A plasma–cathode electron source designed for industrial use

Abstract

The article presents a description of the principle of operation, the design, and the performance data of a plasma–cathode electron source. Plasma is produced in a hollow-cathode reflex discharge operating in an axial magnetic field. The discharge unit is filamentless. Air is used as the working gas. The electron source generates a focused continuous electron beam of current up to 0.3 A at an accelerating voltage of up to 60 kV. Owing to the absence of hot electrodes, the system operates reliably under severe gas conditions with a long lifetime. The electron source is currently used as a component of electron-beam welding flow lines. The use of the electron source for electron-beam facing of composite powdered materials is also discussed.