A three-band frequency hopping high power microwave oscillator based on magnetic field tuning

• Published in: Physics of plasmas 2023-09, Vol.30 (9)
• Main Authors: Hu, Xiaodong, Zhang, Heng, Ge, Xingjun, Dang, Fangchao, Chi, Hang, Zhang, Peng, Li, Jiawen, Li, Zhimin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: C band; Cyclotron resonance; Electric potential; Electron beams; Electrons; Energy conversion efficiency; Field strength; Frequency hopping; High power microwaves; Magnetic fields; Microwave oscillators; Plasma physics; Power management; Relativistic effects; Resonance absorption; Superhigh frequencies; Transit time; Tuning; Voltage
• ISSN: 1070-664X; 1089-7674
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0163592

The frequency hopping technology is one of the most significant research directions for high-power microwave (HPM) devices. This paper presented a novel HPM oscillator with frequency hopping across C, X, and Ku bands based on magnetic field tuning. A coaxial transit time oscillator (TTO) is nested onto the outer conductor of the hollow relativistic Cherenkov microwave oscillator, which forms a dual electromagnetic structure with a single-annular cathode. When the electron beam is guided by gradient magnetic fields, it interacts with TTO to produce Ku-band HPMs. If the gradient magnetic field changes into the uniform magnetic field, the electron beam would enter the relativistic Cherenkov microwave oscillator, and the frequency of generated microwaves decreases, which are decided by the strength of the magnetic fields according to the cyclotron resonance absorption theory. In the particle-in-cell simulation, when the diode voltage and gradient magnetic field are 580 kV and 0.5 T, respectively, a Ku-band HPM output with a frequency of 13.9 GHz and a power of 2.09 GW is obtained, corresponding to power efficiency of 42%. When the magnetic field transforms into uniform, the device produces an X-band HPM output with a frequency of 9 GHz and a power of 2.4 GW at a diode voltage of 683 kV and a magnetic field of 0.7 T. When the voltage and magnetic field strength are increased to 699 kV and 1.5 T, respectively, the device generates a C-band HPM output with a frequency of 4.5 GHz and a power of 2.1 GW. The corresponding conversion efficiency of the X-band and C-band Cherenkov microwave oscillators is 35% and 30.7%, respectively.