Design and Simulation of a T-Vane Relativistic Inverted Magnetron

Abstract

A design for a high-power relativistic inverted magnetron oscillator (IMO) is presented and modeled numerically using the massively parallel electromagnetic particle-in-cell code, improved concurrent electromagnetic particle in cell (ICEPIC). The inverted magnetron presented here is designed to operate in the $L$ -band for magnetic fields ranging from 0.07 to 0.1 T with voltages ranging from ~250 to 480 kV. Simulations in that voltage/magnetic field range demonstrate that the inverted magnetron is capable of fast startup, $\pi $ -mode dominance with little-to-no mode competition, as well as high output power, exceeding 2.5 GW at the high end of voltages examined. End-loss current, a common source of energy loss in relativistic magnetrons, is not present for this IMO design. The IMO radiates RF energy axially through the use of a novel dual-ring radiator that excites the TM01 mode in the downstream waveguide. This approach yields nominal RF output power efficiencies near 20%. ICEPIC simulations predict that the above features combined with the IMO’s stable, robust, and reliable performance in the desired mode over a large voltage range yield a class of high-power microwave source notable for its inverted geometry and T-vane slow-wave structure.