Electron plasma and wave measurements in a crossed-field amplifier and comparison with numerical simulation

Author

Browning, Jim ; Chan, Chung ; Ye, John Z. ; Dombrowski, George E. ; Ruden, Thomas E.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA, USA

Volume

39

Issue

10

fYear

1992

fDate

10/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2401

Lastpage

2407

Abstract

Detailed two-dimensional, time-averaged measurements of the electron density and the radio-frequency (RF) field have been made in a crossed-field amplifier. Measurements of the local RF field show gain consistent with that of the amplifier. The highly cycloidal nature of the electron beam used in the device has helped elucidate the wave-electron interaction during amplification. With high RF power levels the cycloidal nature of the electron beam is distorted as the beam smooths out. These density measurements have been directly compared to a numerical simulation that gives reasonable prediction of the measured results. Measurements of the electron energy distribution show that most electrons transfer energy to the RF field during amplification

Keywords

electromagnetic fields; electron density; microwave amplifiers; microwave tubes; particle beam diagnostics; crossed-field amplifier; cycloidal nature; electron beam; electron density; electron energy distribution; gain; local RF field; numerical simulation; time-averaged measurements; wave-electron interaction; Density measurement; Distortion measurement; Electron beams; Gain measurement; Numerical simulation; Plasma density; Plasma measurements; Plasma waves; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency amplifiers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.158815

Filename

158815