Numerical generation of radiographer equations for rod-pinch electron beam diodes

Dose-rate calculations for a rod-pinch electron beam diode using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations along with Monte-Carlo electron/photon transport calculations are presented. The two-dimensional, electromagnetic PIC simulations are used to model the dynamic operation of the rod pinch diode. These simulations include electron scattering and energy-loss algorithms and the positions and momenta of created photons are recorded. Separate Monte Carlo calculations are then carried out to determine the dose in far-field detectors. These combined calculations result in a radiographer equation (dose scaling as a function of diode current and voltage) that is compared directly with measured dose-rates from rod-pinch diode experiments.