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Plasma-induced evolution behavior of space-charge-limited current for multiple-needle

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2009 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 015011

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IOP PUBLISHING PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011 (8pp) doi:10.1088/0963-0252/18/1/015011

Plasma-induced evolution behavior of

space-charge-limited current for
multiple-needle cathodes
Limin Li1,3 , Lie Liu1 , Hong Wan2 , Jun Zhang1 , Jianchun Wen1 and
Yonggui Liu1
1
College of Photoelectric Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology,
Changsha 410073, People’s Republic of China
2
Department of Material Engineering and Applied Chemistry, National University of Defense
Technology, Changsha 410073, People’s Republic of China
E-mail: newages1979@yahoo.com.cn

Received 20 May 2008, in final form 17 August 2008

Published 5 December 2008
Online at stacks.iop.org/PSST/18/015011

Abstract
Properties of the plasma and beam flow produced by tufted carbon fiber cathodes in a diode
powered by a ∼500 kV, ∼400 ns pulse are investigated. Under electric fields of
230–260 kV cm−1 , the electron current density was in the range 210–280 A cm−2 , and
particularly at the diode gap of 20 mm, a maximum beam power density of about
120 MW cm−2 was obtained. It was found that space-charge-limited current exhibited an
evolution behavior as the accelerating pulse proceeded. There exists a direct relation between
the movement of plasma within the diode and the evolution of space-charge-limited current.
Initially in the accelerating pulse, the application of strong electric fields caused the emission
sites to explode, forming cathode flares or plasma spots, and in this stage the
space-charge-limited current was approximately described by a multiple-needle cathode
model. As the pulse proceeded, these plasma spots merged and expanded towards the anode,
thus increasing the emission area and shortening the diode gap, and the corresponding
space-charge-limited current followed a planar cathode model. Finally, the
space-charge-limited current is developed from a unipolar flow into a bipolar flow as a result of
the appearance of anode plasma. In spite of the nonuniform distribution of cathode plasma, the
cross-sectional uniformity of the extracted electron beam is satisfactory. The plasma
expansion within the diode is found to be a major factor in the diode perveance growth and
instability. These results show that these types of cathodes can offer promising applications for
high-power microwave tubes.
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction emission cathodes are currently the most appropriate choice

High-current electron beams with current densities of tens to
hundreds of A cm−2 at accelerating fields of 104 –105 V cm−1
have remained an area of considerable interest in such diverse
applications as high-power microwave (HPM) generation [1,
2], surface modification of different materials [3], x-ray
production [4] and high-energy laser pumping [5]. Explosive
3 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.
for generating such electron beams. In contrast to thermionic
cathodes, which require significant heating in order to liberate
electrons from a cathode surface, explosive emission cathodes
liberate electrons through the application of a large electric
field that pulls electrons from the bulk of cathode material
that is not heated [6–8]. One of the most challenging
requirements of HPM sources is high-current, cold cathodes
[9]. The cathode materials range from polymer velvet to
metal–dielectric interfaces to carbon fiber [10, 11]. Velvet

0963-0252/09/015011+08$30.00 1 © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011 L Li et al

