Theory, Simulation, and Experiments on Moderate-Current Magnetically Insulated Line Oscillators

Abstract

The magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO) is a high power microwave device, similar to the magnetron, that produces its own insulating magnetic field through large, driven current (typically> 30 kA) rather than from external magnets. At the University of Michigan, the Brillouin flow model of crossed field diodes has been greatly expanded to include the coaxial MILO geometry. It produces the Buneman-Hartree condition for the first time. The same theory, in tandem with particle-in-cell simulations via CST-Particle Studio, were applied to design a MILO for moderate-current operation (less than 10 kA) on MELBA-C, which is a −300 kV, 10 kA, microsecond Marx-Abramyan generator. Comparison between the theory, simulation, and experiments will be discussed in full, as well as output characteristics of the experiment.