Gigawatt power microwave devices and vacuum

Abstract

Low pressure breakdown is a major concern for developing high power microwave (HPM) devices, especially when going to more compact designs and to extreme powers, typically cm-size gaps in the tube and GW level output. In connection with the vacuum quality, we will consider the general aspects which may contribute to limit the operation of a HPM device: high voltage arcing, electrode erosion and degassing, rf breakdown in the cavities, surface breakdown at the windows, repetition rate. Vacuum measurement and electromagnetic compatibility with vacuum equipment will be treated too. As an example, we will consider in details the development of a compact magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO) operating successfully at the Gigawatt level in the S-band.