A vircator with electron beam premodulation based on high-current repetitively pulsed accelerator

The paper describes theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of a decimeter wavelength vircator with electron beam premodulation. Possible mechanisms for the excitation of electromagnetic oscillations in virtual cathode systems are analyzed (modulation of current, reflex klystron effect, and inertial bunching of reflected particles). It is demonstrated that the microwave efficiency in a double-gap virtual-cathode system may be substantially higher than that in a single-gap one. Based on one- and three-dimensional numerical simulations, an experimental mockup of double-gap vircator without external magnetic field has been developed. In experiments employing the SINUS-7 high-current repetitively-pulsed electron accelerator, single-mode microwave generation in the S-band was obtained with ~1 GW peak power and ~25 ns pulse width at about 5% efficiency. The generator showed frequency stability from pulse to pulse and throughout each pulse, which proves the dominant role of the electrodynamic system used in the vircator construction. Varying the cavity parameters allowed continuous frequency tuning within about 15% at half power. Sample batch operation of the system at 20 and 50 p.p.s. was demonstrated