This article reviews the state-of-the-art in high-power microwave source research. It begins with a discussion of the concepts involved in coherent microwave generation. The main varieties of microwave tubes are classified into three groups, according to the fundamental radiation mechanism involved: Cherenkov, transition, or bremsstrahlung radiation. This is followed by a brief discussion of some of the technical fundamentals of high-power microwave sources, including power supplies and electron guns. Finally, the history and recent developments of both high-peak power and high-average power sources are reviewed in the context of four main areas of application: (1) plasma resonance heating and current drive; (2) rf acceleration of charged particles; (3) radar and communications systems; and (4) high-peak power sources for weapons-effect simulation and exploratory development.

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Review of high-power microwave source research

This review discusses the present state-of-the-art of passive high-power microwave components for applications in microwave systems for RF plasma generation and heating, plasma diagnostics, plasma and microwave materials processing, spectroscopy, communication, radar ranging and imaging, and for drivers of next generation high-field-gradient electron-positron linear colliders. The paper reports on high-power components for overmoded high-power transmission systems such as smooth-wall waveguides, HE/sub 11/ hybrid mode waveguides and quasi-optical TEM/sub 00/ beam waveguides. These include various types of mode converters, polarizers, cross-section tapers, bends, mode selective filters, pulse compressors, DC-breaks, directional couplers, beam combiners and dividers, vacuum windows, and instruments for mode analysis. Problems of ohmic attenuation and unwanted conversion to parasitic modes are discussed in detail and rules for alignment requirements are given. In the case of waveguide transmission, this review mainly concentrates on circular waveguide components but also deals with rectangular waveguide.

Passive high-power microwave components

This paper presents a review of the experimental achievements related to the development of high-power gyrotron oscillators for long-pulse or CW operation and pulsed gyrotrons for many applications. In addition, this work gives a short overview on the present development status of frequency step-tunable and multi-frequency gyrotrons, coaxial-cavity multi-megawatt gyrotrons, gyrotrons for technological and spectroscopy applications, relativistic gyrotrons, large orbit gyrotrons (LOGs), quasi-optical gyrotrons, fast- and slow-wave cyclotron autoresonance masers (CARMs), gyroklystrons, gyro-TWT amplifiers, gyrotwystron amplifiers, gyro-BWOs, gyro-harmonic converters, gyro-peniotrons, magnicons, free electron masers (FEMs), and dielectric vacuum windows for such high-power mm-wave sources. Gyrotron oscillators (gyromonotrons) are mainly used as high-power millimeter wave sources for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), stability control, and diagnostics of magnetically confined plasmas for clean generation of energy by controlled thermonuclear fusion. The maximum pulse length of commercially available 140 GHz, megawatt-class gyrotrons employing synthetic diamond output windows is 30 min (CPI and European KIT-SPC-THALES collaboration). The world record parameters of the European tube are as follows: 0.92 MW output power at 30-min pulse duration, 97.5% Gaussian mode purity, and 44% efficiency, employing a single-stage depressed collector (SDC) for energy recovery. A maximum output power of 1.5 MW in 4.0-s pulses at 45% efficiency was generated with the QST-TOSHIBA (now CANON) 110-GHz gyrotron. The Japan 170-GHz ITER gyrotron achieved 1 MW, 800 s at 55% efficiency and holds the energy world record of 2.88 GJ (0.8 MW, 60 min) and the efficiency record of 57% for tubes with an output power of more than 0.5 MW. The Russian 170-GHz ITER gyrotron obtained 0.99 (1.2) MW with a pulse duration of 1000 (100) s and 53% efficiency. The prototype tube of the European 2-MW, 170-GHz coaxial-cavity gyrotron achieved in short pulses the record power of 2.2 MW at 48% efficiency and 96% Gaussian mode purity. Gyrotrons with pulsed magnet for various short-pulse applications deliver Pout = 210 kW with τ = 20 μs at frequencies up to 670 GHz (η ≅ 20%), Pout = 5.3 kW at 1 THz (η = 6.1%), and Pout = 0.5 kW at 1.3 THz (η = 0.6%). Gyrotron oscillators have also been successfully used in materials processing. Such technological applications require tubes with the following parameters: f > 24 GHz, Pout = 4–50 kW, CW, η > 30%. The CW powers produced by gyroklystrons and FEMs are 10 kW (94 GHz) and 36 W (15 GHz), respectively. The IR FEL at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in the USA obtained a record average power of 14.2 kW at a wavelength of 1.6 μm. The THz FEL (NOVEL) at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics in Russia achieved a maximum average power of 0.5 kW at wavelengths 50–240 μm (6.00–1.25 THz).

