Sources of pulsed low-energy electron beams and soft X-rays based on liquid-metal explosive-emission cathodes

This paper describes a pulsed electron beam source with a liquid-metal cathode operating in the explosive-electron-emission mode. The operating voltage range of the source is 10-40 kV. The operating frequency of the cathode is up to 1500 Hz. The device can be used as a point electron source in various electronic tubes and as an element of a multi-emitter electron source producing a large-cross-section electron flow.