A6 relativistic magnetron using a single-step cavity with diffraction output

The A6 relativistic magnetron with diffraction output (MDO) using a single-step cavity is described in this paper. The efficiency of this device can be as high as 78% with GW output power. The UNIPIC code was used to demonstrate that when the relativistic magnetron was driven using a 400 kV applied voltage, the energetic electrons emitted from the cathode strike the relativistic magnetron´s anode block, emitting secondary electrons and backscattered electrons. The resultant secondary electron current lowers the output peak power, especially when the relativistic magnetron was driven using a short applied voltage pulse. This paper shows that in this design of the A6 relativistic MDO, the secondary electrons´ influence on the operating characteristics is less than the secondary electrons´ influence for the usual A6 relativistic MDO and the A6 magnetron with radial output. The A6 relativistic MDO with single-step cavity is more advantageous for mode switching and with more stable frequency. The result of this paper will provide reference for A6 relativistic magnetron mode switching experiments when selecting the boundary between neighboring modes.