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State-of-the-Art of High-Power Gyro-Devices and Free Electron Masers

Gyrodevice oscillators and amplifiers (or gyro-oscillators and gyro-amplifiers) are being utilized in a variety of applications where high power levels are required at millimeter-wave frequencies. Gyro-oscillators, developed primarily for magnetic fusion research applications, have achieved power levels near 1 MW for pulse durations in excess of 1 s at frequencies above 100 GHz. Continued work on these devices should enable them to achieve continuous-wave operation at multimegawatt power levels at frequencies in the 100-GHz to 200-GHz range, thereby meeting the requirements of planned magnetic fusion experiments. The development of gyro-oscillators for fusion experiments has led to the utilization of the devices in several industrial applications, such as ceramic sintering and metal joining. Activities in this area involve adapting the oscillators to the industrial environment where reliability, efficiency, and ease of operation are paramount. Gyro-amplifiers are being developed for applications requiring phase coherence and instantaneous bandwidth, such as in linear accelerators and millimeter-wave radar. Impressive results from X-band to W-band already suggest the promise of these devices. Potential new applications and novel gyrodevice design approaches continue to attract the attention of researchers around the world.

Characteristics and applications of fast-wave gyrodevices

The Wendelstein 7X (W7-X) stellarator (R = 5.5 m, a = 0.55 m, B < 3.0 T), which at present is being built at Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik, Greifswald, aims at demonstrating the inherent ste...

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Electron Cyclotron Heating for W7-X: Physics and Technology

A 110 GHz 1 MW pulse gyrotron has been elaborated. A built-in electrodynamic duct consisting of a new type quasi-optical converter and three matching mirrors transforms operating mode TE15,4 into a gaussian beam going through the output window. The efficiency of the duct (ratio of the gaussian beam power outside the gyrotron to the total microwave power at the output of the cavity) is about 95%. A system consisting of the gyrotron and an outer mirror transmission line is proved to have efficiency (ratio of the microwave power measured by calorimeter at the end of line to the power of the electron beam) more than 40%.

110 GHz gyrotron with a built-in high-efficiency converter

A new approach for the design of a quasi-optical gyrotron mode converter is proposed. It is based on the synthesis of quasi-optical mirrors using diffraction (Helmholtz-Kirchhoff) integrals. First application of such a method we already described in [1, 2]. Now a more powerful technic is used to provide optimal distributions of the wave beam field. It is shown that by means of specially shaped mirrors parameters of the main converter are enhanced strongly. In this paper we review the search for the optimal scheme of the converter, present and compare results of calculations and measurements of the gyrotron wave beam.

Mirror synthesis for gyrotron quasi-optical mode converters

The excitation of very high-order modes in circular waveguides has been performed in a cavity with a connected up-taper with a geometry similar to those used in gyrotrons. A Gaussian beam was coupled to the cavity which was made translucent by an array of holes. With the help of a special optics, the amplitude as well as the phase distribution of the beam was matched to the mode to be excited in the resonant cavity. By simple rotation of one mirror to adjust the phase distribution together with the change of frequency to match the resonance condition, a large number of modes could be produced with one experimental set-up. Field measurements in the output waveguide show a high mode purity of the radiation and confirm the calculations. The method can be used for cold tests of electrodynamic systems operating with these modes, e.g. quasi-optical converters for gyrotrons.

Selective excitation of high-order modes in circular waveguides

As a ru le , h i g h p o w e r mil l imeter m i c r o w a v e d e v i c e s o p e r a t e in h i g h modes of c i r c u l a r w a v e g u i d e s [1,2]. For i n t e r f a c e s of t h e s e d e v i c e s to h i g h p o w e r m i c r o w a v e t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e s o p e r a t i n g in w a v e s wi th s imple s t r u c t u r e s , as well a s f o r " c o l d t e s t " m e a s u r e m e n t s of e l e c t r o d y n a m i c s t r u c t u r e of s u c h d e v i c e s , h i g h mode c o n v e r t e r s a r e r e q u i r e d . G e n e r a l l y a c o n v e r t e r s h o u l d h a v e c o n v e r s i o n e f f i c i e n c y c lose to u n i t y . New p o s s i b i l i t i e s of e f f e c t i v e w a v e c o n v e r s i o n in t h e c o n v e r t e r s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s wi th s t e p t y p e a m p l i t u d e o r p h a s e , a r e d i s c u s s e d . P a r a m e t e r s of t h e c o n v e r t e r s b a s e d on t h i s p r i n c i p l e a r e p r e s e n t e d . Mutua l c o n v e r s i o n of f o r w a r d t r a v e l l i n g w a v e s in an i r r e g u l a r w a v e g u i d e c a n be d e s c r i b e d b y t h e c o u p l e d mode e q u a t i o n s [3]:

Waveguide mode converters with step type coupling

The surface of an inclined mirror, which converts Gaussian beams with simple astigmatism hase been found within the quasi-optical approximation. The beam reflected from the found mirror was examined. Power losses of the reflected beam, when the beam is incident on a selective system, which transmits a Gaussian beam of one polarization only have been found.

D. V. Vinogradov

Papers

110 GHz gyrotron with a built-in high-efficiency converter

Mirror synthesis for gyrotron quasi-optical mode converters

Selective excitation of high-order modes in circular waveguides

Waveguide mode converters with step type coupling

Mirror conversion of gaussian beams with simple astigmatism