cathodes can be used in systems where a high beam emittance

is required; however, they discharge a great deal of excess gases
during a pulse, especially for current densities exceeding the
kA cm−2 level [12–14]. Carbon fiber cathodes have longer
lifetimes than velvet cathodes and after cesium iodide (CsI)
salt coating, the performance is significantly improved in
terms of the emission threshold, emission uniformity and
cathode lifetime [15–19]. A detailed study of velvet cathodes
was presented in [6] where the origin of the cathode plasma
formation was suggested to be a flashover process. However,
the complete physics behind the excellent properties of the
carbon fiber cathodes is far from fully characterized. The ideal Figure 1. (a) Experimental setup and (b) tufted carbon fiber
cathode with a graphite substrate.
cathode for HPM tubes would be one that exhibits superior
properties, including high current densities (kA cm−2 ), fast
turn-on at moderate electric fields (<105 V cm−1 ), little or no
plasma production (no significant outgassing) and survivability
even under repetitively pulsed operation. However, such an
idealized cathode does not yet exist, and therefore there is a
continuous effort in the research and development of cathode
materials for generating high-current electron beams.
The explosive emission plasma serves as an almost infinite
source of electrons, allowing a space-charge-limited current
in the diode. If too much space charge is injected into a
gap, a potential minimum forms near the cathode surface,
which results in a zero electric field at the cathode surface.
Electron emission capability of cathode plasma in high power
diodes is sufficient, in most cases, to ensure space-charge-
limited emission. The space-charge-limited current density
for an infinite planar diode JSCL is approximately given Figure 2. Typical waveforms of the applied voltage (upper) and
by the well-known Child–Langmuir (CL) law [20], JCL = diode current (lower); dac = 20 mm.
√
(4ε0 /9) 2e/me (ϕ 3/2 /dac2
) where ϕ is the diode voltage and dac
is the anode–cathode (A–K) gap. Edge effects in finite area diode was operated with a base pressure of (1–5) × 10−4 Torr,
diodes may significantly increase the value of JSCL , relative using a vacuum pump. The diode current and the accelerating
to the prediction of JCL [21, 22]. Another factor that may voltage were measured with a Rogowski coil and a resistive
affect the value of JSCL in high power diodes is the ion flow divider, respectively. A stainless steel grid of 200 mm diameter
from anode plasma that could be generated due to intense and a transparency of 95% was used as an anode. The
electron bombardment of the anode surface [23, 24]. The ion cathode was grounded using a large copper strap to reduce
flow increases the electron current density and, ultimately, the inductance.
JSCL becomes 1.85 times higher than the value of JCL [20]. Here a multiple-needle cathode of rc = 35 mm radius was
Interestingly, these effects on the space-charge-limited current based on carbon fiber emitters (figure 1(b)). The multiple-
appear at different stages of the accelerating pulse, particularly needle cathode was constructed by mounting the separate
for long pulse operation. A deeper understanding of this carbon fiber tufts, 1.5 mm in diameter and 5 mm long, in a
behavior of space-charge-limited current potentially provides graphite substrate with a lot of holes spaced by 9 mm. Each
new insights for charged beam physics. tuft was composed of thousands of carbon fibers (T300-3K,
In this paper, we examined the plasma formation on 5 µm in diameter).
a tufted carbon fiber cathode using a fast framing camera. The light emission from the tufted carbon fiber cathode
Possible explanations are given for the nature of plasma was detected by a fast framing camera placed at the output
formation. The quality of the electron beam generated from window. A variable delay between the onset of the high-
the cathode was tested. Additionally, we present a quantitative voltage pulse and the camera frame enabled the capture of
description of the evolution behavior of space-charge-limited plasma images at different stages of pulse development. One
current, based on the dynamics of the plasma within the diode. image per pulse at a given gate delay could be registered.
Figure 2 shows typical waveforms of the applied voltage
2. Experimental configuration and diode current at dac = 20 mm. Notably, after the
peak current, the diode current decayed slowly relative to the
The experimental setup is shown in figure 1(a). A high-voltage accelerating voltage. Such behavior is typical for a high-
generator (500 kV, 50 , 400 ns), based on inductive energy voltage generator with inductive energy accumulators. The
accumulators, was used as a pulsed power supply for the diode. voltage amplitude was ∼500 kV and the voltage pulse width
The A–K gap was varied in the range of dac = 10–70 mm. This was ∼400 ns. The diode voltage increased rapidly up to 400 kV

