Plasma-assisted high-power microwave generator
US4912367A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 1988 |
| Grant date | Mar 27, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J25/005
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high-power microwave/mm-wave oscillator is filled with an ionizable gas at a pressure of about 1-20 mTorr, into which an electron beam is injected at a high current density of at least about 1 amp/cm.sup.2, but typically 50-100 A/cm.sup.2. A plasma is formed which inhibits space-charge blowup of the beam, thereby eliminating the prior requirement of a magnet system to control the beam. The system functions as a slow-wave tube to produce narrow-band microwaves for a gas pressure of about 1-5 mTorr, and as a plasma wave tube to produce broadband microwave/mm-wave radiation for a gas pressure of about 10-20 mTorr. A new high output, hollow-cathode-plasma electron gun is employed in which a metal oxide layer is formed on the inner surface to enhance the secondary electron yield; a cathode, grid, and extraction anode have respective sets of multiple apertures which are mutually aligned to yield a high perveance beam; the cathode, grid, and anode are curved to geometrically focus the beam, and a beam with a circular cross-section is generated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.