Generation of intense pulsed electron beams by the pseudospark discharge

A low-pressure gas discharge is presented as a source of intense pulsed electron beams. The pseudospark discharge emits a short-duration pinched electron beam during the breakdown phase. At voltages of typically 20 kV, approximately 10-20% of the total discharge current appears as the electron-beam current of typically 20 ns in duration. According to the breakdown voltage in the beam, a power density on the order of 10⁹ W/cm² is reached. Thus, this electron beam turns out to be a good tool for material processing, comparable to pulsed high-power lasers. Besides the drilling of holes into metals and insulators, an interesting application is the production of high-temperature superconducting thing YBa₂Cu₃O _7-x films. The electron beam is used to evaporate material from a stoichiometric 1-2-3 target. Experimental results concerning the propagation behavior in neutral gas, the electron energy distribution, and the interaction with matter are reported