Yu. I. Isakova

Thermal Imaging Diagnostics of Powerful Ion Beams

Thermal imaging diagnostics of the total energy of a pulsed ion beam and energy-density distribution over the cross section is described. The diagnostics was tested on the TEMП-4M accelerator in the conditions of formation of two pulses: (i) the first plasma-forming pulse is negative (300–500 ns, 100–150 kV) and (ii) the second generated one is positive (150 ns, 250–300 kV). The beam composition includes carbon ions (85%) and protons, and the power density is 0.2–3.0 J/cm2 (for various diodes). The diagnostics was applied in studies of the powerful ion beam, formed by an ion diode with self insulation (two-pulse mode) and external magnetic insulation in the single-pulse mode. The diagnostics was intended to measure the beam energy density in a range of 0.05–5.00 J/cm2 in the absence of erosion and ablation processes on the target. When an infrared camera with a 140 × 160-pixel matrix is used, the spatial resolution is 0.9 mm. The measurement time does not exceed 0.1 s.

Limitation of the electron emission in an ion diode with magnetic self-insulation

The results of a study of the generation of a pulsed ion beam of gigawatt power formed by a diode with an explosive-emission potential electrode in a mode of magnetic self-insulation are presented. The studies were conducted at the TEMP-4M ion accelerator set in double pulse formation mode: the first pulse was negative (300–500 ns and 100–150 kV) and the second, positive (150 ns and 250–300 kV). The ion current density was 20–40 A/cm2; the beam composition was protons and carbon ions. It was shown that plasma is effectively formed over the entire working surface of the graphite potential electrode. During the ion beam generation, a condition of magnetic cutoff of electrons along the entire length of the diode (B/Bcr ≥ 4) is fulfilled. Because of the high drift rate, the residence time of the electrons and protons in the anode–cathode gap is 3–5 ns, while for the C+ carbon ions, it is more than 8 ns. This denotes low efficiency of magnetic self-insulation in a diode of such a design. At the same time, it h...

A differential high-voltage divider

The design, main design formulas, and test results of a small-size differential high-voltage divider are presented. The conditions determining correctness of using the divider for measuring nanosecond high-voltage signals are obtained. It is shown that the differential voltage divider has some limitations in low- and high-frequency regions. Experiments have been performed on a TэY-500 pulsed electron accelerator with the following characteristics: the accelerating voltage is 350–450 kV, the base pulse duration is 100 ns, the rise time is <5 ns, and the complete pulse electron energy is up to 250 J. The pulse repetition rate is 1–3 pulses/s. To restore the shape of the measured voltage, it is necessary that the output signal from the voltage divider be integrated. The measurement error does not exceed ±10%.

Shot-to-shot reproducibility of a self-magnetically insulated ion diode

In this paper we present the analysis of shot to shot reproducibility of the ion beam which is formed by a self-magnetically insulated ion diode with an explosive emission graphite cathode. The experiments were carried out with the TEMP-4M accelerator operating in double-pulse mode: the first pulse is of negative polarity (300-500 ns, 100-150 kV), and this is followed by a second pulse of positive polarity (150 ns, 250-300 kV). The ion current density was 10-70 A/cm(2) depending on the diode geometry. The beam was composed from carbon ions (80%-85%) and protons. It was found that shot to shot variation in the ion current density was about 35%-40%, whilst the diode voltage and current were comparatively stable with the variation limited to no more than 10%. It was shown that focusing of the ion beam can improve the stability of the ion current generation and reduces the variation to 18%-20%. In order to find out the reason for the shot-to-shot variation in ion current density we examined the statistical correlation between the current density of the accelerated beam and other measured characteristics of the diode, such as the accelerating voltage, total current, and first pulse duration. The correlation between the ion current density measured simultaneously at different positions within the cross-section of the beam was also investigated. It was shown that the shot-to-shot variation in ion current density is mainly attributed to the variation in the density of electrons diffusing from the drift region into the A-K gap.

Characterization of intense ion beam energy density and beam induced pressure on the target with acoustic diagnostics

We have developed the acoustic diagnostics based on a piezoelectric transducer for characterization of high-intensity pulsed ion beams. The diagnostics was tested using the TEMP-4M accelerator (150 ns, 250-300 kV). The beam is composed of C(+) ions (85%) and protons, the beam energy density is 0.5-5 J∕cm(2) (depending on diode geometry). A calibration dependence of the signal from a piezoelectric transducer on the ion beam energy density is obtained using thermal imaging diagnostics. It is shown that the acoustic diagnostics allows for measurement of the beam energy density in the range of 0.1-2 J∕cm(2). The dependence of the beam generated pressure on the input energy density is also determined and compared with the data from literature. The developed acoustic diagnostics do not require sophisticated equipment and can be used for operational control of pulsed ion beam parameters with a repetition rate of 10(3) pulses∕s.