2
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011
Figure 3. Typical images of light emission from the carbon fiber
cathode for different A–K gaps but at the same time delay
τd = 30 ns with respect to the beginning of the accelerating pulse;
(a) dac = 20 mm, (b) dac = 15 mm and (c) dac = 10 mm. These
images were captured at ∼45◦ with respect to the diode axis. The
region with the dashed line shows the cathode edge.
within 20 ns. The diode voltage had a flattop of about 200 ns.
It can be seen from the waveform of diode current that the
maximum current was about 9 kA. Additionally, the average
electric field was around 250 kV cm−1 , and the maximum
current density approached the kA cm−2 level.
3. Experimental results
3.1. Plasma distribution on the cathode surface
The process of explosive electron emission is accompanied by
strong light emission in the form of cathode flares or plasma
spots. It is commonly accepted that by their appearance, shape
and location on the cathode surface one can obtain information
about the process of electron emission. To measure the cathode
plasma distribution the fast framing camera was positioned at
∼45◦ with respect to the diode axis, resulting in oval rather
than circular images of the cathode emission surface. Light
emission images from the carbon fiber cathode, which operated
at different A–K gaps, are presented in figure 3. Those cathode
emission surfaces were imaged at the same time delay τd with
respect to the beginning of the accelerating pulse. Several
features can be observed as follows.
First, light emission was not uniform over the whole
cathode surface, and many individual bright spots appeared.
At dac = 20 mm, the bright spots were mainly distributed
along the cathode edge, and the light emission from some sites
was rather faint (figure 3(a)). In this case, these bright spots
with almost similar intensities appeared from many different
locations of the cathode surface.
Second, the amount and the brightness of bright spots
increased as the A–K gap decreased. The image pattern of
the light emission, at dac = 15 mm, was almost the same as the
above case, namely, from separate locations (see figure 3(b)).
In this case, one can observe slightly stronger light emission
as compared with the case of the 20 mm A–K gap; moreover,
the distribution of bright spots was random but more or less
uniform. Also, several bright spots emerged in the inner region
3
L Li et al
of the cathode surface. The average dimension of each of the
brighter spots is several millimeters.
Third, one can see that at dac = 10 mm, i.e. over
400 kV cm−1 electric field within the diode, the image pattern
was characterized by rather strong light emission on the
cathode surface. Notably, as compared with the results in
figures 3(a) and (b), a smaller number of spots, but brighter,
on the cathode surface were observed in figure 3(c).
Finally, brighter emission centers (ECs) always appeared
along or close to the cathode perimeter, mainly due to the edge
effect. In particular, at a low external field the edge emission
has little effect on the plasma distribution. In addition, we
observed excellent reproducibility of the locations of the bright
spots from shot to shot. As expected, bright spots were
observed from the locations of individual carbon fiber emitters.
As mentioned above, the distribution of bright spots across
the cathode surface is closely related to the external electric
field and to the properties of cathode materials. Namely, with
the decrease in the A–K gap, an increase in the intensity
of the light emission was observed. Besides, the turn-on
electric field of the cathode materials has significant effects
on the plasma distribution. That is, the lower the turn-
on electric field, the larger the number of plasma spots, or
the more uniform the cathode emission. Actually, in the
explosive electron emission process, there exists a transition
from thermal or field emission to explosive electron emission.
Generally, the response time of field emission is shorter than
that of explosive emission. For field emission, the different
field enhancement factors at different locations on the cathode
material result in an inhomogeneous emission pattern. Thus,
the surface morphology of cathode materials is an important
factor influencing emission uniformity. Additionally, electron
emission is focused on bright spots due to material explosion by
an enhancement of the microscopic electric field. Therefore,
several separate beamlets form at these bright spots after the
beginning of the accelerating pulse. It has been suggested
that the number of beamlets depends on the A–K gap dac ,
the emission threshold electric field and the electric field rise
time [25].
Typical side-view images of the light emission from the
diode at different time delays τd with respect to the beginning of
the accelerating pulse are presented in figure 4. These frames
demonstrate how the plasma develops during the accelerating
pulse. Here these images were captured at ϕ = 500 kV and
dac = 20 mm. First, the light emission was not uniform over
the whole cathode surface. As the pulse proceeded, brighter
and larger ECs appeared along the periphery of the cathode,
which is similar to the experimental observations in figure 3.
