Enhancing the power of high power microwaves by using zone plate and investigations for the position of virtual cathode inside the drift tube

Abstract

Having the device simplicity and high output-power capacity, the capability of the virtual cathode oscillator (vircator) for emitting high power microwaves is demonstrated. We have investigated the axial-typed vircator in our pulsed power generator, “Chundoong” (Max 600 kV, 88 kA, and 60 ns), and simulated the vircator using the 3-D particle-in-cell simulation code called “MAGIC.” We try to find out the position of the virtual cathode inside the drift tube and enhance the power of microwaves by focusing them at the focus point using the ring-typed zone plate with a focal length of 18.8 cm. The dominant frequency is obtained as 3.5 GHz measured by fast Fourier transform, which is in good agreement with simulation frequency. It is found that the mean position of the virtual cathode is almost the same as the A-K gap distance of 10 mm, in which the virtual cathode oscillates from 7.9 mm to 12.1 mm behind the meshed anode, as verified by the simulation results. The maximum output power without the zone plate is obtained as 0.66 GW with the efficiency of 27%, which is maximized up to 1.22 GW with the efficiency of 51% at the focus point by using the zone plate. The microwave emission mode from the vircator is the TM01 mode based on the simulation results. The zone plate contributes significantly in enhancing the power efficiency and determination of the position of the virtual cathode. These observations might be used in developing a high efficient microwave source by using a zone plate under the decision of the position of the virtual cathode.