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Title: Influence of wall plasma on microwave frequency and power in relativistic backward wave oscillator

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4926526· OSTI ID:22490962
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  1. Science and Technology on High Power Microwave Laboratory, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi'an 710024 (China)

The RF breakdown of the slow wave structure (SWS), which will lead to the generation of the wall plasma, is an important cause for pulse shortening in relativistic backward wave oscillators. Although many researchers have performed profitable studies about this issue, the influence mechanism of this factor on the microwave generation still remains not-so-clear. This paper simplifies the wall plasma with an “effective” permittivity and researches its influence on the microwave frequency and power. The dispersion relation of the SWS demonstrates that the introduction of the wall plasma will move the dispersion curves upward to some extent, which is confirmed by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and experiments. The plasma density and volume mainly affect the dispersion relation at the upper and lower frequency limits of each mode, respectively. Meanwhile, PIC simulations show that even though no direct power absorption exists since the wall plasma is assumed to be static, the introduction of the wall plasma may also lead to the decrease in microwave power by changing the electrodynamic property of the SWS.

OSTI ID:
22490962
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 7; 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