Initial plasma of a magnetically insulated ion diode in bipolar-pulse mode

Initial anode plasma formation in a magnetically insulated ion diode (MID) of bipolar-pulse mode with self-magnetic field is studied for high-intensity pulsed ion beam generation in TEMP-6-type apparatus [X. P. Zhu, M. K. Lei, and T. C. Ma, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 1728 (2002)]. The field emission characteristics on graphite anode, the self-magnetic field, the perveance, and the impedance of the MID are obtained by analysis of the time-dependent diode voltage-current characteristics during the initial negative pulse stage of 100 ns, with peak values of 250 kV and 30 kA, respectively. The anode plasma is initiated by explosive emission on the anode due to a significant field enhancement effect up to four orders of magnitude, and the subsequent merging and movement of the anode plasma are affected by the superimposing space-charge effect and magnetic insulation of the self-magnetic field. The formation process of the initial anode plasma in the MID corresponds to the diode response under the initial negative ...