Pulsating mode in X-ray generators based on the SBN-61 crystal

Currently, pyroelectric crystals are used in the development of new portable sources of X-ray and neutron radiation. Typically, X-rays are produced when pyroelectric crystals are heated or cooled. In this work, in an X-ray generator based on a ferroelectric crystal of barium-strontium niobate Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6, the pulsations of the electron and X-ray flux were registered at a constant temperature when the gas pressure increased in the range 2 center dot 10(-2)-10(-1 )Torr. The electron flux had the shape of a cross in the crystal plane. The flash duration did not exceed 0.04 seconds. The observed effect is explained by the movement of domain boundaries on the depolarized crystal face in vacuum, resulting in a large surface charge and, accordingly, an electric potential, leading to the formation of a pulsed electron flux.