Simulation Of Pulsed Electron-Beam Emission From A Triggered Multi-Gap Pseudospark Device

Results simulating time-resolved pulsed electron-beam emission from a triggered four-gap pseudospark device are presented. It is important for many applications to explore the mechanisms of the pulsed electron-beam current generated in the multi-gap pseudospark discharge devices. From experiments, it is known that the pulsed emitted electron pulse is principally at the beginning, characterized by a rather short part of high energetic electrons followed by a broad pulse of electrons with an average energy of half of applied voltage. These characteristics of the electron-beam current have been simulated for a four-gap pseudospark discharge device with anode voltages from 20 to 50kV, and with Ar as working gas in a pressure range from 20 to 60Pa. According to the results, when the pressure becomes higher than a specific threshold, the two peaks are found to merge together. When the anode voltage is 20kV, the pressure threshold is about 30Pa. When the anode voltage is above 30kV, the pressure threshold is about 40Pa. It is observed that the energy spectrum of the high-energetic part of pulsed electron-beam contains a large peak corresponding to several keVs in the initial stage, and then it shifts toward lower energies. From the simulation, this specific characteristic is verified that the time duration of the high-energetic part of the pulsed electron-beam current grows with increasing anode voltage and decreasing pressure.