Wideband antenna for detecting high-power microwave radiation pulses

The plasma relativistic generator (PRG) at the Sinus 550-80 accelerator has a number of unique properties, such as the single- and multiple-pulse (up to 50 pulses per second) generation modes, generation of microwave pulses with a duration of up to 80 ns and frequencies of 2 to 25GHz, and generation of monochromatic and wide-spectrum radiation. The carrier frequency and the spectrum width can be controlled by varying the experimental parameters, e.g., the plasma density. To investigate the PRG operation modes, appropriate devices for detection of the PRG microwave radiation are needed. In this work, numerical models of antennas with different geometrical parameters are developed using the Ansoft HFSS 13.0 CAD and an antenna with the optimum parameters is proposed for measuring microwave radiation spectra in the desired frequency range at a power level of 50 to 100MW.     

Testing a thermoacoustic sensor of high-power microwave pulses

We present the results of testing a new thermoacoustic sensor designed to detect microwave pulses having durations from 3 to 120 ns at wavelengths of 0.8 and 3 cm. Operation of the sensor is based on the effect of generation of acoustic signals during absorption of microwave pulses in a radiotransparent substrate–absorber–liquid layered structure . A thin nanometer-thick film deposited on a substrate is used as an absorber. Microwaves are converted to an acoustic pulse in the film and the adjacent liquid. The pulse is received by a wideband acoustic receiver and then recorded by a digital oscilloscope. It is shown that for a pulse duration of 120 ns, the shape of the signal recorded by the thermoacoustic sensor completely corresponds to the signal of a tube-diode detector of microwave pulses. The response of the thermoacoustic sensor to shorter pulses (3 and 5 ns long) is a pulse with a duration of 18 ns which is determined by a limited frequency band of the acoustic receiver.     

New high-power source of directional electromagnetic radiation

A new source of electromagnetic radiation in a wide spectral range can be based on multiple contactless deflection of the beams of charged particles in a circular channel. The radiation with wavelengths ranging from submillimeter to radio ranges can be generated using nonrelativistic electrons. Directional radiation is obtained at relativistic energies. The IR, optical, and UV radiation can be generated. The X-ray and gamma-radiation can be obtained at relatively high energies. The new source is compared with the source of synchrotron radiation. The radiation intensity at energies of 1–2 GeV is relatively high, since strong currents are possible in the ring channel. The channeling and synchrotron emission are simultaneously obtained at relatively small (several tens of nanometers) internal diameters of the ring.     

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.     

Electrodeless microwave source of UV radiation

The parameters of an electrodeless microwave low-pressure discharge in an Ar + Hg vapor mixture are studied, the design of a UV radiation source for water disinfection is suggested, and its main characteristics are presented. The domestic microwave oven (f = 2.45 GHz; N = kW) is used as a microwave radiation source. The maximal UV power at wavelength λ = 254 nm amounts to 120–130 W.     

A broadband excimer source of visible radiation with barrier discharge pumping

We investigate the characteristics of a broadband cylindrical excimer source of visible radiation with a surface area of 230 cm² excited by a pulse-periodic barrier discharge based on multicomponent mixtures (mercury diiodide and dibromide with helium and admixtures of molecular nitrogen and xenon). The working mixture components were excited by a pulse-periodic (pulse repetition rate 500–5000 Hz, pulse duration ～150 ns) barrier discharge. We detected radiation from excimer HgI* and HgBr* molecules, the second positive system of molecular nitrogen, and mercury and xenon atoms. The amplitude, duration, and trailing edge of the radiation pulses in the HgI₂:HgBr₂:Xe:He and HgI₂: HgBr₂:N₂:He mixtures with admixtures of xenon and molecular nitrogen were found to change compared to the HgI₂:HgBr₂:He mixture. The optimal partial pressure of helium lies within the range 162–195 kPa. The most intense radiation from HgI* and HgBr* molecules (in a ratio of more than 3: 1) is observed in the HgI₂:HgBr₂: Xe:He mixture. The mean and pulse radiation powers are 45 W and 93 kW, respectively, at a pumping pulse repetition rate of 5000 Hz and an efficiency of 30%. We discuss the spectral and temporal characteristics of the radiation source and the dependence of the radiation intensity of excimer molecules of mercury monoiodide and monobromide on the partial pressures of xenon and nitrogen. We point out that the radiation source is of considerable interest for applications in biotechnology and medicine.     

Transition radiation of fast electrons as a broadband vacuum-ultraviolet radiation source

The characteristics of a possible radiation source in the vacuum-ultraviolet and soft X-ray range based on the transition radiation of electrons with an energy of about 100 keV are calculated. The possibilities of enhancing the radiation yield in the geometry of the glancing interaction of electrons with a target are analyzed. The possibility of creating a source with a yield on the order of 10^?5 photon/(eV sr) per electron is demonstrated.     

