I have been involved in the development work on production of a high energy pulsed electron beam of nanosecond duration, which has been reported in J.Phys.E: Sci. Instr. 19 (1986) 454.
Here a well-focused electron beam is first produced, then the beam is swept across a slit, by applying a 200 volt pulse having 3 nsec. rise time, to produce a pulsed beam of 2 nsec. duration. This pulse has been generated by using a transistor in the avalanche mode.
I suggest you to read the mentioned article and choose the right transistor for 700 volt application.