The results of an investigation of the passage of 10-keV electron beam through dielectric channels fabricated from ceramic (zirconium dioxide) and pyroelectric crystals (lithium niobate) are presented. The angle of deflection of the electron beam by the channels was measured as a function of the angle of interaction of the beam with the internal walls of the channels. The obtained results indicate the possible prospects of using dielectric surfaces as effective deflectors of accelerated charged particles.

The possibility of increasing the current density of a beam of fast electrons passes through glass cone-shaped channels was demonstrated in [1]. But the fraction of the electrons that passed through the conical channels without loss of the initial energy was not cleared up. Measurements of X-ray spectra generated by transmitted electrons in copper target mounted in vicinity of capillary output were performed for a detailed study of the contactless passage of 10 keV electrons through conical capillaries. All the measurements were made at different tilting angles with respect to the incident beam axis. It is shown that a significant part of electrons retains its initial energy even at the angles exceeding geometric opening of the capillary.

The possibility of using PZT-19 ceramic in a pyroelectric x-ray generator is investigated experimentally. Measurements of the x-ray spectra showed the possibility of obtaining on a ceramic surface in vacuum potentials up to 7 kV, which is very low compared with typical similar values for pyroelectric crystals of lithium niobate and tantalate. This feature is due to the significant permittivity of the ceramic. It is shown that the main criterion for picking a ceramic for a pyroelectric x-ray generation could be the maximum value of the ratio of the pyroelectric constant to the permittivity.

Transformation of the Vavilov–Cherenkov radiation cone under grazing interaction of a relativistic electron with a layer of substance is theoretically studied. It is shown that this effect can occur when the electron enters the substance layer.

A series of experiments is carried out to study the passage of electrons with an energy of 10 keV through glass macrocapillaries of tapered shape with an input—output diameter ratio of 1 : 10 and 1 : 5. Experiments are performed for different tilt angles of the capillaries with respect to the incident-beam axis. The results demonstrate a significant increase in the current density of a beam passed through the capillaries.

For the first time a classical model was developed to describe quantitatively the dynamics of charge distribution formation on a planar dielectric surface during its irradiation by fast electrons at a grazing incidence. The dynamic effects of the mutual influence of the beam and the dielectric surface charge predicted by the developed model are in a good agreement with the performed experiments. The proposed model can be used to describe time dependent processes of the electron beam–dielectric surface interaction, charging up and discharging for dielectric channels of more complex shapes.