Stability of Crossed-Field Amplifiers

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Swenson, Christopher, Revolinsky, Ryan, Brusstar, Adam, Guerin, Emma, Jordan, Nicholas M., Lau, Y. Y., Gilgenbach, Ronald
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Swenson, Christopher
Revolinsky, Ryan
Brusstar, Adam
Guerin, Emma
Jordan, Nicholas M.
Lau, Y. Y.
Gilgenbach, Ronald
author_facet Swenson, Christopher
Revolinsky, Ryan
Brusstar, Adam
Guerin, Emma
Jordan, Nicholas M.
Lau, Y. Y.
Gilgenbach, Ronald
contents This research examines the stability of crossed-field amplifiers (CFAs) and characterizes their different modes of operation: amplification, driven oscillation, and self-excited oscillation. The CFA used in this paper is the Recirculating Planar Crossed-Field Amplifier (RPCFA), which is a high power (MW) pulsed (300 ns) amplifier that operates around 3 GHz. Initially, the RPCFA is shown to be a stable amplifier with moderate gain (5.1 dB), but by either reducing the anode-cathode (AK) gap spacing or increasing the driving current, the amplifier operation transitions from amplification to oscillation. Depending on the operating conditions, these oscillations are either driven by the input RF signal or self-excited. These self-excited oscillations can have a lower synchronization phase velocity than the maximum velocity in the electron beam, implying that slower electrons within the Brillouin hub can interact with electromagnetic modes on the RF circuit. A cold tube analysis of the RPCFA shows that the Q-factor of certain modes on the RF circuit varies significantly when the AK gap geometry of the RPCFA is altered which leads to a discrete shift in operating frequency. The operation of the RPCFA close to Hull cutoff is found to share some key features of magnetically insulated transmission line oscillators (MILO) that could also explain the dramatic frequency shift. Instantaneous phase analysis by Hilbert transforms can be used, in conjunction with the frequency and output power analysis, to determine the onset of the transition from amplification to oscillation, and to characterize the oscillation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_16066
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stability of Crossed-Field Amplifiers
Swenson, Christopher
Revolinsky, Ryan
Brusstar, Adam
Guerin, Emma
Jordan, Nicholas M.
Lau, Y. Y.
Gilgenbach, Ronald
Plasma Physics
This research examines the stability of crossed-field amplifiers (CFAs) and characterizes their different modes of operation: amplification, driven oscillation, and self-excited oscillation. The CFA used in this paper is the Recirculating Planar Crossed-Field Amplifier (RPCFA), which is a high power (MW) pulsed (300 ns) amplifier that operates around 3 GHz. Initially, the RPCFA is shown to be a stable amplifier with moderate gain (5.1 dB), but by either reducing the anode-cathode (AK) gap spacing or increasing the driving current, the amplifier operation transitions from amplification to oscillation. Depending on the operating conditions, these oscillations are either driven by the input RF signal or self-excited. These self-excited oscillations can have a lower synchronization phase velocity than the maximum velocity in the electron beam, implying that slower electrons within the Brillouin hub can interact with electromagnetic modes on the RF circuit. A cold tube analysis of the RPCFA shows that the Q-factor of certain modes on the RF circuit varies significantly when the AK gap geometry of the RPCFA is altered which leads to a discrete shift in operating frequency. The operation of the RPCFA close to Hull cutoff is found to share some key features of magnetically insulated transmission line oscillators (MILO) that could also explain the dramatic frequency shift. Instantaneous phase analysis by Hilbert transforms can be used, in conjunction with the frequency and output power analysis, to determine the onset of the transition from amplification to oscillation, and to characterize the oscillation.
title Stability of Crossed-Field Amplifiers
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.16066