Effect of Longitudinal Magnetic Field on a Simple Plasma Electron Source

In this paper new structure of a plasma electron source has been described. This electron source can produce a powerful and monochromatic electron beam by a simple obstructed discharge mechanism. The beam current and diode current has been measured for low pressure He discharges under the influence of an external longitudinal magnetic field. The magnetic field could vary from 0 to 45 mT. Voltage-current characteristics and Paschen curves has been obtained under mentioned conditions. The results show that by increasing of magnetic field, efficiency of the system significantly enhances but it decreases at higher magnetic field values.