A 2-gigawatt, 1-microsecond, microwave source

For the last decade or more, researchers in a number of US government laboratories have been attempting to develop L-band microwave sources capable of generating one or more gigawatts, with one-microsecond pulses. In order to produce the required high beam currents, the common approach has been to employ field emission cathodes. For this and other reasons the devices which have been built (MILOs, RKAs, relativistic magnetrons) have operated with a poor vacuum, a condition not consistent with the necessity to hold off the very high rf and dc gradients encountered at these power levels. As a result, the microsecond goal has never been attained. Although in some cases several gigawatts have been generated, pulse duration is limited to about 100 ns. This condition is referred to as “pulse shortening”. The proposed source is based on periodic magnetic (PPM) focusing and is an outgrowth of work performed at SLAC on very high peak power X-band klystrons for a future electron-positron linear collider. These tubes must be focused with permanent magnets, for economic reasons. The new device (GMBK, for Gigawatt Multiple Beam Klystron) is entirely within the state-of-the-art and need only depend on good vacuum tube practice to perform to its specification. It employs thermionic cathodes, loaded to about 40 A/cm², a current density which is within the state-of-the-art for microsecond pulses.