Weak light emission at the cathode center was also observed.
Such light emission at the cathode center was focused mainly
on the top of the carbon fiber. Later in the accelerating pulse,
light emission from a larger cathode surface area was observed,
demonstrating a radial movement of the cathode plasma. Early
in the pulse there existed some weak light emission from the
anode, potentially indicating the formation of plasma on the
anode surface. As the pulse proceeded, the anode plasma
expanded towards the cathode rather than residing at the anode
surface (see figure 4(b)). The diffuse plasma almost filled the
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011
Figure 4. Side-view images of plasma movement in the diode at
different time delays τd . The anode appeared on the right and the
cathode on the left. Images (a), (b) and (c) were, respectively,
captured at τd = 250 ns, 450 ns and 600 ns. Conditions: ϕ = 500 kV
and dac = 20 mm.
1
2 emission current is required, but actually the maximum beam
3 beam propagation. On the other hand, the radial expansion of
4
5 confirmed by the fact that the area of plasma spots was enlarged
6 of beam electrons in a volume with almost the same area as
Figure 5. Target image of macromolecule board bombarded by
electron beam from the carbon fiber cathode. The black region
indicates the imprint of the electron beam. Conditions: ϕ = 500 kV
and dac = 20 mm.
A–K gap region at τd = 600 ns. Therefore, the shortening
of the A–K gap, at τd > 250 ns, is attributed mainly to the
combination of the axial movements of cathode and anode
plasmas.
3.2. Electron beam quality
The witness target, a macromolecule board, was used to
determine the electron beam diameter for the carbon fiber
cathode. Moreover, to catch more electrons the witness target
had the same dimensions as the anode grid. The witness target
was placed behind the anode grid at a distance of 20 mm.
Figure 5 presents a photograph of the witness target bombarded
by an electron beam at one shot. It was found that the imprint
4
L Li et al
of the electron beam is characterized by an irregular pattern.
Notably, the beam electrons are centralized together, forming
a large spot of about 20 cm2 . Also, the ablation degree of
this large spot was more or less uniform. Thus, the carbon
fiber cathode can generate high-current electron beams with
satisfactory uniformity on the cross section.
There appear several beamlets from bright spots on the
cathode surface (see figure 3(a)), while the discrete beam spots
do not appear in figure 5. The radial expansion of cathode
plasma or/and the self-pinching of the electron beam due to
a large self-magnetic field may be responsible for this result.
In the propagation of a relativistic electron beam, the self-
magnetic field cannot normally be neglected if its magnitude
is sufficient to cause self-pinching of the beam. It has been
postulated that diode pinching will occur when the relativistic
gyroradius of an electron emitted from the cathode periphery
becomes equal to the A–K gap. This consideration leads to
the semiempirical relationship, Ic = (4π me cγ /eµ0 )rc /2dac ,
termed the critical current, where γ = 1 + eϕ/(me c2 ) is the
relativistic factor. The electron beam begins to self-pinch
when the diode current exceeds the critical current, namely,
I > Ic . If self-pinching of electron beam occurs, a ∼30 kA
current is only 9 kA, far less than the critical current. Thus,
the beam self-pinching would have little effect on the electron
cathode plasma potentially becomes a major contributor to the
seeming inconsistency between the results. The whole area of
carbon fiber tufts is only 1 cm2 , thus strongly suggesting the
radial expansion of cathode plasma. This speculation can be
as the pulse proceeded (figure 4). It should be pointed out that
the beam profile is a result of the energy deposit accumulation
the beam and over a depth determined by the electron stopping
range in the target material. Here the incident electron beam
transported energy fluxes of ∼250 MW cm−2 , allowing a large
thermal gradient inside the impact surface.
To measure the quality of electron beam extracted from
the carbon fiber cathode, the pepper-pot method [26] was used.
In our implementation of this measurement, the pepperpot
mask was a thin tantalum disk (5 mm thickness) with two
perpendicular arrays of diameter d = 1 mm holes separated
by 10 mm. It was placed opposite to the anode with a distance
of 20 mm. A portion of the electron beam passed through
the holes on the mask and drifted freely to a phosphor screen a
distance D = 100 mm away. The beam image on the phosphor
screen was observed using a CCD camera.
An intensity profile obtained by analyzing the beam image
captured by the CCD camera is presented in figure 6. Here the
intensity profile corresponds to any arrays of the multi-hole
mask, because the emittance was found to be almost equal in
the two perpendicular directions. Emittance measurement was
carried out at ϕ = 500 kV and dac = 20 mm. Thus the average
divergence angle was measured to be 6 mrad and the resulting
emittance was around 20 cm mrad, yielding the normalized
beam brightness of 2 × 108 A m−2 rad−2 .
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011 L Li et al

