Nanosecond discharge in sulfur hexafluoride and the generation of an ultrashort avalanche electron beam

Abstract

A discharge in the presence of a nonuniform electric field and the generation of an ultrashort avalanche electron beam (UAEB) are studied in the insulating gas SF6 at the pressures 0.01–2.50 atm. High-voltage nanosecond pulses (about 150 and 250 kV) and the voltage pulses with an amplitude of 25 kV and a duration of tens of nanoseconds are applied across the gap. An electron beam is obtained behind the AlBe foil with a thickness of 45 μm at a sulfur hexafluoride pressure in a gas-filled diode of up to 2 atm. It is demonstrated that, at relatively high pressures (greater than 1 atm) and in the presence of high-voltage nanosecond pulses across the gap, the UAEB pulse FWHM increases. The spectra of the diffuse and contracted discharges in sulfur hexafluoride are measured.