MINIATURE ELECTRON BEAM ACCELERATOR INCORPORATING ELECTRON SOURCE AND HIGH GRADIENT ACCELERATION MECHANISM

LIGHT WEIGHT, HIGH ENERGY CHARGED PARTICLE BEAM PRODUCTION IS FEASIBILE WHEN THE ACCELERATION POTENTIAL IS GENERATED FROM AN INDUCTIVE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM. AN INTENSIVE, COPIOUS X-RAY RADIATION SOURCE IS THEREFORE OBTAINABLE SIMULTANEOUSLY THROUGH THE HIGH-CURRENT ELECTRON BEAM AND METAL TARGET INTERACTION. USE OF A PLASMA OPENING SWITCH IS PROPOSED FOR OPENING THE INDUCTIVE CIRCUIT BECAUSE IT INCLUDES THE CHARGED PARTICLE SOURCES AUTOMATICALLY IN THE WORKING GAS OR IN THE METAL VAPOR PLASMA ABLATED FROM THE ELECTRODE MATERIAL, THEREBY ELIMINATING THE NEED OF ADDITIONAL ELECTRON OR ION SOURCES. USE OF THE DENSE PLASMA FOCUS (DPF) AS AN OPENING SWITCH CAN INCORPORATE THE STORAGE INDUCTOR AND LOAD GAP, AS WELL AS THE PARTICLE SOURCE AND LOW VOLTAGE CAPACITOR BANK, ALL IN ONE VOLUME-EFFECTIVE UNIT SUITABLE FOR SPACE AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF THE BEAM PROPAGATION. CASCADE ACCELERATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES IS SUGGESTED FOR ENERGY HIGHER THAN READILY AVAILABLE FROM THE TABLE-TOP DEVICE. THE PROPOSED PROJECT INCLUDES CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHARGED BEAMS AND X-RAYS, LABORATORY DEMONSTRATION OF THE PROPAGATION THROUGH NATURAL AND DISTURBED ENVIRONMENTS, AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE AVERAGE POWER BY REPETITIVE OPERATION.