Modelling and simulation of beam formation in electron guns

This paper describes a new PC version of the software package GUN-EBT for computer simulation of beam formation in rotationally symmetric electron guns with thermionic cathodes. It is based on a self-consistent physical model which takes into account the beam space charge and the initial velocities effects. The theoretical framework used for both the formulation of the model and for the interpretation of the results of numerical experiments is the formalism of the charged particle dynamics in phase space. This enables not only a trajectory analysis (ray tracing) but also a phase-space analysis of beams to be performed. The package can be used as an effective tool for computer aided design and optimization of electron guns in various electron-optical systems. The operation of the package is illustrated with a typical example.