High power microwave generation by a coaxial virtual cathode oscillator

A new type of virtual cathode oscillator, the coaxial vircator, was studied analytically and experimentally. A one-dimensional analytical model was used to describe the steady-state behavior of the electron beam and the virtual cathode, from which the diode current, the space-charge limited current, the virtual cathode position, and the estimated oscillation frequency were obtained. The experiments were carried out with typical electron-beam parameters of 500 kV, 40 kA, and 30 ns, where pulsed microwaves of 400 MW in peak power and 2 GHz in frequency have been obtained. The energy efficiency from the electron beam to microwaves was ~2%. This efficiency is expected to be improved by increasing the microwave field strength around the vircator