Recent results of the 1-MW, 140-GHz, TE22,6-mode gyrotron

The TE_22,6-mode gyrotron operated at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe at a frequency of 140 GHz has been investigated with respect to the behavior of different emitter materials, step tunability and reflections of the output beam. Two different materials of an emitter ring, LaB₆ and a coated dispenser cathode, were used to test the features of the gyrotron. The output power was found to be independent from the cathode material, as long as a new emitter ring was used. Aging of the emitter led to a slightly decreased output power. The gyrotron also was operated with a Brewster window. The broad-band characteristics of this window made it possible to measure the neighboring frequencies in a frequency range extending from 114 to 166 GHz. Only a slight dependence of the output power has been found over the whole frequency range. The Brewster window also allows us to investigate the influence of reflections on the output power. A strong decrease of the output power was found even for very small reflections. Tilting the power calorimeter (the reflections were measured to be less than 1%) increased the output power by about 20% to 1.6 MW at an efficiency of 36.2%. With a collector depression voltage of 35 kV for energy recovery, efficiencies of 60% at the above-mentioned output power were obtained