The time- and space-dependent optical emissions of nanosecond high-power microwave discharges near a dielectric-air interface have been observed by nanosecond-response four-framing intensified-charged-coupled device cameras. The experimental observations indicate that plasma developed more intensely at the dielectric-air interface than at the free-space region with a higher electric-field amplitude. A thin layer of intense light emission above the dielectric was observed after the microwave pulse. The mechanisms of the breakdown phenomena are analyzed by a three-dimensional electromagnetic-field modeling and a two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation, revealing the formation of a space-charge microwave sheath near the dielectric surface, accelerated by the normal components of the microwave field, significantly enhancing the local-field amplitude and hence ionization near the dielectric surface. The nonlinear positive feedback of ionization, higher electron mobility, and ultraviolet-driven photoemission due to the elevated electron temperature are crucial for achieving the ultrafast discharge. Following the high-power microwave pulse, the sheath sustains a glow discharge until the sheath collapses.

No abstract

No abstract

An X-band dual-mode relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) operating at low magnetic field is presented in this paper. Three new design principles are introduced in the device. First, the electron beam interacts with TM01 mode and TM02 mode simultaneously, rather than with a fixed single mode. Second, the device outputs with mixed modes, rather than with a pure mode. Third, an internal reflector inserted into the annular cathode, rather than a long resonant reflector before the slow-wave structure, is adopted to reflect part of the backward wave. Accordingly, the beam–wave interaction efficiency is increased significantly and the whole device is very compact. The particle in cell simulation results reveal that at a magnetic field of 0.64 T, the output microwave power is 4.8 GW and the conversion efficiency is up to 44%. In the experiment, at a guiding magnetic field of 0.66 T, a microwave pulse with power of 4.6 GW, frequency of 9.96 GHz, pulse duration of 42 ns, and efficiency of 42% was generated when the diode voltage was 880 kV and beam current was 12.5 kA, which agree well with the simulation results. Furthermore, as the diode voltage was 1.17 MV, a highest microwave power of 7.6 GW was achieved. This is a record of high efficiency and high power of microwave generation in an X-band RBWO operating at low magnetic field.

This paper provides a fresh insight into the effect of non-uniform slow wave structure (SWS) used in a relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) with a resonant reflector. Compared with the uniform SWS, the reflection coefficient of the non-uniform SWS is higher, leading to a lower modulating electric field in the resonant reflector and a larger distance to maximize the modulation current. Moreover, for both types of RBWOs, stronger standing-wave field takes place at the rear part of the SWS. In addition, besides Cerenkov effects, the energy conversion process in the RBWO strongly depends on transit time effects. Thus, the matching condition between the distributions of harmonic current and standing wave field provides a profound influence on the beam-wave interaction. In the non-uniform RBWO, the region with a stronger standing wave field corresponds to a higher fundamental harmonic current distribution. Particle-in-cell simulations show that with a diode voltage of 1.02 MV and beam current of 13.2 kA, a microwave power of 4 GW has been obtained, compared to that of 3 GW in the uniform RBWO.