Electric field strength measurements in a Megavolt vacuum diode using laser induced fluorescence of an atomic beam

A combined technique of an atomic beam probing and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFABS) is applied for measuring of local electric field in a 1 MV, 100 kJ, 4 μsec electron diode. Laser-produced lithium beam is stepwise excited by two resonant wide-band laser beams. Stark-splitted spontaneous emission from n = 4 level is detected with a polychromator. Time dependence of the electric field was inferred from splitting of the 460.3 nm lithium line. The electric field strength F grows during a pulse from 160 to 260 kV/cm in the center of a 6 cm gap. By comparing calculated and experimental F-values, expansion of the emission boundaries of the cathode and anode plasmas was reconstructed.