High-power broadband plasma maser with magnetic self-insulation

Presented in this paper are the results of a particle-in-cell modelling of a novel high-power microwave (HPM) source which combines the properties of two devices. The first prototype is a magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator (MILO), an HPM self-oscillator which does not need an external magnetic field and irradiates a narrow spectrum depending on its iris-loaded slow-wave structure. The second prototype is a plasma maser, a Cherenkov HPM amplifier driven by a high-current relativistic electron beam propagating in a strong external magnetic field in plasma which acts as a slow-wave structure. The radiation frequency of plasma masers mainly depends on an easily variable plasma concentration; hence, their spectrum may overlap a few octaves. The plasma-based HPM device described in this paper operates without an external magnetic field: it looks like an MILO in which the iris-loaded slow-wave structure is substituted by a hollow plasma tube. The small pulse duration of ∼1.5 ns prevents a feedback rise in the 20-cm long generation section so that the device operates as a noise amplifier. Unlike conventional ultra wideband generators, the spectrum depends not only on the pulse duration but mainly on plasma, so the operation frequency of the device ranges within 12 GHz. For irradiated frequencies above 2 GHz, the total pulse energy efficiency of 7% is demonstrated at the HPM power level ∼1 GW. © 2018 Author(s).

Authors
Number of issue
1
Language
English
Status
Published
Number
013105
Volume
25
Year
2018
Organizations
  • 1 National Research Centre Kurchatov Institute, 1 Ak. Kurchatova Sqr., Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
  • 2 Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St., Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
Keywords
Energy efficiency; Feedback amplifiers; Magnetic fields; Magnetism; Masers; Microwave devices; Microwaves; Oscillators (electronic); Slow wave structures; Ultra-wideband (UWB); External magnetic field; High power microwave sources; Magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator; Operation frequency; Plasma concentration; Radiation frequencies; Relativistic electron beam; Self-oscillators; Magnetoplasma
Date of creation
19.10.2018
Date of change
19.10.2018
Short link
https://repository.rudn.ru/en/records/article/record/7060/
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