Pulsed electron beam source with gap dominant integrated energy storage and ultrafast capability

An electron beam source comprising:

• a vacuum chamber;
• a cathode and an anode disposed within the vacuum chamber and separated by a vacuum gap;
• a local full-voltage capacitive structure located within the vacuum chamber and electrically coupled between (i) a conductor at a cathode potential and (ii) a conductor at an anode potential, the local full-voltage capacitive structure including a vacuum gap capacitance between the cathode and the anode across the vacuum gap;
• a high-voltage power supply having an output coupled to the conductor at the cathode potential and the conductor at the anode potential and configured to charge the local full-voltage capacitive structure to a predetermined operating voltage;
• and
• a triggering arrangement configured to initiate emission of electrons from the cathode to form at least one electron pulse that traverses the vacuum gap toward the anode;
• wherein electrical energy stored at the predetermined operating voltage in the local full-voltage capacitive structure constitutes a majority of total electrical energy stored at the predetermined operating voltage in capacitances directly coupled between the conductor at the cathode potential and the conductor at the anode potential, the total electrical energy including electrical energy stored in one or more external full-voltage capacitances located outside the vacuum chamber;
• wherein the electron beam source does not include any Marx generator, linear transformer driver, Tesla transformer, pulse-forming network, or pulse-forming transmission line electrically interposed between the output of the high-voltage power supply and at least one of the cathode and the anode;
• and
• wherein, during the electron pulse, electrical energy discharged from the local full-voltage capacitive structure is transferred predominantly to electrons that cross the vacuum gap between the cathode and the anode.