Evaluation of RF micro-discharge regimes in performance of evanescent-mode cavity resonators

RF gas breakdown in small gaps is a primary limiting factor in the power handling of heavily loaded cavity-based resonators. The effects of different RF micro-discharge regimes in the performance of these resonators are studied. Specifically, two resonators at 1 and 50 GHz with the same critical gap size of 19 μm which are, respectively, working in the RF boundary and diffusion-controlled regimes are considered. By combining plasma and electromagnetic simulations, the effects of high power gas breakdown in the performance of these resonators are compared. A sensitivity analysis on the effects of microscopic plasma parameters is also performed.