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

Figure 7. Dependence of the diode perveance P = Ib /ϕ 3/2 on the

Figure 6. Intensity profile of light emission from one array of holes. A–K gap dac (blue spheres). The ‘3/2’ law dependence (solid line)
Conditions: ϕ = 500 kV and dac = 20 mm. is calculated in accordance with P = 2.33 × 10−6 Sc /dac 2
−3/2
(in A V ) where Sc ∼ 38.5 cm is a geometrical area of the
2
Table 1. Diode characteristics at different A–K gaps dac . Ib is the carbon fiber cathode. The perveance for bipolar flow
beam current; ϕ is the diode voltage; je is the average current P = 1.85 × 2.33 × 10−6 Sc /dac 2
(in A V−3/2 ) is also plotted (dashed
density; Pb is the electron beam power density; E is the average line).
electric field.
dac Ib ϕ je Pb E perveance P is basically close to the value of PCL (dac ), but
(mm) (kA) (kV) (A cm−2 ) (MW cm−2 ) (kV cm−1 )
does not exceed the prediction of bipolar flow, indicating that P
16 10.7 417 278 115.9 260 values remain consistent with the unipolar flow model around
17 9.8 437 255 111.2 257 τd = 100 ns. At dac = 19 mm, the diode perveance exceeds
19 9.5 445 246 109.8 234
the value predicted by PCL , likely due to the edge effect. In the
20 9.2 490 240 117.1 245
22 8.3 530 216 114.2 240 case of dac = 17 mm, P becomes smaller than PCL possibly
because of the nonuniformity of cathode plasma.
The diode perveance is sensitive to geometrical factors,
3.3. Development of space-charge-limited current namely, the emission area Se (actually less than the cathode
area Sc ) and the A–K gap dac , because P ∝ Se /dac 2
. However,
Data on the diode characteristics are summarized in table 1 for plasma from cathode or anode surfaces bursts into the vacuum
different A–K gaps. Parameters presented in table 1 include region, shortening the A–K gap, which is accompanied by
the diode voltage ϕ, the beam current Ib , the corresponding the radial expansion of plasma across the cathode surface (see
current density je = Ib /Sc , the electron beam power density figures 3 and 4). Thus, Se and dac are no longer constant
Pb = Ib ϕ/Sc and the average electric field E = ϕ/dac , where parameters, and their temporal behaviors should be taken into
Sc ∼ 38.5 cm2 is the cathode area. As seen from table 1, account.
the explosive emission diode with the carbon fiber cathode The evolution of P (t) for dac = 20 mm is presented in
operated at ϕ = 400–530 kV, je = 210–280 A cm−2 and figure 8 (solid curve). One can see a fast increase in the value of
E = 230–260 kV cm−1 . Most notably, at dac = 20 mm, the P (t) at the beginning of the accelerating pulse. For a multiple-
maximum electron beam power density of 117 MW cm−2 was needle cathode with N needles and the distance between them
obtained. It should be pointed out that these parameters in a < dac , the perveance becomes P1 = 3.7 × 10−5 N vp t/
table 1 were determined in the initial stage of the accelerating (dac − vp t), in A V−3/2 , where vp is the plasma expansion
pulse (∼100 ns after current start). velocity [27]. This expression closed to the experimental data
For a high-power diode, the perveance is a measure of for N = 61 and vp = 0.7 cm µs−1 at τd < 20 ns. The discrete
the extent to which the flow pattern of the beam is influenced bright spots, i.e. ECs appeared on the cathode surface at τd <
by space charge and is defined by P = Ib /ϕ 3/2 . It is the 25 ns (figure 3(a)), which abruptly decreases the electric field
scaling factor which ensures that the flow characteristics are in the neighborhood of ECs due to the screening effect of space
unchanged when the beam voltage is varied. Therefore, a high charge. A simple expression for the screening radius Rs =
perveance means a high concentration of beam electrons in a 110 80dac (γ 2 − 1)1/4 i 1/2 ϕ −1 , in m, where γ = 1 + eϕ/(me c2 )
normal flow, which in turn generates intense self-electric and is the relativistic factor and i is the current per EC, has already
magnetic fields. Dependence of the diode perveance on the been derived [28]. Here each fiber needle is considered to be
70 mm diameter carbon fiber cathode on the A–K gap dac is an EC. If all fiber needles participate in the electron emission,
shown in figure 7. (Here the diode perveance is calculated namely, i = Ib /N and Rs = a/2 = 4.5 mm, a beam current
from the data listed in table 1, and it represents the diode of 3.5 kA is required and the corresponding τd is in the range
characteristics around τd = 100 ns.) The solid line in figure 7 of 20–25 ns. That is, the plasma sheath almost covers the
shows a dependence PCL (dac ) calculated from the CL law, and cathode surface at τd > 30 ns and, consequently, the space-
the dashed line is the perveance for bipolar flow. The diode charge-limited current is developed into that of a planar diode,