The energy transfer in the TEMP-4M pulsed ion beam accelerator

The results of a study of the energy transfer in the TEMP-4M pulsed ion beam accelerator are presented. The energy transfer efficiency in the Blumlein and a self-magnetically insulated ion diode was analyzed. Optimization of the design of the accelerator allows for 85% of energy transferred from Blumlein to the diode (including after-pulses), which indicates that the energy loss in Blumlein and spark gaps is insignificant and not exceeds 10%-12%. Most losses occur in the diode. The efficiency of energy supplied to the diode to the energy of accelerated ions is 8%-9% for a planar strip self-magnetic MID, 12%-15% for focusing diode and 20% for a spiral self-magnetic MID.

The effective anode-cathode gap in an ion diode operating in a bipolar-pulse regime

The effective anode-cathode gap (ACG) in a self-magnetically insulated ion diode operating in a double (bipolar) pulse regime has been studied. In this diode, the ACG is bounded by a plasma layer at the anode surface and by electrons drifting near the cathode surface. Analysis of the system operation showed that, during the first voltage pulse, the effective ACG decreases at a constant velocity of 1.5 ± 0.1 cm/μs from 9 to 1–2 mm (depending on the pulse duration) and is not completely bridged by plasma. After reversal of the voltage polarity, the effective gap width is restored for 10–20 ns on a nearly initial level. During the second pulse, electrons drift within a 1- to 1.5-mm-thick layer near the anode, while the thickness of a plasma layer on the anode surface does not exceed 0.5 mm.

Generation and diagnostics of pulsed intense ion beams with an energy density of 10 J/cm2

The paper presents the results of a study on transportation and focusing of a pulsed ion beam at gigawatt power level, generated by a diode with explosive-emission cathode. The experiments were carried out with the TEMP-4M accelerator operating in double-pulse mode: the first pulse is of negative polarity (500 ns, 100-150 kV), and this is followed by a second pulse of positive polarity (120 ns, 200-250 kV). To reduce the beam divergence, we modified the construction of the diode. The width of the anode was increased compared to that of the cathode. We studied different configurations of planar and focusing strip diodes. It was found that the divergence of the ion beam formed by a planar strip diode, after construction modification, does not exceed 3° (half-angle). Modification to the construction of a focusing diode made it possible to reduce the beam divergence from 8° to 4°-5°, as well as to increase the energy density at the focus up to 10-12 J/cm(2), and decrease the shot to shot variation in the energy density from 10%-15% to 5%-6%. When measuring the ion beam energy density above the ablation threshold of the target material (3.5-4 J/cm(2)), we used a metal mesh with 50% transparency to lower the energy density. The influence of the metal mesh on beam transport has been studied.

Circular ion diode with self-magnetic insulation

The results of a study of the generation of a gigawatt-level pulsed ion beam formed by a diode with an explosive-emission potential electrode in self-magnetic insulation mode are presented. The experiments have been performed on the TEMP-4M ion accelerator operating in double-pulse formation mode: the first pulse is negative polarity (300–500 ns, 100–150 kV) and the second is positive (150 ns, 250–300 kV). The ion current density is 20–40 A/cm2; the beam consists of protons and carbon ions. To increase the efficiency of the ion current generation, a circular geometry diode is proposed. It is shown that with the new design, the plasma is effectively formed over the entire working surface of the graphite potential electrode. During ion beam generation, magnetic insulation of the electrons is achieved over the entire length of the diode (B/Bcr ≥ 3). Because of the high drift velocity, the transit time of electrons in the anode-cathode gap is 3–5 ns, whilst the transit time of C+ carbon ions exceeds 8 ns. This indicates low efficiency self-magnetic insulation for this geometry of diode. At the same time, it has been observed experimentally that during ion current generation (the second pulse), the electron component of the total current is suppressed by a factor of 4–5. A new mechanism of limiting the electron emission, which explains the decrease in the electron component of the total current in the circular diode with self-magnetic insulation, is proposed.

The effect of energy stabilization of an ion beam formed by a self-magnetically insulated diode

The results of a study of the generation stability of intense pulsed ion beams, which are formed by a self-magnetically insulated diode with an explosive-emission cathode, are presented. Investigations were conducted using a TEMP-4M accelerator configured to operate in the bipolar pulse mode: the first pulse is negative (300–500 ns, 100–150 kV) and the second is positive (150 ns, 200–250 kV). Diodes of different designs were studied: strip focusing diodes, strip planar diodes, and conical focusing diodes. The total beam energy was measured using both the infrared-imaging diagnostics and a conventional calorimeter, while the beam-energy density was measured using the infrared-imaging and acoustic diagnostics. The anode design was modified to improve the ion-beam generation stability. It was obtained that the standard deviation of the total energy and beam-energy density in a pulse train does not exceed 10–11% for an amplitude instability of the ion-current-density pulse of >20–30%. The mechanism of the beam-energy-density stabilization in a pulse train, which is attributed to the ion-charge exchange and formation of accelerated neutrals, is presented. The sources of fluctuations in the total energy and ion-beam-energy density are analyzed. The long service life of ion diodes with self-magnetic insulation and an explosive-emission cathode (>106 pulses) and the high shot-to-shot beam-generation stability make these devices promising for various technological applications.