High peak and average power with an L-band relativistic magnetron on CLIA

Abstract

The CLIA (compact linear induction accelerator) is a 750 kV, 10 kA pulse-power generator using magnetic switching to produce 60-ns-long pulses at 200 Hz (90 kW average power) for longer than 1 s. As a first application, CLIA was used to drive an L-band magnetron. It was observed that the magnetron was capable of consistent operation at repetition rates as high as 250 Hz with no breakdown or pulse-shortening induced by gas buildup or electrode erosion. As the repetition rate exceeded 100 Hz, the average power increased even as the peak power decreased, producing 1 GW peak power and 4.4 kW average power at 100 Hz and 600 MW peak and 6.3 kW average at 250 Hz. A short burst at a 1 kHz repetition rate indicated the possibility of 25 kW average microwave power operation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>