Determination of the Pulsed Electron Beam Spectrum by Current and Voltage Oscillograms

Abstract

The algorithm and results of calculating the integral and differential energy spectra of a pulsed electron beam (350–500 keV, 80 ns), generated by direct-action accelerators, are presented. The electron spectrum was calculated using the oscillograms of the accelerating voltage, electron current, total current of the diode, and the one-dimensional Child–Langmuir (1D CL) ratio. It was found that the discrepancy in the integrated electron beam energy spectrum, when measured using the total current in the diode and using the electron beam current, did not exceed 15% for 80%–95% of the electrons generated in a diode with graphite, carbon fabric, and multipoint cathodes. When calculating the electron spectrum using the 1D CL, the error was much higher.