Increasing Bremsstrahlung Output with a Clean Diode

The DM1 module that is a building block of DSWA's DECADE simulator has excellent electrical performance, but the final radiation pulse is erratic and often unsatisfactory. The probable cause is a parasitic current in ions, or through a diode plasma. This proposal is to evaluate a diode configuration that should suppress ions and plasma, namely a cathode of carbon fibers covered with cesium iodide, for the anode clean tungsten. If successful this project will help achieve DECADE's original specifications for flash radiation output, with only minor changes in existing hardware. The techniques developed may be applicable to other high power electron beam diodes such as used in high power microwave equipment, particle accelerators, or linacs that irradiate food or examine welds.