5
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011
Figure 8. Temporal dependence of the perveance for a diode with a
multiple-needle carbon fiber cathode (figure 1(b)) at dac = 20 mm,
rc = 35 mm and ϕ = 500 kV. Dashed line P1 is the perveance for
multiple-needle emitters, P2 for a planar cathode with a constant
A–K gap, P3 for the 2D perveance, P4 for the perveance with edge
effect and P5 for the bipolar flow’s perveance.
P2 = 2.33 × 10−6 π rc2 /dac 2
, in A V−3/2 [20]. Two-dimensional
(2D) space-charge-limited current for a planar cathode has
been developed and is described as P3 = 2.33 × 10−6 π rc2 (1 +
dac / 4rc )/(dac − vp t)2 , in A V−3/2 [29]. At τd > 100 ns, a
‘plateau’ in the perveance, following the 2D perveance P3 at
vp = 1 cm µs−1 , was observed; however, a large deviation
between the value of P3 and the experimental result occurred
at τd > 200 ns. For a planar diode, a perveance expression
for the cathode surface should include terms to describe the
effects of electron flow from not only the cathode face but also
the circumferential edge. One can see from figures 3 and 4 that
the electron emission of the cathode is dominated by the edge
emission; thus, the edge effect should be taken into account.
The appropriate perveance expression for edge emission has
been given [20], Pedge = 18 (14.66 × 10−6 )[2πrc /(dac α 2 )], in
A V−3/2 , where
α = ln(dac /vp t) − 0.4[ln(dac /vp t)]2 + 0.0917[ln(dac /vp t)]3
−0.0142[ln(dac /vp t)]4 + · · · . (1)
Thus, the perveance of the total electron flow from the cathode
edge and face is equal to the sum of the two components, P4 =
2.33×10−6 π rc2 /(dac −vp t)2 + 18 (14.66×10−6 )[2πrc /(dac α 2 )],
in A V−3/2 . For 100 ns < τd < 250 ns, a best fit for P4
was obtained by assuming the plasma expansion velocity
to be 0.8 cm µs−1 . In this case, the duration required for
the planar diode model is slightly prolonged as compared
with the prediction of P3 . However, at τd > 250 ns the
perveance increased rapidly and, simultaneously, a weakly
luminous layer was observed close to the anode (figure 4(a)).
While the luminous anode layer moves toward the cathode,
the luminous area expands (figure 4(b)) and gradually fills
almost the whole gap (figure 4(c)). These results strongly
indicate the presence of anode plasma. That is, at τd >
250 ns the space-charge-limited current was developed into the
bipolar flow and the corresponding perveance was calculated
as P5 = 1.85 × 2.33 × 10−6 πrc2 /(dac − vp t)2 , in A V−3/2
6
L Li et al
Figure 9. Temporal dependence of the diode impedance;
dac = 20 mm, ϕ = 500 kV.
[20], the value of which best fits the experimental data at
vp = 1.7 cm µs−1 and τd > 330 ns. The anode plasma could
be generated by either melting and subsequent evaporation of
the anode material or by electron stimulated desorption of the
contaminants on the anode surface. Thus, the time required for
the bipolar flow establishment can be approximately calculated
as tbipolar = e(m/M)1/2 /je k0 σi [24], where k0 is an electron
stimulated desorption coefficient, σi is the ionization cross
section and m/M is the mass ratio of electron and ion. At je =
240 A cm−2 , k0 = 5 atom/electron [19], σi = 3 × 10−18 cm2
and M/m = 2.5 × 104 for nitrogen atoms, the time for
the presence of a bipolar flow is estimated to be tbipolar ≈
225 ns, which is in good agreement with the experimental
observations.
In figure 9 is shown the temporal dependence of the
