The plated tubes are used in an accelerator and will see a high-frequency electron beam. The copper plating produces less power losses and allows a higher beam output. Since we are operating at high frequencies the tube (plating) ID must be very smooth.
We have since looked at a few similar...
Thank you tbuelna. I was worried that the current might be the culprit. We are cutting the tubes longitudinally and then inspecting at the sample's center, away from the edge. I attached a SEM picture here so you can see exactly what we discovered.
I have a few stainless steel tubes with a thin layer (30 um) of copper plating on the ID, for use in our accelerator project. I worked with a colleague to process and inspect some samples from these tubes to measure the finished surface roughness. When I received the samples I realized they...
