Controlling the radiation frequency of a plasma relativistic microwave oscillator during a nanosecond pulse

It is shown experimentally and by numerical simulation that the radiation frequency of a 50-MW plasma relativistic microwave oscillator can be varied within 15% during a 60-ns-wide pulse by varying the plasma concentration. The plasma is generated by pre-ionization of a low-pressure gas. When the degree of ionization increases in a microwave field, the radiation frequency rises. Conversely, when plasma electrons are forced out by the electrostatic field of a high-current relativistic electron beam, the radiation frequency declines. By appropriately selecting the initial gas pressure and degree of gas ionization, one can control both trends and thereby the radiation frequency.     

Variation in the radiation frequency of a plasma relativistic microwave oscillator within its nanosecond pulse

The radiation spectrum of a plasma relativistic microwave oscillator with a pulse power of 50 MW operating in the 10-GHz frequency range is studied experimentally. During a 60-ns-long microwave pulse, the radiation frequency may both remain constant and change by more than 1.5 GHz. The pressure of a gas that ionizes in the microwave field has a significant effect on the radiation frequency and thereby changes the concentration of a pregenerated plasma.     

Present status of thin oxide films creation in a microwave plasma

This paper summarizes present knowledge of the creation of thin films in isotropic and magnetoactive plasma. It analyses conditions under which films in the microwave plasma can be created and shows how the growth rate and properties of films depend on microparameters of plasma. On the basis of plasma floating potential measurements it is shown why the creation of thin films in microwave discharges takes place at high electron plasma densities (N 10¹² cm^–3) only. Besides this it describes properties of created films, underlies negative role of fast electrons in forming of good quality films and gives recommendation how to avoid their generation. Considerable attention is devoted also to a comparison of films creation in pulse and continuous plasma. At the end possibility of films creation at low temperatures by a deposition technique utilizing a microwave excitation of molecular gases is given.The authors gratefully acknowledge many stimulating and fruitful discussions with Dr. F. áek of Institute of Plasma Physics of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. We also thank Dr. V. Malina of Institute of Radioelectronics of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences for measurements of C—V curves of SiO₂ films.     

Frequency upshifting of electromagnetic radiation via obliqueincidence on an ionization front

Frequency upshifting of electromagnetic radiation impinging on a relativistically moving ionization front is theoretically investigated. Unlike previous works in this field treating the case of normal incidence and qualitatively similar case of oblique incidence of a transverse electric polarized wave, oblique incidence of a transverse magnetic polarized wave on the front is considered. The peculiarities of the case under consideration are connected with the generation of Langmuir waves behind the front and Brewster's phenomenon. We present a complete analysis of the incident wave transformation including analysis of the frequencies and amplitudes of the waves excited ahead of and behind the front. Special emphasis is made on energy transformation in the case when a wave packet is incident on the front. In particular, we show that even for negligible angles of incidence, energy losses via transformation into Langmuir waves may be very high (up to ~60%). In general, generation of Langmuir waves may play a significant role in the plasma-based radiation sources with relativistic ionization fronts     

Transfer of microwave radiation in sliding mode plasma waveguides

A new regime of the sliding propagation of microwave radiation in plasma waveguides in atmospheric air has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. A plasma waveguide whose radius is much larger than the radiation wavelength has been created by the photoionization of an easily ionized impurity by the ultraviolet radiation of a KrF laser. The transfer of a 35.3-GHz microwave signal to a distance of 60 m has been demonstrated. The transfer mechanism is due to the total internal reflection of the wave on the optically less dense walls of the plasma waveguide.     

等离子体微波辐射简介和研究进展

近年来,等离子体微波辐射作为新兴高功率微波源,因其具有频带宽、相干和可调谐等优点,因而受到国际上的广泛关注.本文着重介绍了几种典型的等离子体微波辐射理论和实验研究现状,包括电子束与等离子体互作用、等离子体局部扰动、三波互作用等.     

