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Title: A millimeter wave relativistic backward wave oscillator operating in TM{sub 03} mode with low guiding magnetic field

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4922428· OSTI ID:22410448
;  [1]; ; ; ; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing100084 (China)
  2. Science and Technology on High Power Microwave Laboratory, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi'an Shaanxi 710024 (China)

A V-band overmoded relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) guided by low magnetic field and operating on a TM{sub 03} mode is presented to increase both the power handling capacity and the wave-beam interaction conversion efficiency. Trapezoidal slow wave structures (SWSs) with shallow corrugations and long periods are adopted to make the group velocity of TM{sub 03} mode at the intersection point close to zero. The coupling impedance and diffraction Q-factor of the RBWO increase, while the starting current decreases owing to the reduction of the group velocity of TM{sub 03} mode. In addition, the TM{sub 03} mode dominates over the other modes in the startup of the oscillation. Via numerical simulation, the generation of the microwave pulse with an output power of 425 MW and a conversion efficiency of 32% are achieved at 60.5 GHz with an external magnetic field of 1.25 T. This RBWO can provide greater power handling capacity when operating on the TM{sub 03} mode than on the TM{sub 01} mode.

OSTI ID:
22410448
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English