A novel electron-beam welder will be developed that greatly extends the practical range of beam energy and beam brightness of industrial electron beam welders. The welder is compact, relatively simple, and inherently safe from high-voltage hazards. Our proposed welder will permit greater control of welds both in vacuum and at atmospheric pressure with little thermal distortion of welded parts. The result for NASA programs will be improved aerospace components and assemblies. Revolutionary improvements in atmospheric electron beam welding, made possible by our proposed device, will greatly extend the size and range of objects that can be welded with electron beams. A novel electron source, at the heart of the innovation, will be tested during the Phase I program. An accelerator will be added to the electron source during Phase II to complete construction of a prototype welder.
