Electron gun technology. Semiannual technical report No. 7, 1 Jul31 Dec 1975

The objective of this program is to develop various cold-cathode electron guns to demonstrate that they have properties suitable for application to e-beam lasers. The plasma cathode electron gun has been the subject of study for the previous periods of this program. The source of electrons in the plasma cathode e-gun is a plasma generated within a low voltage, cold surface, hollow cathode discharge. The device is characterized by durability, low cost, low power consumption, small size, and fast turn-on in comparison with thermionic e-guns. (GRA)