Design and simulation of a 30kV, 60kW electron optical column for melting applications

Electron beam offers unique advantages as a heat source for melting of refractory metals. It provides contamination free homogeneous melting with precise heat control on the melt target. This paper reports the complete electron optics design procedure for a 30 kV, 60 kW melting gun. The design objective of the electron optical column is to obtain the required power density on the target (10³-10⁴ W/cm²) using electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses. The design constrains are to minimize the high voltage discharges in the gun and beam losses in the beam transport. The challenging task of reducing the electrical discharges in the gun during high power melting with the help of twin electromagnetic lenses is presented in the paper.