The long-pulse, high-current relativistic klystron at 500 MW and beyond

This paper describes the development of an L-band annular beam, high-current relativistic klystron for producing a peak power of 1 GW at a pulse length of 1 µs. The tube consists of three cavities: the input cavity driven by a 300 kW magnetron, an idler cavity, and an output cavity. The tube has produced 475 MW and an energy per pulse of 160 J. The microwave output pulse terminates prematurely, before the peak power in the electron beam pulse is reached. The pulse shortening is believed to be caused by too high a voltage across the gap of the output cavity. The result is electron reflection in the output gap leading to beam disruption and high voltage breakdown across the gap. Current experimental results are presented with an emphasis on the design of output cavities for coupling microwave power from high current, very low impedance modulated electron beams.