Design considerations for the gyro-peniotron oscillator

The gyro-peniotron shows great promise as a source of microwave radiation. In this paper we investigate the stability and the non-linear saturated efficiency of a gyropeniotron oscillatro with an axis encircling beam operating at the TE₂₁₁ and the TE₃₁₁ cylindrical cavity modes. Beam and cavity parameters for stable high efficiency operation are presented from a linear theory analysis of the start-oscillation condition. Using design parameters taken from the linear analysis, the strong field non-linear emission efficiencies are studied numerically. The sensitivity of the saturated efficiency to beam axial velocity and guiding center spread is also considered. The results of our modeling indicate that high efficiency (70–90%) operation of the gyro-peniotron oscillator is possible, even with large guiding center and large axial velocity spread.This work was supported by the University of California at Los Angeles under Contract 400093 through the U.S. Army Research Office Contract ARO-DAAG 29-82-K-0004.