A new method is presented for increasing the coefficient of electron beam extraction into the atmosphere for accelerators with a non-self-sustained high-voltage glow discharge, which is characterized by high-frequency (tens of kilohertz) generation of an auxiliary discharge. An increase in the efficiency of beam extraction into the atmosphere is achieved by using a pulsed auxiliary glow discharge of the orbitron type, also called wire discharge, and by controlling the pulse duty factor of this discharge while stabilizing the average value of its current. Using the example of the accelerator under study, the possibility of increasing the output coefficient by 0.3 relative to the mode with direct current is shown.

The article presents results of studying the dynamics of a submillisecond low-pressure arc discharge in an electron source with a grid plasma emitter and a plasma anode, as well as the formation of an electron beam generated by it in a guiding magnetic field. Measurements of the currents to the electrodes of the plasma emitter discharge system and to additional probes installed in it demonstrated the spatial rearrangement of the discharge with subsequent achievement of a quasi-steady shape of the current density distribution on the emission electrode. Analysis of the current oscillograms at the end of the discharge current pulse made it possible to estimate the contribution of the electron emission current from the plasma emitter to the total current in the accelerating gap in the mode when the measured beam current is equal to or exceeds the discharge current. The factors responsible for reducing the spatial inhomogeneity of the beam current density are determined, and recommendations are given for improving its uniformity.

The use of a modern element base makes it possible to create power supplies with a transition from a direct mode of generation of an auxiliary discharge to a pulse-periodic mode with a pulse repetition rate at the level of several tens of kHz. This allows for a more flexible adjustment of the discharge parameters, keeping the average value of its current, but changing its amplitude with a corresponding change in the pulse duty cycle. In this work, using an electron accelerator based on ion-electron emission, generating a wide-aperture electron beam, we research the effect of auxiliary discharge generation mode (direct and pulse-periodic) on the efficiency of electron beam extraction into the ambient atmosphere. It is shown that, in a direct mode of electron beam generation at an accelerating voltage of 150 kV, the beam extraction coefficient does not exceed 0.25. The possibility of increasing the extraction coefficient to K = 0.55 at the same accelerating voltage of 150 kV was demonstrated without making changes to the design of the accelerator, but switching to a pulsed-periodic mode of emission plasma generation.

We describe a method for dynamic power control of a submillisecond pulsed electron beam in a “SOLO” type source with plasma cathode. The beam power is controlled by dynamic variation of the beam current amplitude with the corresponding low-inertia change in the concentration of emissive plasma. This method can be used to generate submillisecond electron beams of variable power (up to 10 MW at a maximum variation rate not exceeding 0.5 W/μs)—in particular, for the processing of various metallic materials with modification of their functional properties by controlled beam energy supply to the material surface.

The purpose of this work is to optimize the conditions of presowing treatment of spring wheat seeds with a low-energy pulsed electron beam. The absorbed dose in wheat has been measured and calculated in order to select optimal irradiation regimes. Biotesting has revealed an improvement in the morphological parameters of wheat seedlings under the following conditions: a beam energy of 100 keV and an absorbed dose of 15 kGy. The relationship between the intensity of seed irradiation and the response of phytopathogenic microflora is nonlinear; in this case, a partial disinfection of the grain occurrs.

The paper describes a method for a controlled change in the power of an electron beam during a pulse of submillisecond duration, using a source "SOLO" with a plasma cathode. The beam power is controlled by changing the amplitude of the beam current with a corresponding change in the concentration of the emission plasma. This control method allows generating submillisecond beams of variable power (up to 10 MW at a maximum rate of change of no more than 0.5 MW/µs), which can be used for processing various metallic materials in order to change the functional properties of their surface with the ability to control the rate of input of beam energy into the surface of these materials.

This paper presents the results of studying the stability of the plasma emitter of an electron accelerator based on ion-electron emission during the transition from self-sustained continuous to self-sustained frequency (up to 50 kHz) repetitively pulsed generation of an auxiliary glow discharge with a hollow cathode with an area of 20.8×10 3 cm 2 The experimental dependences of the probability of the appearance of cathode spots on the walls of a hollow cathode per unit time on the operating modes of the plasma emitter (pressure and type of working gas, amplitude of the auxiliary discharge current) are presented.