Negative-Polarity Rod-Pinch Diode Experiment at 5 MV on RITS-3

Recent theoretical modeling of rod-pinch (RP) diode behavior has been carried out for diode voltages of up to 10 MV.[1] The theory, consistent with experimental results on Asterix at up to 6 MV [2], predicts that, above 4 MV, X-ray production in the forward direction is more efficient for negative-polarity operation than positive- polarity operation. Here we report on negative-polarity RP diode experiments at 5 MV on RITS-3 [3], an inductive-voltage-adder (IVA) generator with vacuum flowing electrons. Extensive analysis of the electrical and X-ray data combined with numerical simulation suggests that the diode operation is consistent with the modeling.