Abstract:
The drifting electron concentration in a self-magnetically insulated ion diode is analyzed using a TEMP-4M accelerator operating in a double bipolar pulse regime with the first pulse (300–600 ns and 150–200 kV) being negative and the second (120 ns and 250–300 kV) being positive. The electron concentration in the drift region is shown to be 10$^{13}$–10$^{14}$ cm$^{-3}$. It is established that the Lorentz force acting on electrons in crossed electric and magnetic fields is 150–200 times greater than the Coulomb repulsion force, which ensures a higher electron concentration in the drift region as compared with the space charge region.