Gyrotron and its Electron Beam Source: A Review

Abstract

Microwave occupies a glorious position in the electromagnetic spectrum and in that there are a number of devices in this frequency regime which are capable of high power operations. Among them, gyrotron has proven to be an efficient source for radio frequency (RF) generation at high power level and up to very high frequency. The gyrotron consists of several components like electron beam source, interaction structure, quasi-optical launcher, collector, RF window, magnet system, etc. All the components have their distinct role in the function of the device. Among them, electron beam source also called magnetron injection gun (MIG) is the generator of electron beam and it is very essential that MIG should produce and provide electron beam suitable for the beam-wave interaction at the interaction structure for the effective power growth. The paper presents the introduction of a microwave tube, gyrotron and its components alongwith review of the previous work, the background and the applications. The functions of various components of a gyrotron are discussed with particular highlighting on the electron beam emission from the electron beam source and the beam-wave interaction for power growth in the device. A review on different types of gyrotron electron beam sources is also presented.