Role of the rise rate of beam current in the microwave radiation of vircator

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of the rise rate of beam current on the microwave radiation of a virtual cathode oscillator (vircator) is presented. Interestingly, it was observed that the rise rate of the beam current increased as the pulse shot proceeded, which is accompanied by the decrease in microwave power. By comparing the experimental results of two cathode materials (carbon fiber and stainless steel), it was found that the above behavior is independent of the cathode materials. The ion flow, induced by the repetitive action of beam electrons with the anode grid, directly affects the development of beam current. A twice-increased process of ion flow was observed, and there are two factors involved in this process, namely, the reflection of electrons between the cathode and virtual cathode and the effect of one-time bombardment of electron beam. After the irradiation of pulsed electron beam, some microprotrusions toward the cathode appeared on the anode surface, with a quasiperiodic structure. The appearance of ion flow, as the anode plasma forms, increases the beam current and enhances the beam current density. The anode plasma is generated relatively easily as the shot test proceeds, due to the aging of anode grid, which allows the possibility of the decrease in the microwave power. As the pulse shot proceeds, the changes in the rise rate of beam current are closely related to the aging process of anode surface. Therefore, the further enhancement of vircator efficiency needs to lengthen the lifetime of anode, besides the optimization of explosive emission cathodes.