Electromagnetic stability of high‐power ion diodes

The stability of high‐power magnetically insulated ion diodes is investigated. Interactions between the fields, the electron flow, and the ion beam in the diode gap lead to instabilities. These instabilities are (i) low‐frequency (below electron plasma frequency) instabilities that include a two‐str...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Physics of fluids (1958) 1986-04, Vol.29 (4), p.1258-1267
Main Authors: Chang, C. L., Chernin, D. P., Drobot, A. T., Ott, E., Antonsen, T. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charged-particle beams
Electromagnetism
electron and ion optics
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Physics
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Summary:The stability of high‐power magnetically insulated ion diodes is investigated. Interactions between the fields, the electron flow, and the ion beam in the diode gap lead to instabilities. These instabilities are (i) low‐frequency (below electron plasma frequency) instabilities that include a two‐stream type instability at ω≊0 and ion transit time instabilities at finite frequency, and (ii) high‐frequency instabilities (also called ‘‘magnetron instabilities’’) at a frequency above the electron plasma frequency. Under certain experimental conditions, one of the ion transit time instabilities is found to be broadbanded and may become absolutely unstable. Analysis based on realistic parameters shows the elimination of this broadband instability at diode operation close to insulation threshold, and implications of this finding are discussed.
ISSN:0031-9171
2163-4998
DOI:10.1063/1.865874