Transfer of microwave radiation in sliding modes of plasma waveguides

We study experimentally and theoretically a new regime of the sliding-mode propagation of microwave radiation in plasma waveguides in atmospheric air. We show that a plasma waveguide of large radius (much larger than the wavelength of the signal) can be developed in the photoionization of air molecules by the KrF-laser emission. We demonstrate the transfer of a 38 GHz microwave signal to a distance of up to 60 m. The mechanism of the transfer is determined by total internal reflection of the signal on the optically less dense walls of the waveguide. We perform the calculations for waveguides of various radii and microwave radiation wavelengths and show that the propagation increases with decrease of the wavelengths and reaches several kilometers for submillimeter waves.     

Mechanism of radiation pulse shortening in plasma relativistic microwave generator

The causes of emission quenching in the plasma relativistic microwave generator are studied by numerical calculations using the particle-in-cell method. The process mechanism in which the plasma boundary moves from the coaxial collector edge with a velocity above 10⁷ cm/s is found. An electron flux with an energy of ～10⁵ eV and a current of ～10³ A is generated from the collector in the formed gap, which heats plasma and increases its potential. Microwave generation stops due to a multiple decrease in the wave reflectance from the collector. The use of the hollow collector is presumably a method for preventing microwave generation quenching.     

Increase in the average radiation power of a plasma relativistic microwave generator

The operation of a pulse-periodic plasma relativistic microwave generator with a pulsed power of 50 MW was experimentally studied. A change in the shapes of the electron collector and output unit allowed a significant increase in the average emission power. The microwave pulse duration was increased from 30 to 70 ns, and the repetition rate of microwave pulses was increased from 5 to 50 Hz.     

Demonstration of microwave frequency shifting by use of a highly chirped mode-locked fiber laser

We report an experimental demonstration of a photonic microwave shifter using a highly chirped mode-locked fiber laser. The system is based on dispersive compression or expansion of highly chirped optical pulses that are amplitude modulated by the microwave signal. Using this technique, we demonstrated frequency shifting of a microwave signal from 10 GHz down to 5 GHz and up to 25 GHz.     

射频击穿等离子体对高功率微波传输特性的影响

利用极化正交的高功率微波合路器,开展了等离子体对于微波传输特性的实验研究.通过改变前级源的功率和脉冲宽度,使得在合路器耦合缝处发生射频击穿,产生等离子体.等离子体扩散进入微波传输主通道,对于高功率微波的传输产生明显的影响,导致微波能量吸收和极化的偏转.初步实验结果表明,等离子体扩散到主通道中心的时间约为3μs,扩散速度约为1μs/cm,等离子体的恢复时间约为5μs.实验测得等离子体导致的微波极化方向最大偏转角度约为4.1?,此时通道内电子个数约为3.7×1015,极化偏转角度与电子数密度以及微波频率相关.     

激光等离子体对反射波频移影响的实验研究

研究了微波被激光等离子体反射时反射波的频率变化。实验中微波发生器产生的微波入射到激光等离子体并被等离子体反射,反射波的频率由频谱分析仪测量,发现反射波的频率与入射波的频率明显不同,分析了在激光等离子体膨胀和熄灭两种情况下激光功率密度和入射波频率对反射波频移影响的原因。结果表明：在等离子体膨胀和熄灭过程中,反射波频移的最大值随激光功率密度的增加而增加;随入射微波频率的增加而减小。     

激光等离子体对反射波频移影响的实验研究

 研究了微波被激光等离子体反射时反射波的频率变化。实验中微波发生器产生的微波入射到激光等离子体并被等离子体反射,反射波的频率由频谱分析仪测量,发现反射波的频率与入射波的频率明显不同,分析了在激光等离子体膨胀和熄灭两种情况下激光功率密度和入射波频率对反射波频移影响的原因。结果表明：在等离子体膨胀和熄灭过程中,反射波频移的最大值随激光功率密度的增加而增加;随入射微波频率的增加而减小。     

Electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma heating with broadband microwave radiation: Anomalous effects

Affects of microwave bandwidth on the high-charge-states of ion beams extracted from a conventional minimum-B-geometry ECR ion source are first demonstrated. The high-charge-state intensities, produced with broadband microwave radiation are observed to be factors ?2 than those produced with narrow bandwidth microwave radiation at the same power level.     

