Electron beam array for surface treatment

An electron beam generating apparatus comprising,

• a support plate mounting a plurality of electron beam tubes in an array, each tube emitting a stripe-like electron beam through an electron beam permeable, low-Z, gas impermeable window, the tubes arranged in the array so that the stripe-like electron beams form modular beam segments of a desired beam pattern directed away from the support plate into an air atmosphere and onto a surface to be treated, and
• means for measuring the output of each tube.

An electron beam generating apparatus comprising,

• a support plate mounting a plurality of electron beam tubes in an array, each tube emitting a stripe-like electron beam through an electron beam permeable, low-Z gas impermeable window, the tubes arranged in the array so that the stripe-like electron beams form modular beam segments of a desired beam pattern directed away from the support plate into an air atmosphere and onto a surface to be treated, wherein beam tubes of said arrays are grouped in different sections having different output beam energy in each section.

An electron beam generating apparatus comprising,

• a support plate mounting a plurality of electron beam tubes in an arrays, each tube emitting a stripe-like electron beam through an electron beam permeable, low-Z, gas impermeable window, the tubes arranged in the array so that the stripe-like electron beams form modular beam segments of a desired beam pattern directed away from the support plate into an air atmosphere and onto a surface to be treated, wherein said support plate is triangular with beam tubes directing electron beams inside of the triangle defined by the support plate.

An electron beam generating apparatus comprising,

• a plurality of electron beam tubes, each tube having a window end spaced apart from a base end, the window end having a thin, elongated, electron permeable, low-Z, gas impermeable window penetrated by a stripe-like electron beam,
• a support means for holding the beam tubes in an array spaced such that the stripe-like electron beams from the plurality of tubes emerge from said windows and sweep the entirety of a linear track spaced apart in air from the window ends of the tubes, and
• a beam current monitor connected to each tube.

An electron beam generating apparatus comprising,

• a plurality of electron beam tubes, each tube having a stripe-like beam and a window end spaced apart from a base end, the window end having a thin electron beam permeable, low-Z, gas impermeable window therein having a specific length across the window end of the tube envelope accommodating the stripe-like beam, and
• a support means for holding the beam tubes in an array spaced such that the stripe-like electron beams from the plurality of tubes emerge from said windows and sweep the entirety of a linear track spaced apart in air from the window ends of the tubes, said support means including a plate means for contacting the window end of said tubes, said plate means carrying an electrical potential in insulated relation for each tube.