Electron and positive ion acceleration with pyroelectric crystals

The phenomenon of pyroelectric electron emission has been employed to develop miniature x-ray sources, such as the Cool-X by Amptek swww.amptek.com/coolx.htmld. The source strength of a pyroelectric x-ray generator is dependent on the emitted electron energy and current. Similarly, the source strength of a pyroelectric neutron generator will be dependent on the energy and production rate of deuterium ions in the fill gas. This paper summarizes our results in experiments directed toward creating high-energy electrons and positive ions with a pyroelectric source. Single-crystal sources are shown to produce positive ions with energies of up to 98 keV and electron energies of up to 143 keV. X-ray spectra are presented as proof that a paired-crystal source can increase electron energy to at least 215 keV. In addition, we offer independent verification of the “bunched” electron emission effect observed by fBrownridge et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 1158 s2001dg. © 2005 American Institute of Physics. fDOI: 10.1063/1.1884252g