TRAVELLING-WAVE VACUUM DIODE Russian patent published in 1997 - IPC

FIELD: direct-action heavy-current accelerators for generating high-power ribbon-shaped fast electron beams for radiation engineering, sterilization, pumping gas and semiconductor lasers, etc. SUBSTANCE: vacuum diode has cathode holder with ribbon cathode, anode in the form of foil aperture to emit electrons, and high-voltage bushing insulator, all mounted in evacuated case electrically connected to anode; cathode holder and case form line whose wave impedance equals output impedance of pulsed power supply. Ribbon cathode is placed along cathode holder so that anode-to-cathode distance increases as it is brought away from insulator. Cathode length satisfies condition t_r≅2L/c≅t, where t_r is rise time of pulse; L is length of cathode; c is light velocity in vacuum; t is pulse length. As an alternative, ribbon cathode may be arranged along cathode holder so that anode-cathode distance reduces as it is brought away from insulator, and resistor is connected on opposite end of insulator between cathode holder and case, its value being equal to wave impedance of line. In this case, cathode length satisfies condition t_r≅L/c, where t_r is rise time of pulse; L is cathode length; c is light velocity in vacuum. EFFECT: enlarged area of homogeneous nanosecond ribbon beams obtained by small-sized heavy-current accelerators. 2 cl, 3 dwg