Design and experimental study of high-voltage pulsed penning discharge source with grid electrode

Abstract A new design of high-voltage pulsed Penning discharge (HVPPD) source with grid electrode was proposed and investigated to provide a plasma channel for high current pulsed electron beam. The grid electrodes of concentric circle structure with different wire width, which were fabricated from stainless steel with thickness of 0.3 mm and shield rate ∼10%. The pulsed Penning discharge process was inspected by means of high-voltage probe and digital camera. The results demonstrated that one whole Penning discharge process can be divided into two main stages, i.e. activating and high-current stages with different duration and intensity depending on the working parameters applied. The transport distance of plasma reached several decades of centimeters. With the higher magnetic field strength and working pressure, the HVPPD process operated more quickly and steadily. Comparatively, the grid electrode with 0.3 mm wire width exhibited the better discharge performance. Under the optimum condition of anode voltage 4.8 kV, magnetic field 0.18 T, working pressure 7 × 10−2 Pa and ballast resistor 20 Ω, the activating time was 21 μs and the repetitive accuracy can be controlled under 1 μs?