The design and development of the electron gun for vacuum electronic devices is a critical and challenging task having a profound impact on device performance. Current state-of-the-art electron gun simulation codes employ the concept of a virtual cathode for the simulation of space charge-limited electron guns, where the virtual cathode distance is to be provided as an input by the user. In this report, an approach to calculate the virtual cathode position through analytical formulation and simulation is presented. The effect of inaccurate virtual cathode on gun parameters is studied through simulation and its repercussions are explained. The approach has been applied in the simulation using three-dimensional tracking solver to design a 50 kV, 10 Amp electron gun, which is to be used in a C-band Klystron. Based on the design, a Gun-Collector-Test-Module (GCTM) has been developed and hot-tested for experimental validation. A good agreement between the simulated and measurement results validates the design approach of the electron gun.
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