At high average currents, GaAs photocathode based electron guns are limited by the short operational lifetime of the photocathodes. One method to improve the cathode lifetime is to situate the photocathode off-axis to reduce the flow of ions back-bombarding the emitting surface. The results of 3D electrostatic and beam dynamic simulations are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this scheme and the resultant beam quality achievable.
展开▼