Operation features of a forevacuum pulsed plasma-cathode broad-beam electron source with a double-mesh emission electrode

We report our experimental results on the operating features of a forevacuum-pressure pulsed broad-beam plasma-cathode electron source with a double-mesh emission electrode, which includes main and auxiliary meshes. In this source, the emission plasma is generated by a pulsed cathodic arc. It is shown that such an emission system provides an increase in the maximum operating pressure for pulse durations of up to several milliseconds. We find that at certain threshold pressure transient mode and quasi-stationary mode of electron beam generation appear. The transient mode observed at the beginning of the emission current pulse is characterized by a higher emission efficiency, which changes during the time. The time, after which the quasistationary mode occurs, depends on the gas pressure and the parameters of the auxiliary mesh.