Experiments are described on a plasma cathode with biased grids to prevent entry of ions into the electron extraction gap. The cathode has potential applications to the generation of high‐current pulsed electron beams. Operation at 20 A/cm2is theoretically possible. The source combines the low average power consumption of a plasma cathode with many of the attractive features of thermionic cathodes, such as space‐charge‐limited extractor gap electron flow, fast turn‐on, and no diode closure. Initial experiments are reported at the 2 A/cm2level for pulse lengths to 160 &mgr;s.