Temperature dependence of the electric field strength in a pyroelectric deflector of charged relativistic particles

Abstract The paper presents the dependence of the electric field strength between the crystals of a pyroelectric deflector on their temperature at various rates of temperature change in a vacuum. Three measurement cycles were conducted at different heating rates (0.059 ∘ C/s, 0.015 ∘ C/s, and 0.008 ∘ C/s) followed by subsequent natural cooling. A phenomenon of electric field strength saturation was observed in the temperature range of 40–72 ∘ C during heating and 50–22 ∘ C during cooling of the crystals in the pyroelectric deflector under vacuum conditions. A discrepancy in trends between the extreme states is observed on the graphs of the temperature dependence of the electric field strength in the pyroelectric deflector. The maximum electric field strength between the crystals reaches 40 kV/cm. A tentative explanation is provided for the occurrence of electrical breakdowns between pyroelectric crystals at an electric field strength of 30 kV/cm and a residual gas pressure of 1.5 × 10 -5 Torr. The potential application of the pyroelectric deflector in accelerator systems and the prospects for the development of miniature charged particle deflectors are discussed.