Particle-in-cell simulations of a high-power microwave pulse compressor

Numerical simulations of the process of microwave energy release from a high-power microwave compressor comprising a gas-filled cavity and interference plasma switch were carried out. A microwave plasma discharge was modeled by setting artificial ionization rate in the rectangular waveguide H-plane tee. The interaction of the plasma with RF fields accumulated in the cavity was simulated using the particle-in-cell approach accounting for electron-neutral transport collisions. The dependences of the microwave output pulse peak power and waveform versus the ionization rate, the plasma size, form, and location, the RF field amplitude, and the background gas type and pressure were investigated.