Experimental results from a tandem BWO-TWT system used to generatehigh-power microwaves

A relativistic backward wave oscillator (BWO) in tandem with a traveling wave tube (TWT) amplifier has been used to generate relatively long pulses of high-power X-band microwaves. In these experiments, a BWO is used to modulate the annular relativistic electron beam, which subsequently drives a TWT producing high-power microwave radiation. A special RF sever located between the two structures cuts off microwaves generated in the BWO from the TWT. Peak powers in excess of 100 MW are observed with overall beam-to-microwave efficiencies as high as 35%. By operating the BWO below saturation levels, pulse-shortening effects are minimized so that microwave pulses of duration comparable to that of the beam (100 ns) are possible. The operating frequency of the tandem system is tuned from 11 to 12 GHz by varying the effective energy of the beam     

高功率微波器件中脉冲缩短现象的粒子模拟

脉冲缩短是高功率微波器件的一个普遍现象，它阻碍了输出微波能量的进一步提高，是高功率微波研究领域中急待解决的问题.以相对论返波管作为研究对象，运用粒子模拟的方法，研究了器件表面的爆炸发射、电子束电压和电流的脉动对输出微波性能的影响，从中得到了一些有益的结论，指出由强电场引起的慢波系统表面的爆炸发射是产生脉冲缩短的重要因素 ，电子束电流和束电压的脉动也会引起脉冲缩短，并提出了相应的克服方法. 关键词： 高功率微波器件 相对论返波管 脉冲缩短 粒子模拟     

Study of superradiance based on a low-voltagebackward wave oscillator

According to the small size requirement for wide-band high-power microwave radiation, a superradiance backward wave oscillator (BWO) is proposed to generate such high-power microwave radiation with a low voltage (～20 kV) pulse power supply and low guiding magnet field (～0.1 T). In order to get a high-efficiency C-band superradiance BWO with a low beam voltage and a low guiding magnet field, the mechanism of superradiance in a BWO is explored in particle-in-cell simulation. With the oversized structure, the simulation shows that a microwave power of 405 kW with a frequency of 5.6 GHz and a spectrum width of 500 MHz can be obtained with a voltage of 23 kV and magnetic field of 0.1 T.     

An Unmagnetized Plasma-Loaded Relativistic Backward-Wave Oscillator: Experiment and Simulation

Reported in this paper are the results of an experiment to produce high-power microwave radiation from a gas-filled backward wave oscillator (BWO) driven by a relativistic electron beam without external guiding magnetic field. A peak power for background gas pressure at 5.25 mTorr has been observed as argon pressure from 0.75 mTorr to 15 mTorr. Operating frequency of the oscillator has been measured at 9.6 ± 0.4 GHz. The results of PIC simulation are in good agreement with the experimental results. A reasonable explanation is given for experimental results by PIC simulation.     

过模返波管的正反馈机制

作为一个典型的高功率微波振荡器,过模返波管(backward wave oscillator,BWO)的束波互作用过程复杂,束流负载效应影响明显,但是作为振荡器本身,其本质就是一个正反馈电路,电子从阴极发射后,穿过谐振反射腔和慢波结构(slow-wave structure,SWS),在SWS区电子动能转化为微波能,其中的一部分微波反馈到谐振反射腔,实现对电子束的调制,其他微波通过后面输出端口向外辐射.本文根据这种正反馈机制,建立器件工作模式等效电路和束波互作用的自洽过程,从理论上给出正反馈机制对器件模式控制、起振电流等参数的影响,并模拟研究了这种反馈机制对模式控制的影响,由此设计了一个能够在(1 MV,20 kA)电子束条件下克服模式竞争的过模BWO,其微波输出功率为7.9 GW,频率为8.68 GHz,相应的效率为39.5%.     

Particle-In-Cell Simulations from a X Band Coaxial Relativistic Backward Wave Oscillator

A high-power x-band coaxial relativistic backward wave oscillator has been conceptually designed and analyzed. The TM_on dispersion relations in the coaxial corrugated cylindrical waveguide used in the device was calculated. MAGIC,an electronmagnetic particle-in-cell code, is being used to investigated the nonlinear beam-wave interaction and other design optimization issues. Preliminary simulation results shows that the coaxial BWO can generate 2. 2 GW peak power microwave at 10. 15GHz in the TM₀₂ mode driven by a 600-KV 20-KA electron beam, the peak power efficiency is about 18%.     

