K. C. Mittal

High power microwave generation from coaxial virtual cathode oscillator using graphite and velvet cathodes

High power microwave (HPM) generation studies were carried out in KALI-5000 pulse power system. The intense relativistic electron beam was utilized to generate HPMs using a coaxial virtual cathode oscillator. The typical electron beam parameters were 350 kV, 25 kA, and 100 ns, with a few hundreds of ampere per centimeter square current density. Microwaves were generated with graphite and polymer velvet cathode at various diode voltage, current, and accelerating gaps. A horn antenna setup with diode detector and attenuators was used to measure the microwave power. It was observed that the microwave power increases with the diode voltage and current and reduces with the accelerating gap. It was found that both the peak power and width of the microwave pulse is larger for the velvet cathode compared to the graphite cathode. In a coaxial vircator, velvet cathode is superior to the graphite cathode due to its shorter turn on time and better electron beam uniformity.

Plasma expansion and fast gap closure in a high power electron beam diode

High power electron beam generation studies were carried out in a planar diode configuration to investigate the effect of the accelerating gap, diode voltage, and anode-cathode materials on the electrode plasma expansion. The diode voltage has been varied from 145–428 kV, whereas the current density has been varied from 208–2215 A/cm2 with 100 ns pulse duration. It was found that the diode voltage and current follow the bipolar space-charge limited flow model. The anode and cathode plasma expansion velocities were calculated using the perveance data. The plasma expands at 11 cm/μs for 34 mm anode-cathode gap and the plasma velocity decreases for smaller gaps. It was found that the plasma expansion velocity increases significantly due to the cathode edge contribution and the edge contribution is particularly important during the beginning and the end of the accelerating pulse when the diode voltage and the corresponding electric field are comparatively low. It was also observed that the diode current incre...

Intense relativistic electron beam generation and prepulse effect in high power cylindrical diode

Intense gigawatt relativistic electron beam has been generated in a high power cylindrical diode in the presence of prepulse. A bipolar prepulse voltage, recorded at the diode, varies both in amplitude and time duration with the Marx generator voltage. It was found that only at the accelerating gap ⩽1.65cm there is some shot to shot variation in the diode voltage and current for the same Marx generator voltage. The anode and cathode plasma expansion velocities were calculated using the perveance data. The plasma expands at 5cm∕μs for 1.85cm radial anode-cathode gap and the plasma velocity decreases for smaller gap. It was found that the effect of the prepulse is less pronounced in the cylindrical diode as compared to planar diode that allows one operation of the cylindrical diode with the gap ⩽1.85cm.

Generation and dose distribution measurement of flash x-ray in KALI-5000 system

Summary form only given. The high intensity pulsed electron beam of KALI-5000 system is used to develop a flash X-ray source. The KALI-5000 system is capable of generating intense relativistic electron beam (IREB) of 1MeV, 60 kA and 100 ns when connected to impedance matched electron beam diode. This system is operated in 6 GW, 100 ns duration to produce the Bremsstrahlung flash X-ray on a tantalum target of planner anode-cathode geometry. The axial and the radial dose distribution are characterized using CaSO4: Dy TLDs (thermoluminescent dosimeter) as well as using the optical densitometer to measure the dose distribution of the exposed X-ray film. The measured dose distribution by TLDs and the optical densitometer plus X-ray film matches within plusmn5%.

Shot to shot variation in perveance of the explosive emission electron beam diode

The shot to shot variation in perveance of a planar diode with explosive emission graphite cathode in a range of accelerating gaps 3–12 mm is investigated experimentally. The typical electron beam parameters were 200 kV, 12 kA, 100 ns, with a few hundreds of A/cm2 current density. The diode perveance remains less than the Child–Langmuir value, indicating that only a fraction of the cathode take part in the emission process. A simple statistical analysis of the diode perveance shows that the shot to shot variation is more pronounced for the later part of the accelerating pulse. The cathode plasma expansion velocity and the effective initial emission area have been calculated from the perveance data. It was found that the plasma expansion velocity varies from 3 to 6.5 cm/μs. The mean expansion velocity and the standard deviation increase with the increase in the accelerating gap. The initial emission areas also varies randomly on a shot to shot basis and at the beginning of the accelerating pulse only 4%–35...

Impedance collapse and beam generation in a high power planar diode

Summary form only given. Intense relativistic electron beam generation studies were carried out in a planar diode configuration to investigate the effect of the plasma expansion on the impedance characteristics of the diode. The diode voltage and current waveforms were analyzed with the bipolar space-charge limited flow model. The anode and cathode plasma expansion velocities were calculated using the perveance data. The plasma expands at 9.5 cm/mus for 31 mm anode-cathode gap and the plasma velocity decreases for smaller gap. It was found that the electron emission is more uniform for 25 mm anode-cathode gap as compared to 31 mm gap. Effect of a nylon sheet on the anode plate has been studied with respect to the impedance characteristic of the diode. It was found that the plasma expand with a faster velocity in the presence of nylon sheet on anode.

RF properties of 1050 MHz, β = 0.49 Elliptical cavity for High Current Proton Acceleration

BARC is developing technology for the accelerator driven subcritical system (ADSS) that will be mainly utilized for the transmutation of nuclear waste and enrichment of U233. Design and development of superconducting medium velocity cavity has been taken up as a part of the accelerator driven subcritical system project. We have studied RF properties of 1050 MHz, β = 0.49 single cell Elliptical cavity for possible use in High Current Proton Accelerator. Cavity shape optimization studies have been done by means of 2D cavity tuning code SUPERFISH and 3D High Frequency Simulation code CST Microwave Studio. The cavity peak electric and magnetic fields, power dissipation Pc, quality factor Q and effective shunt impedante ZT2 were calculated for various cavity dimensions using these codes. Based on these analyses a list of design parameter for the inner cell of the cavity has been suggested for possible use in high current proton accelerator.

Development and Analysis of PFN Based Compact Marx Generator Using Finite Integration Technique for an Antenna Load

This paper presents the design and development of a compact Marx generator based on pulse forming network (PFN) along with a peaking capacitor rated at 300 kV and 64 J. Proposed scheme consists of identical PFNs connected across the charging and grounding resistors according to the Marx generator scheme. Modular construction of the Marx generator is useful in altering the stage capacitance to obtain varying pulse rise time and wave shapes at the output. A peaking capacitor connected at the output of the Marx generator significantly improves the rise time from 25 to 5 ns suitable for driving an antenna load. The effect of peaking capacitor on the intensity of far-field radiation is simulated using finite integration technique for a distance of 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 m and the results are presented and discussed.

Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Discharge Along Gas–Solid Interface

A new computational model to understand the mechanism of discharges along the gas/solid interface at high voltage and high pressure is made based on the models of explosive electron emission, secondary emission, and neutral gas ionization by using finite-difference time domain-based particle-in-cell code. The charge particle movement at different durations is obtained at a pressure of 1 atmosphere. The profiles of phase space, the net charge density along the gap, and the effect of the dielectric on the characteristics of the gas discharge are presented. The ionization coefficient (α) and drift velocity (ve) calculated from simulation data closely match with the existing experimental results.

Electrodynamic Simulation of High-Voltage Peaking Switch

This paper discusses the modeling of a peaking switch to study the reduction in rise time for the subnanosecond duration pulses. The effect of the various shapes of input pulse, inductance, and interelectrode distance on the output voltage and wave shape is discussed in this paper. The modeling has been carried out using the electromagnetic and microwave modeling software of Computer Simulation Technology.