In order to put the Pulse Line Ion Accelerator (PLIA) concept to its practical application, a small experimental platform was built. It was found that the actual axial electric field is smaller than the theoretical calculation, so the accelerated ions will enter into the deceleration zone before leaving the helix, which will seriously affect the acceleration process. Based on the improved parameters, the He+ with 24 keV is accelerated to 55 keV, and the proof-of-principle experiment is completed on this platform.
Dielectric wall accelerator(DWA), towards high gradient acceleration field(30 MeV/m–100 MeV/m), is under development at Institute of Modern Physics. A prototype was designed and constructed to prove the principle. This needs a short pulse high current electron source to match the acceleration field generated by the Blumlein-type pulse forming lines(PFLs). In this paper, we report the design and test of a new type short pulse high current electron gun based on principle of vacuum arc discharge. Electron beams of 100 mA with pulse width of 10 ns were obtained.