Dependence of relativistic backward wave oscillator properties oneffective beam gamma

The operation of a backward wave oscillator (BWO) is shown to be critically dependent on the energy of the slow space-charge wave of the electron beam. Experimental work parameterizing the dependence of microwave frequency on effective beam energy, γ_beam, reveals that through an understanding of electron-beam dynamics, a BWO could be systematically tuned through a desired frequency range while maintaining a high power of a few hundred megawatts and narrow frequency bandwidth, which was 400 MHz. Through variation of γ_beam, 1.2 to 1.5 for the experiment, the lack of scaling of peak microwave power with the kinetic energy of the electron beam for γ_beam >1.32 was observed. This effect was previously found in numerical simulation. In order to explain this effect, the relationship of the beam current to the space-charge-limiting current for increasing γ_beam is examined. Dramatic evidence of pulse shortening, a phenomenon known to relativistic oscillators, was also seen     

High efficiency X-band relativistic backward wave oscillator with non-uniform slow wave structures

Backward wave oscillators (BWOs) driven by intense relativistic electron beams are very efficient means of producing high-power microwaves. However, the efficiency of conventional BWO is lower than 30%. An X-band oversized BWO with non-uniform slow wave structure is designed to improve RF output characteristics. In particle-in-cell simulation, a high power microwave with a power of 8.0 GW and efficiency of 40% is obtained, compared with that of 30% obtained in a conventional relativistic BWO.     

Linear theory of plasma filled backward wave oscillator

An analytical and numerical study of backward wave oscillator (BWO) in linear regime is presented to get an insight into the excitation of electromagnetic waves as a result of the interaction of the relativistic electron beam with a slow wave structure. The effect of background plasma on the BWO instability is also presented.     

捷变频相对论返波管振荡器设计

基于低磁场返波管振荡器的工作原理,设计了一个捷变频相对论返波管振荡器,该器件由两段对电子束参数要求基本一致的慢波结构串接而成,通过调节引导磁场强度实现器件频率的调节,使其分别工作于C波段和X波段。在电子能量和束流分别为670keV和8kA的条件下,当引导磁场强度为0.5T时,采用2.5维PIC程序模拟得到频率为6.28GHz、功率为1.0GW的微波输出;而当引导磁场强度为0.8T时,得到频率为9.25GHz、功率为0.75GW的微波输出。     

Plasma density measurement in a gas-filled X-band backward wave oscillator with a double conversion heterodyne microwave interferometer

Plasma density was measured with a heterodyne microwave interferometer in both a gas-filled X-band backward wave oscillator (BWO) and in a smooth tube. Plasma is generated by impact ionization of a 650 kV, 2 kA electron beam. For fixed gas pressure we found that the plasma density rise in the operating BWO was much faster than in a smooth tube, indicating that Trivelpiece-Gould modes, or high power microwaves, increase plasma generation. Additional plasma enhanced BWO microwave output power. Measured plasma density at optimum power levels was n_cr ≈ 6 × 10¹²cm⁻³ at onset of emitted microwaves.     

W波段交错双栅返波振荡器高频系统

将矩形交错双栅结构作为慢波电路并提出与之配套的过渡结构和输出耦合器,设计了利用带状电子注工作在W波段的返波振荡器。提出的过渡结构和耦合器解决了该类直波导型器件的信号传输衰减大、反射强等难题。相对于传统圆形电子注器件,该器件得到了较大的功率提升。利用三维粒子模拟计算的方法,在电流12 mA时通过调节工作电压,在92~98 GHz频带内得到了数W的稳定平均功率输出,信号中心频率非常接近设计频率,且单色性好,谐波分量小。     

Pulsewidth limitation in the relativistic backward wave oscillator

Spontaneous pulse shortening occurring in a relativistic backward wave oscillator (BWO) at gigawatt power levels is studied in experiment and theory. It is experimentally demonstrated that this phenomenon is accompanied by formation of an explosive-emission plasma at the surface of the corrugated slow-wave structure (SWS). Termination of microwave emission is explained by the increase of the BWO starting current from the absorption of the operating electromagnetic wave by electrons emitted from the plasma, whereas the intensity of the absorption radically increases offing to the presence of positive ions emitted from the plasma. Application of oil-free vacuum and electrochemical polishing of the SWS surface in an X-band BWO allowed generation of 3-GW, 26-ns microwave pulses with an energy of ~80 J, thereby demonstrating pulse lengthening by a factor of four     

紧凑型L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器的粒子模拟

 设计了紧凑型L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器，通过粒子模拟研究了L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器相互作用的物理过程，并对器件的电磁结构进行了优化和改进。分析表明，采用同轴慢波结构可以在较低的外加磁场下实现L波段返波振荡器的微波输出，同时可以大大减小微波器件的径向尺寸。这是因为同轴慢波结构的TM01模式有类似于TEM模的性质，没有截止频率，但纵向电场不为零，电子束能够与它发生强相互作用过程。粒子模拟优化结果表明，在器件半径仅为4.0 cm，电子束能量240 keV，电子束流1.8 kA，导引磁场仅为0.75 T时，返波振荡器可以在频率1.60 GHz处获得较大功率的微波输出， 平均峰值功率达140 MW，平均峰值功率效率约为32%。     

