This paper presents a review of physical principles, design, and performances of plasma-cathode direct current (dc) electron beam guns operated in so called fore-vacuum pressure (1-15 Pa). That operation pressure range was not reached before for any kind of electron sources. A number of unique parameters of the e-beam were obtained, such as electron energy (up to 25 kV), dc beam current (up 0.5 A), and total beam power (up to 7 kW). For electron beam generation at these relatively high pressures, the following special features are important: high probability of electrical breakdown within the accelerating gap, a strong influence of back-streaming ions on both the emission electrode and the emitting plasma, generation of secondary plasma in the beam propagation region, and intense beam-plasma interactions that lead in turn to broadening of the beam energy spectrum and beam defocusing. Yet other unique peculiarities can occur for the case of ribbon electron beams, having to do with local maxima in the lateral beam current density distribution. The construction details of several plasma-cathode electron sources and some specific applications are also presented.

In the irradiation of an insulated target by an electron beam produced by a plasma-cathode electron beam source operating in the fore-vacuum pressure range (5-15 Pa), the target potential is much lower than the electron beam energy, offering the possibility of direct electron treatment of insulating materials. It is found that in the electron beam irradiation of a non-conducting target in a moderately high pressure range, the electron charge on the target surface is neutralized mainly by ions from a volume discharge established between the negatively charged target surface and the grounded walls of the vacuum chamber. This allows the possibility of direct electron beam treatment (heating, melting, welding) of ceramics and other non-conducting and semiconductor materials.

The characteristics, performance, and design feature of a filamentless plasma-cathode electron gun for beam generation in the forepump gas pressure range are presented. The plasma cathode is based on a hollow-cathode direct current (dc) discharge. Using the method of “grid stabilization” it was possible to generate an e beam at a background gas pressure as high as about 10−1 Torr. This pressure can be easily obtained by using mechanical pump only. The operation of the gun with a magnetic field up to 0.1 T was investigated. The presence of a magnetic field (B field) is often required, for instance in plasma chemistry and surface treatment processes. The effect of the B field both on discharge and emission parameters of the gun are observed. The results obtained can be explained based on the concept of electron confinement and motion across the B field. With the accelerating voltage up to 8 kV, the gun is able to generate an electron beam of about 0.7 A dc.

We describe a system for the generation of spatially uniform and homogeneous dense plasma in a dielectric flask using a forevacuum-pressure plasma-cathode electron beam source. At optimum beam energy and gas pressure, the non-uniformity in plasma density distribution along the length of the flask is less than 10%, and the plasma density and electron temperature in the flask are greater than for the plasma produced in the vacuum chamber with no flask. The measured parameters of the beam plasma in the flask are compared to the predictions of a model based on balance equations.

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