Simulation of the formation of a runaway electron beam in an overvolted gas gap breakdown

Journal Article · Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4768912· OSTI ID:22089601

Shklyaev, V. A.; Ryzhov, V. V. ^[1]; Belomyttsev, S. Ya. ^[1]

---

1. Institute of High Current Electronics SD RAS, 2/3 Akademichesky Avenue, 634055 Tomsk (Russian Federation)

The paper reports on numerical simulation to inquire into the breakdown of a gas-filled diode in a highly inhomogeneous electric field. It is shown that early in the breakdown a runaway electron beam (RAEB) is formed in the diode and this strongly affects the rate of breakdown development. The energy gained by RAEB electrons corresponds to the electron energy gained under the same conditions in vacuum. The properties of the emission surface of the cathode determine the instant at which the beam is formed during subnanosecond voltage pulse rise time and hence the beam current and the energy spectrum of runaway electrons.

• OSTI ID: 22089601
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 112, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BEAM CURRENTS
BREAKDOWN
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON BEAMS
EMISSION
ENERGY SPECTRA
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
PULSE RISE TIME
RUNAWAY ELECTRONS
SURFACES