diode impedance at dac = 20 mm and ϕ = 500 kV. The
diode impedance dropped from an infinite value to less than
60  initially in the accelerating pulse, which corresponds to
the space-charge-limited emission from discrete ECs. Later
in the accelerating pulse, an almost constant impedance,
approximately 50 , was observed. This stage is mainly
associated with the plateau of the perveance following the
space-charge-limited emission for a planar cathode. However,
at τd > 200 ns, a fast decrease in the diode impedance appears,
possibly as a result of the presence of anode plasma shortening
the accelerating gap. It shows that the space-charge-limited
current is developed into a bipolar flow. Therefore, the
diode impedance potentially indicates the evolution behavior
of space-charge-limited current.
Here the evolution behavior of space-charge-limited
current is essentially induced by plasma within the diode. For
τd < 30 ns the perveance increases quickly mainly due to
an increase in the plasma surface area and for τd > 30 ns
the perveance increase is determined mainly by the plasma
expansion toward the anode. The explosive electron emission
is accompanied by energy liberation and, simultaneously, a
large amount of material substances and absorbed gases bursts
into the diode gap. The application of electric fields in excess
of the critical value causes the emission sites to explode within
nanoseconds to generate cathode flares or plasma spots. Such a
fast physical process may be responsible for the rapid increase
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 18 (2009) 015011
in the diode perveance at τd < 30 ns. At τd > 200 ns the
sudden decrease in the diode impedance as well as the light
emission from the diode gap indicates a transition from a
unipolar flow to a bipolar flow. The time required for the
presence of a bipolar flow tbipolar is strongly dependent on
the current density. Namely, the higher the current density,
the earlier the development of a bipolar flow, and, therefore, the
faster the impedance collapse. Additionally, for shorter pulse
durations <50 ns, the development of a bipolar is unlikely
unless the electron current density exceeds 1000 A cm−2 .
Eliminating the bipolar flow, necessary for a stable perveance,
is available by decreasing the current density or by adjusting the
pulse duration. The exact nature of the current flow, unipolar or
bipolar, in the high power diodes is an important issue because
one of the most common methods to determine the cathode
plasma expansion velocity is to compare the diode perveance
with the theoretical predictions. Generally, the interpretation
of the experimental results depends on the type of charged
particle flow. The evolution of space-charge-limited current,
presented in this paper, can only be described by a combination
of several theoretical models. The nature behind this behavior
is attributed to axial and radial movements of plasma within
the diode gap. The dynamics of plasma in the diode is explored
as a new target in future research.
4. Discussions and conclusions
This paper presents an explosive emission cathode based on
carbon fiber tufts in a pulsed high-current electron accelerator.
The plasma distribution across the cathode surface, the quality
of electron beam and the development of space-charge-limited
current are investigated, respectively. Under electric fields
of 230–260 kV cm−1 , the explosive emission diode with the
