Effects of cathode surface roughness on the quality of electron beams

Abstract

The effects of the roughness of the cathode surface on the emittance of an electron beam are examined. Tentative scaling laws are suggested which yield the bounds on the beam emittance due to surface roughness for both temperature-limited and space-charge-limited regimes. These formulas are found to be consistent with numerical integration of electron trajectories over a wide range of parameters. In general, roughness-induced beam emittance may be reduced by a factor of 2–5, if the cathode is operated in the space-charge-limited regime rather than in the temperature-limited regime.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1987
Source ID
10.1063/1.338833

Entities

People

  • Yueying Lau

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics
  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster