Role of Second Harmonic in the Optimization of Microwave Conversion Efficiency From an Intense Relativistic Electron Beam

Abstract

In this article, the effect of second harmonic (SH) on the microwave conversion efficiency in a klystron-like relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) is investigated by the nonlinear theory, particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, and experiments. The nonlinear theory of beam-wave interaction is developed with both the fundamental frequency and SH taken into account. The calculation results show that the optimized conversion efficiency is increased from 50% to 73% as the SH is included. The PIC simulations reveal that with the introduction of a dual-premodulation (DPM) cavity to increase the SH current and then the fundamental current modulation coefficient in a klystron-like RBWO, the conversion efficiency can be enhanced from 59% to 72%. In the klystron-like RBWO experiments, a significant efficiency increase from 58% for the device without the DPM cavity to 66% with the DPM cavity has been realized. As the electron beam power is 4 GW, the out powers of the fundamental frequency and SH are measured to be 2.6 GW and 100 MW, respectively. This provides helpful guidance to further increase the microwave conversion efficiency in high-power microwave sources driven by intense relativistic electron beams.