Longitudinal space charge effects in bunched electron beams travelling through a Malmberg-Penning trap

Nanosecond pulsed electron beams in the 1–10 keV energy range have been characterized by means of an electrostatic diagnostic in the Malmberg-Penning trap ELTRAP. The beam length has been inferred through the numerical analysis of the signals measured across the overall load impedance of a planar charge collector. The presence of space charge effects leading to a longitudinal spread of the beam during its transport are evidenced at low injection energies. This feature has also been tested with the use of a one-dimensional fluid model and with two-dimensional, cylindrically-symmetric Particle-In-Cell simulations, whose results are compared to the experimental observations.