Electron sheath flow in a crossed-field diode (XFD) is susceptible to Kelvin-Helmholtz type instabilities. These shear-flow instabilities can allow for plasma expansion across the anode-cathode gap. This phenomenon can occur in magnetically insulated transmission lines, which would reduce the efficiency of pulsed power systems. In this work, a 2D electrostatic, particle-in-cell simulation is used to study the shear-flow instabilities. The instability is studied by modelling a planar, XFD with a fixed anode voltage. We investigate the effects of the anode voltage, applied magnetic field, and electron emission current on the shear-flow instabilities. Additionally, linear stability analysis of a XFD is revisited, where an alternate method to determine instability growth rates does not require an initial guess, can find all solutions in one operation, and finds more solutions compared to the conventionally used method. The theoretical growth rates are compared to simulation results.
