Intense electron beam generation by a fast filamentary discharge

Summary form only given. In this current work, by superposition of a continuous discharge and a pulsed discharge in low pressure gases, in a novel configuration, a 40 A/4 ns intense, 0.3 m length, 50 mm thin electron beam is generated. The absence of a high vacuum system and the capability of this new device to generate ultra short/long intense electron beams are the major advantages. Drilling of small (less than 50 microns diameter) holes in refractive materials was performed. Future work using this plasma device includes the utilization of it as the plasma source of gas lasers.