Low-Energy Plasma Focus Device as an Electron Beam Source

A low-energy plasma focus device was used as an electron beam source. A technique was developed to simultaneously measure the electron beam intensity and energy. The system was operated in Argon filling at an optimum pressure of 1.7 mbar. A Faraday cup was used together with an array of filtered PIN diodes. The beam-target X-rays were registered through X-ray spectrometry. Copper and lead line radiations were registered upon usage as targets. The maximum electron beam charge and density were estimated to be 0.31 μC and /m3, respectively. The average energy of the electron beam was 500 keV. The high flux of the electron beam can be potentially applicable in material sciences.

本研究采用低能等离子体聚焦装置（low-energy plasma focus device）作为电子束源，并开发了一种可同时测量电子束强度与能量的技术。该系统在填充氩气的工况下运行，最优工作气压为1.7 mbar。实验采用法拉第杯（Faraday cup）与经过滤波的PIN二极管（PIN diode）阵列协同工作，电子束-靶材相互作用产生的X射线通过X射线光谱法（X-ray spectrometry）完成探测记录。当以铜与铅作为靶材时，可探测到铜与铅的特征线辐射。经估算，电子束的最大电荷与最大电荷密度分别为0.31 微库仑（μC）与1 /m³，电子束的平均能量为500 千电子伏特（keV）。该电子束具备高通量特性，有望应用于材料科学研究领域。