时变等离子体高功率微波频率上转换的粒子模拟

基于电磁波与时变介质相互作用能够实现电磁波频率上转换的原理,通过粒子模拟(PIC)方法对电磁波与时变等离子体薄层相互作用进行模拟,实现了频率由2.45 GHz提升至130 GHz,功率转化效率约为0.39%。探究了等离子体参数(包括等离子体密度、有限的等离子体上升时间以及等离子体薄层厚度)对频率上转换的影响。模拟结果验证了等离子体密度决定上转换频率,与理论结果相符。模拟结果表明,等离子体薄层厚度越大,得到的上转换波的能量越大;等离子体的上升时间越小,上转换波的转换效率和频谱纯度越高。采用等离子体密度21020 cm-3,等离子体厚度1 cm,等离子体上升时间0.04 ns 可以得到可观的130 GHz上转换波输出。     

时变等离子体高功率微波频率上转换的粒子模拟

基于电磁波与时变介质相互作用能够实现电磁波频率上转换的原理,通过粒子模拟(PIC)方法对电磁波与时变等离子体薄层相互作用进行模拟,实现了频率由2.45 GHz提升至130 GHz,功率转化效率约为0.39%。探究了等离子体参数(包括等离子体密度、有限的等离子体上升时间以及等离子体薄层厚度)对频率上转换的影响。模拟结果验证了等离子体密度决定上转换频率,与理论结果相符。模拟结果表明,等离子体薄层厚度越大,得到的上转换波的能量越大;等离子体的上升时间越小,上转换波的转换效率和频谱纯度越高。采用等离子体密度21020 cm-3,等离子体厚度1 cm,等离子体上升时间0.04 ns 可以得到可观的130 GHz上转换波输出。     

Effect of microwave frequency on plasma formation in air breakdown at atmospheric pressure

Microwave breakdown at atmospheric pressure causes the formation of a discrete plasma structure. The onedimensional fluid model coupling Maxwell equations with plasma fluid equations is used to study the effect of the microwave frequency on the formation of air plasma. Simulation results show that, the filamentary plasma array propagating toward the microwave source is formed at different microwave frequencies. As the microwave frequency decreases, the ratio of the distance between two adjacent plasma filaments to the corresponding wavelength remains almost unchanged(on the order of 1/4), while the plasma front propagates more slowly due to the increase in the formation time of the new plasma filament.     

Ultrafast photodetectors based on the interaction of microwave radiation and a photoexcited plasma in semiconductors

The interaction of microwave radiation with the plasma in photoionized semiconductor photocells (CdS, CdSe) placed in waveguide measurement systems is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The interaction of the characteristic waveguide modes with a photoexcited semiconductor plasma is investigated. The dependence of the reflection coefficient and phase of the microwave radiation on the intensity of the optical radiation to be measured is obtained, and the influence of the surface of the semiconductor photocells on these parameters is investigated. A microwave photodetector design based on a millimeter-wave interferometer is developed. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 94–98 (November 1998)     

Demonstration of a single-photon router in the microwave regime

We have embedded an artificial atom, a superconducting transmon qubit, in an open transmission line and investigated the strong scattering of incident microwave photons (～6 GHz). When an input coherent state, with an average photon number N?1 is on resonance with the artificial atom, we observe extinction of up to 99.6% in the forward propagating field. We use two-tone spectroscopy to study scattering from excited states and we observe electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We then use EIT to make a single-photon router, where we can control to what output port an incoming signal is delivered. The maximum on-off ratio is around 99% with a rise and fall time on the order of nanoseconds, consistent with theoretical expectations. The router can easily be extended to have multiple output ports and it can be viewed as a rudimentary quantum node, an important step towards building quantum information networks.