Beam Energy Scaling on Ion-Induced Electron Yield from K+ Impacton Stainless Steel

Electron clouds limit the performance of many major accelerators. Significant quantities of electrons result when halo ions are lost to beam tubes, generating gas which can be ionized and ion-induced electrons that can multiply and accumulate, causing degradation or loss of the ion beam. In order to understand the physical mechanisms of ion-induced electron production, experiments studied the impact of 50 to 400 keV K{sup +} ions on stainless steel surfaces near grazing incidence, using the 500 kilovolts Ion Source Test Stand (STS-500) at LLNL. The experimental electron yield scales with the electronic component (dE{sub e}/dx) of the stopping power. A theoretical model is developed, using TRIM code to evaluate dE{sub e}/dx at several depths in the target, to estimate the electron yield, which is compared with the experimental results.