of multi-gap PD-PCE sources with different gas pressures, applied voltages (20–35 kV), and electrode aperture sizes (2–6 mm) for the generation of required short pulse electron beams have been carried out. The proposed analysis has helped in the design and development of multi-gap (4-gap) PD-PCE sources having uniform sequence of electrode apertures diameters (4 mm). The developed PD-PCE source has shown the capability of repeatable generation of high pulsed electron beam current of ~1.4 kA with current density of ~ 1.1 ×104 A/cm² at 35 kV applied voltage with 4 mm electrode aperture. The developed PD-PCE source also generated and propagated the required high density and energetic pulsed electron beam by controlling the geometrical and operating parameters. The investigations and findings of the present work would be useful for the optimisation of the design and development of multi-gap PD-PCE sources required for the efficient generation of EUV/soft X-ray radiation. © Anita Publications. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Pseudospark discharge, Pulsed e-beam, Electron source.
Doi:10.54955/AJP.32.9-12.2023.479-485

Peer Review Information
Method: Single- anonymous; Screened for Plagiarism? Yes
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