Rotary probe measurements of a cross-field amplifier slow wave circuit

A technique has been developed which uses a fully automated test set to map the interaction space electric field magnitude and phase of a crossed-field amplifier (CFA) slow wave circuit. The e-field data are collected in one of three cylindrical coordinate system orientations by proper orientation of the miniature monopole antenna. This e-field information may be processed using Fourier analysis techniques to yield a detailed dispersion curve for the circuit under investigation. The slow wave circuits investigated using this test set have yielded a harmonic rich dispersion curve, as opposed to the classical single frequency-single wave number dispersion curve utilized in the design of these circuits.<>