This article reviews experiments on the production of low-energy,
high-current electron beams (LEHCEB) and their use for surface
modification of materials. It is shown that electron guns with
a plasma anode and an explosive emission cathode are most promising
for the production of this type of beams. The problems related
to the initiation of explosive emission and the production and
transportation of LEHCEBs in plasma-filled diodes are considered.
It has been shown that if the rise time of the accelerating
voltage is comparable to or shorter than the time it takes for
an ion to fly through the space charge layer, the electric field
strength at the cathode and the electron current density in
the layer are increased. Experimentally, it has been established
that the current of the beam transported in the plasma channel
is 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than the critical Pierce
current and several times greater than the chaotic current of
the anode plasma electrons. Methods for improving the uniformity
of the energy density distribution over the beam cross section
are described. The nonstationary temperature and stress fields
formed in metal targets have been calculated. The features of
the structure-phase transformations in the surface layers of
materials irradiated with LEHCEBs have been considered. It has
been demonstrated that in the surface layers quenched from the
liquid state, nonequilibrium structure-phase states are formed.
Production and application of low-energy, high-current electron
beams
