High-intensity pulsed ion beam composition and the energy spectrum using the time-of-flight method

The paper describes a technique for operative control of the high-intensity pulsed ion beam parameters. The time-of-flight diagnostics uses one high-speed Faraday cup sensor with magnetic cut-off of low-energy electrons. The technique makes it possible to determine the composition of the beam (the type of ions and the degree of ionization), the absolute values of the current density of ions and the energy spectrum for each type of ions with an error of <±10%. The technique was tested at different pulsed ion accelerators and ion diodes both with self-magnetic insulation (accelerating voltage of 200–250 kV, ion current density of 20–300 A/cm2) and external magnetic insulation of the electrons (400–500 kV, 200 A/cm2). The article presents a comparative analysis of two types of Faraday cups with magnetic cut-off of the electrons and with electric bias.