Modeling and Experimental Characterization of the Plasma Produced by a Velvet Cathode in a Linear Induction Accelerator

At the EPURE center, in France, a high power electron diode is used to generate an intense pulsed electron beam (2.6 kA, 4 Me V) in order to produce a bremsstrahlung pulse for flash radiography. The plasma created by the surface flashover of the velvet cathode provides a zero work function emitter used to produce the space-charge-limited electron beam [1]. In order to optimize the design of diodes...