Microsecond-Pulsed Ion Beam from a Marx Generator

We have maintained Langmuir-Child bipolar flow at a peak voltage of 650 kV in a vacuum diode for 1 μs without gap closure or electrical breakdown of the diode insulator. An ion current of > 300 A (> 7.5 A/cm2) was extracted from the diode in a beam having a large component of divergence < 10-2 rad.