Powerful electromagnetic millimeter-wave oscillations produced by stimulated scattering of microwave radiation by relativistic electron beams

The stimulated scattering of electromagnetic waves in microwave generators, in which a high-current electron beam excites either a backward wave (BWO) or a quasi-critical frequency wave (orotron) is investigated experimentally. The scattering occurs at the same electron beam and the high-frequency feedback is provided by the inhomogeneities of the electrodynamic system of the microwave generator itself. A power of several tens of megawatts has been achieved in the 3-mm range. The mode selection permitted to obtain single-mode scattering.     

Development of a 2 MW relativistic backward wave oscillator

In this paper, a high power relativistic backward wave oscillator (BWO) experiment is reported. A 230 keV, 2 kA, 150 ns relativistic electron beam is generated using a Marx generator. The beam is then injected into a hollow rippled wall metallic cylindrical tube that forms a slow wave structure. The beam is guided using an axial pulsed magnetic field having a peak value 1 T and duration 1 ms. The field is generated by the discharge of a capacitor bank into a solenoidal coil. A synchronization circuit ensures the generation of the electron beam at the instant when the axial magnetic field attains its peak value. The beam interacts with the SWS modes and generates microwaves due to Cherenkov interaction. Estimated power of 2 MW in TM₀₁ mode is observed.      

Design of a high-efficiency C-band backward wave oscillator

For practicability of the high power microwave source,a C-band backward wave oscillator(BWO)which has high conversion efficiency is designed.When the axial guiding magnetic field is 0.83 T,the electron energy and the beam current of the diode are respectively 80 keV and 2.1 kA,a microwave output power of100 MW at 7.4 GHz microwave frequency with 65% conversion efficiency is achieved in simulation.     

Experimental investigation of backward wave oscillator with low magnetic field

A backward wave oscillator (BWO) is introduced in the paper. On the accelerator of Simus-700,it is experimentally investigated. Under the condition that the electron energy is 740 keV, the beam current is 7 kA and the guiding magnetic field is at 0.68 T, the performance of 1.15 GW microwave output power at 9.1 GHz microwave frequency with 22 ns pulse width and 22% conversion efficiency are reached.     

Pulse shortening causes in high power BWO and TWT microwave sources

Pulse shortening, an effect where the microwave output power from a high-power tube terminates or significantly degrades well before the end of the electron beam pulse, severely limits the energy per pulse and average power capability of many high power microwave (HPM) sources. The cause of pulse shortening varies from device to device, and different causes can simultaneously contribute to the observed power reduction behavior which tends to obscure the underlying mechanisms and possible solutions. In this paper, we show a variety of experimental situations that lead to pulse shortening in HPM sources. The mechanisms of the different pulse shortening triggers are examined in detail in high-vacuum traveling wave tubes (TWT) and plasma-filled backward-wave oscillators (BWO). We find that there are many different causes of pulse shortening such as arcing, mode competition, beam instability, etc. However, the most commonly observed situation that leads to pulse shortening is the combination of sufficiently high power electron beams and poor vacuum conditions that lead to plasma generation. The presence of plasma significantly modifies the beam coupling to the circuit, which can affect the microwave production efficiency on very short time scales. The situations lending to pulse shortening and possible solutions are presented     

Studies of relativistic backward-wave oscillator operation in thecross-excitation regime

We first reported the operation of a relativistic backward-wave oscillator (BWO) in the so-called cross-excitation regime in 1998. This instability, whose general properties were predicted earlier through numerical studies, resulted from the use of a particularly shallow rippled-wall waveguide [slow wave structure (SWS)] that was installed in an experiment to diagnose pulse shortening in a long-pulse electron beam-driven high-power microwave (HPM) source. This SWS was necessary to accommodate laser interferometry measurements along the SWS during the course of microwave generation. Since those early experiments, we have studied this regime in greater detail using two different SWS lengths. We have invoked time-frequency analysis, the smoothed-pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution in particular, to interpret the heterodyned signals of the radiated power measurements. These recent results are consistent with earlier theoretical predictions for the onset and voltage scaling for this instability. This paper presents data for a relativistic BWO operating in the single-frequency regime for two axial modes, operating in the cross-excitation regime, and discusses the interpretation of the data, as well as the methodology used for its analysis. Although operation in the cross-excitation regime is typically avoided due to its poorer efficiency, it may prove useful for future HPM effects studies