Observations of Neutral Impurity Emission during Operation of Intense Pulsed Ion and Electron Diodes

The number of neutral particles (N) emitted during the pulsed operation of two magnetically insulated ion diodes and a typical electron diode were measured with an ionization technique. Among the factors that were found to affect the total number of emitted neutrals were the elapsed time between consecutive firings and the power of the voltage pulse. A typical value of N for the electron diode operating at approximately 300 kV and 80 kA was 1019, while values of N for the ion diodes operating in the 90-320 kV range were 3-30 times greater.