High power microwave oscillator: Vircator-klystron

A new method for obtaining current modulation of intense relativistic electron beam is proposed and demonstrated by numerical simulations. The mechanism of the modulation is based on the virtual cathode oscillation. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation results have shown that, within a distance of 4 cm in the direction of beam propagation, the electron beam with the electron energy of 500 keY and the current of3.3 kA is modulated with a current modulation amplitude up to ∼ 57 %. This modulation mechanism is expected to be used in high power microwave oscillator “vircator-klystron”.