Equilibrium for Cylindrical, Magnetically Insulated Ion Diodes Assuming Adiabatic Turn‐On

Phys. Fluids 24, 158 (1981)https://ireap.umd.edu/10.1063/1.8632331981Journal ArticleComplex and Emergent Systems

Equilibrium values of diode current are calculated for cylindrical, magnetically insulated vacuum ion diodes as functions of applied voltage, magnetic flux, and aspect ratio. The analysis is based upon the assumption of a slowly (adiabatically) applied voltage so that electrons are confined to a sheath near the cathode where they undergo E×B drifts in the electric field (E) and the magnetic field (B) in the anode–cathode gap. One‐dimensional cases in which the applied magnetic field is either axial or azimuthal are treated. A previous analysis, conducted under the assumption of cycloidal electron orbits, found that equilibrium solutions often do not exist. It is found that this difficulty is absent when E×B drift orbits are assumed.