Impedance of an annular-cathode indented-anode electron diode terminating a coaxial magnetically insulated transmission line

Abstract

The impedance of a diode having an annular cathode and indented anode that terminates a coaxial MITL (magnetically insulated transmission line) is measured and compared with a semiempirical model developed from calculations made using the magic code. The measurements were made on the 16-Ω electron accelerator HELIA (high-energy linear induction accelerator) operating at 3 MV. The model agrees with the measurements within the 10% measuring error and shows that the diode operates in either a load- or line-dominated regime depending on AK (anode-cathode) gap spacing. In the load-dominated regime, which corresponds to small AK gaps, the diode impedance is controlled by an effective anode-cathode gap, and the flow is approximately axial. In the line-dominated regime, which corresponds to large AK gaps, the impedance is independent of the AK gap and corresponds to the impedance associated with the minimum current solution of the MITL, with the flow becoming more radial as the AK gap is increased.