EQUIPMENT FOR PULSED THERMAL TREATMENT OF THE SURFACES OF MATERIALS BY A LOW-ENERGY ELECTRON BEAM

摘要

This paper describes the design of the equipment used for studying the treatment of the surfaces of metal specimens and presents the results of studies of a source that produces a low-energy high-current electron beam. An electron beam with a current of up to 300 A and pulse duration of 20-200 μs is generated in a gas-filled diode with a plasma cathode at a pulse repetition rate of 0.3-15 s~(-1) and at an accelerating voltage of up to 25 kV. The space-charge-compensated electron beam is transported in a longitudinal magnetic field for a distance of 20-30 cm to the region of its interaction with a solid. At a current density of up to 20 A/cm~2, the beam power density proves to be sufficient for melting a metal surface by means of one or several pulses.