Observation of the Dependence of Backward Wave Oscillator's Microwave Output Power on Corrugation Number.

Abstract

The dependence of the backward wave oscillator's (BWO's) microwave output power on the number of corrugations is observed experimentally. The slow-wave structure (SWS) of the BWO has been designed to operate at 9.8 GHZ . The SWS consists of detachable corrugated modules, and the corrugation number N can be changed from I up to I O. The BWO is driven by the high current electron accelerator LAX-1 (850 keV, 3 kA). The dependence ofpower on corrugation number is not monotonic; with 3 modules, a small output signal of 20kW Ievel is observed; with 4 modules, a rapid increase of output power of the level of 10 MW is observed, and from 5 to 10 modules the output power appears to saturate at the power level of I OOMW. These results are analyzed with a PIC Code called Magic.