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Numerical simulations of the reditron

Journal Article · · IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/27.3813· OSTI ID:6844868

The reflected electron discrimination tube (reditron) is a high-power, narrow-band, and single-mode microwave generator which makes exclusive use of the oscillatory character of the virtual cathode of a relativistic electron beam. In a basic virtual-cathode configuration, there are two competing mechanisms generating microwaves, namely, the oscillating virtual cathode and the reflexing electrons between the real and virtual cathodes. Furthermore, they tend to interfere destructively with each other. Specifically, the reflexing electrons can cause considerable heating of the electron beam via two-stream instability and fluctuations of the diode impedance resulting in oscillations of the electron beam energy. The authors demonstrated theoretically a concept which was subsequently proven experimentally to effectively remove these undesirable effects. In addition, they found that high-power, narrow-band, and monochromatic microwaves could be generated with efficiency of 10 to 20 percent by the reditron. They also found that further optimization could be achieved by the use of a density (current) modulated electron beam at appropriate frequencies.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., Los Alamos, NM (US)
OSTI ID:
6844868
Journal Information:
IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.; (United States) Vol. 16:2; ISSN ITPSB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English