Simulation Investigation of L-Band Ladder Cathode MILO

For the sake of higher power conversion efficiency, optimization for L-band ladder cathode magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO) based on an existing model by numerical simulation is carried out. First, the efficiency is improved by changing the parameters of choke and slow-wave structure vanes. The resonant frequency and Q factor are obtained through numerical calculation of open cavity high-frequency characteristics. Then, a 2.5-D electromagnetic PIC code is used for optimizing simulation. Employing an electron beam of 568 kV, 53.3 kA, a TEM mode high-power microwave with output power of 5.5 GW, frequency of 1.2 GHz is obtained. The power conversion efficiency is 18.2%. A novel four-cavity ladder cathode MILO is also presented which is more compact and also has high-power conversion efficiency. The typical simulation result is as follows: Employing an electron beam of 578 kV, 46.5 kA, a TEM mode high-power microwave with output power of 5.1 GW, frequency of 1.2 GHz is obtained. The power conversion efficiency is 18.9%.