Diagnosis and dynamics in a simple low energy medium current electron beam channel

Abstract

We present a simple experimental setup and an associated method enabling both the non-destructive diagnosis and the calculation of the beam evolution in a low energy medium current electron beam channel, where the space-charge and emittance effects are comparable. The diagnosis makes use of an axially symmetric magnetic lens while a second lens is added to increase the flexibility in the beam processing. The paper emphasizes the three steps involved in the method: the evaluation of the lenses' magnetic field by numerical simulation, the beam diagnosis, and the computation of the beam envelope. The calculation of the magnetic field is based on the finite element method. Subsequently, the beam parameters at the electron source exit – emittance and cross-over radius and position – are found with the modified three gradient method. Finally, the beam dynamics are modeled with the K–V equation adapted for the particular case of axial symmetry. The results obtained in this paper can be used to optimize technological processes, such as welding, hardening, cladding, and surface alloying.