Microwaves and plasmas

Interest in the use of plasma devices as amplifiers and oscillators at microwave frequencies has been stimulated by the increased knowledge of plasma physics gained from thermonuclear research. Although of small value to the microwave engineer at present, these techniques may provide the means of attaining higher operating frequencies than those available from existing reflex klystrons and backward-wave oscillators. The author is at Cambridge University and is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College.