Submillisecond Chromium Ion Beams with High-Pulse Power Density

Abstract

The paper focuses on the formation of high-intensity submillisecond chromium ion beams with a high power density. The ion-induced electron emission at the energy reaching 70 keV affects the neutralization of space charge and determination accuracy of the ion beam parameters. It is shown that at high ion energies, the virtual anode effect does not appear, and the formation of ion beams of a high pulse duration occurs. It is found that at 170 A discharge current, the maximum current density averaged over 16 pulses, reaches 2.8 A/cm². The maximum power density in the ion beam at 35 kV accelerating voltage approaches to 100 kW/cm². Instability of the ion-induced electron emission from the vacuum arc plasma improves the power density of pulses by more than 2 times.