Abstract:
A simulation of the non-stationary process of formation of an electron beam in a planar vacuum diode with a plasma cathode operating in the mode of pulses with duration of 3 ns and pauses between pulses of 2 ns has been carried out. Plasma is described on the basis of the collisionless kinetics of electrons and singly charged ions in a self-consistent electric field. The movement of the plasma emission boundary towards the anode is due to the formation of a local region of an inverse electric field in the gap. The electron beam current density depends on the cathode plasma density and can be several times higher than the Child–Langmuir current. The field inversion region has a “virtual cathode” structure in the cathode plasma generation mode, and the inversion region has a “potential hump” structure in the pauses between the cathode plasma generation pulses.
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