Practical all-fiber source of high-power, 120-fs pulses at 1 micrometre

Amplification of femtosecond pulses at 1.03 micrometre in a standard Yb-doped single-mode fiber is reported. A pulse energy of 8 nJ and an average power of 400 mW are obtained, limited by available pump power. To our knowledge these are the highest pulse energy and average power obtained from an integrated, single-mode fiber amplifier. After dechirping, 120-fs, 6-nJ pulses are obtained. A practical fiber-based source with performance comparable with that of a bulk solid-state laser is thus demonstrated, and scaling to substantially higher powers will be possible.     

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。     

Development of a high-power THz radiation source for plasma diagnostics

A high power radiation source in the THz range with long pulse and narrow line width is required for diagnosing fusion type plasmas by collective Thomson scattering. Gyrotrons currently meet the requirements concerning power, pulse length and line width when operating in the 50–150 GHz range. They may have the potential also to do this in the THz range. In this paper two methods based on harmonic operation are investigated. Both look promising, if high conversion efficiency can be attained. This, however, still has to be demonstrated.     

Fully efficient adiabatic frequency conversion of broadband Ti:sapphire oscillator pulses

By adiabatic difference-frequency generation in an aperiodically poled nonlinear crystal-a nonlinear optical analog of rapid adiabatic passage in a two-level atomic system-we demonstrate the conversion of a 110?nm band from an octave-spanning Ti:sapphire oscillator to the infrared, spanning 1550 to 2450?nm, with near-100% internal conversion efficiency. The experiment proves the principle of complete Landau-Zener adiabatic transfer in nonlinear optical wave mixing. Our implementation is a practical approach to the seeding of high-energy ultrabroadband optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers.     

Nonlinear nonequilibrium processes in a silicon switch of high-power microwave radiation

The nonlinear dynamic interaction of high-power microwave radiation with a high-purity compensated silicon sample, driven or not by a laser pulse initiating nonequilibrium photoconductivity, has been investigated numerically. It is shown that this effect can be used in semiconductor switches of the phase of electromagnetic waves in the presence of strong thermal self-action of microwaves. Original Russian Text ? G.G. Denisov, Vl.V. Kocharovsky, M.L. Kulygin, 2009, published in Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Fizicheskaya, 2009, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 98–102.     

Production of ultra-short high-power microwave pulses in Čerenkov backward-wave systems (Review)

The article presents a review of works (mainly, of experimental ones) on production of subgigawatt and gigawatt microwave pulses of extremely short duration (5–7 RF periods) using backward-wave systems fed with nanosecond and subnanosecond high-current electron beams produced by compact accelerators. Theoretical approaches to the generation process (which is essentially non-steady-state) are briefly summarized. Using the effect of spatial accumulation of energy in a short running microwave pulse allows production of pulses with peak power notably higher then the driving electron beam power. Compact microwave sources developed for operation in the Ka-band and X-band are described. Special attention is given to the issue of high pulse repetition frequency operation of the sources.     

Design of broadband RF pulses with polynomial-phase response

The achievable bandwidth of common linear-phase RF pulses is limited by the maximum feasible B1 amplitude of the MR system. It has been shown previously, that this limitation can be circumvented by overlaying a quadratic phase in the frequency domain, which spreads the power across the pulse duration. Quadratic-phase RF pulses are near optimal in terms of achieving minimal B1max. In this work, it is demonstrated that further B1max reduction can be achieved by combining quadratic with higher-order polynomial-phase functions. RF pulses with a phase response up to tenth order were designed using the Shinnar-Le Roux transformation, yielding considerable increases in bandwidth and selectivity as compared to pure quadratic-phase pulses. These benefits are studied for a range of pulse specifications and demonstrated experimentally. For B1max = 20 microT and a pulse duration of 2.1 ms, it was possible to increase the bandwidth from 3.1 kHz for linear and 3.8 kHz for a quadratic to 9.9 kHz for a polynomial-phase pulse.     

基于粒子模拟和并行遗传算法的高功率微波源优化设计

提出了基于粒子模拟和并行遗传算法的高功率微波源优化设计方法, 以全电磁粒子模拟软件UNIPIC模拟的高功率微波器件输出功率作为适应度函数, 采用浮点数编码的遗传算法对高功率微波源器件进行优化. 采用该算法, 对相对论返波管的布拉格反射器位置以及高度进行了浮点数编码,然后在巨型机上进行参数的全局优化, 获得了该返波管布拉格反射器的全局最优参数. 关键词： 并行遗传算法 相对论返波管 粒子模拟 高功率微波源     

Coherent enhancement of broadband frequency up-conversion in BBO crystal by shaping femtosecond laser pulses

An optimal feedback control of broadband frequency up-conversion in BBO crystal is experimentally demonstrated by shaping femtosecond laser pulses based on genetic algorithm, and the frequency up-conversion efficiency can be enhanced by ∼16%. SPIDER results show that the optimal laser pulses have shorter pulse-width with the little negative chirp than the original pulse with the little positive chirp. By modulating the fundamental spectral phase with periodic square distribution on SLM-256, the frequency up-conversion can be effectively controlled by the factor of about 17%. The experimental results indicate that the broadband frequency up-conversion efficiency is related to both of second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG), where the former depends on the fundamental pulse intensity, and the latter depends on not only the fundamental pulse intensity but also the fundamental pulse spectral phase.