carbon fiber cathode could deliver high-current electron beams
with current densities of 210–280 A cm−2 . In particular, at
the A–K gap of 20 mm, the maximum beam power density
of 117 MW cm−2 was obtained. Thus, investigations on the
properties of the plasma and beam flow produced by the carbon
fiber cathode were carried out at the A–K gap of 20 mm.
It is normally accepted that the source of electrons is the
cathode plasma for intense electron beam diodes. It was shown
that there is a fast change in the intensity of the bright spots on
the cathode surface during the accelerating pulse. These bright
spots represent individual plasma sources that produce separate
beamlets. At relatively low electric fields, these sources have
almost similar sizes and brightness. As the electric field was
enhanced or the A–K gap decreased, the brightness and sizes of
the peripheral plasma spots increased. Later in the accelerating
pulse, the anode plasma formed and moved towards the cathode
due to electron beam bombardment, which further worsens the
diode instabilities. In spite of the individual cathode plasma
sources, the distribution of the extracted electron beam is
satisfactorily uniform. We hold that a fast radial expansion of
cathode plasma, covering the cathode surface with a large area,
is an important contributor to the cross-sectionally continuous
electron beam.
A limiting factor for explosive emission cathodes is the
impedance collapse due to the expansion of plasma formed on
7
L Li et al
the cathode surface. This fact directly affects the development
of space-charge-limited current, since any propagation of
plasma into an A–K gap modifies the boundary conditions.
Initially in the accelerating pulse, electron emission is focused
on the discrete plasma spots or ECs; thus, the space-charge-
limited current in this stage corresponds to that for a multiple-
needle cathode. As the plasma covers the cathode surface with
a large area, the space-charge-limited current develops into a
planar diode model and can be described by the CL law. A
‘plateau’ in the temporal dependence of the diode perveance is
observed, suggesting a stable stage of diode operation. When
the anode plasma forms, the space-charge-limited current
becomes a bipolar flow. Simultaneously, the diode perveance
increases quickly, and the diode impedance drops rapidly from
the stable value of ∼50 . Thus, as the plasma bursts into
the diode gap, the space-charge-limited current exhibits an
evolution behavior. This behavior is discussed based on the
diode perveance and impedance.
It has been shown in previous research [30] that explosive
emission from carbon fiber cathodes is potentially initiated
from surface flashover similarly to the case of velvet and
corduroy cathodes. The mechanism of plasma initiation for
dielectric fiber cathodes has been previously attributed to field
enhancement at the tip of fiber, or surface flashover along
the length of fiber, or both [6]. It seems more likely that
electron emission from carbon fiber cathodes is characterized
by mixed mechanisms, but this is only a speculation and
requires extensive investigations in future work.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National High Technology
Research and Development Program of China. The
experimental assistance provided by the Institute of Fluid
Physics, Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics is greatly
appreciated.
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