Model of beam formation in a glow discharge electron gun with a cold cathode

The paper describes a method of computer simulation of electron beam formation in a high voltage glow discharge with a special shape of the electrode surfaces. Our objective was to use the modified current tube method for numerical calculation of the electric field between electrodes including the space charge of moving particles. We have taken into consideration the influence of accelerated ion interaction with atoms of the operating gas in a discharge cathode-fall region. All simulations have been performed for a diode electron gun with an axial symmetry forming a point-focus electron beam. The validity of the model has been confirmed by an experimental result, which corresponds closely to the calculation.