Pseudospark sourced beam-wave interaction experiments

A pseudospark (PS) discharge has been shown to be a promising source of high quality, high intensity electron and ion beam pulses. A PS electron beam is ideal to drive high frequency radiation generators in the W-band (75 GHz to 110 GHz) due to its small beam size and the compactness of the device. This paper will present experimental results of the production of pseudospark-sourced electron beams from a 14-gap pseudospark discharge powered by a pulsed power system (a cable pulser) capable of producing 120 ns duration and 180 kV voltage pulses. Interaction between the electron beam and a W-band backward slow wave structure has been simulated using the particle-in-cell code MAGIC. High power radiation in the W-band frequency range was predicted. Microwave pulses were successfully detected from the experiment.