<title>Experimental and theoretical investigations of a magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO)</title>

Abstract

The Electromagnetic Sources Division of the Advanced Weapons and Survivability Directorate at the Phillips Laboratory is dedicated to the development of HPM sources. This paper will report on the recent work done on a magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO). The MILO is a linear magnetron type device with the bias magnetic field applied by the current flowing through the tube, hence no externally applied magnetic field is required. This work concentrates on the axial extraction of the microwave power in contrast to most of the previous work which concentrated on the radial extraction of power. Theory has predicted and experiments have shown that a number of parameters, including but not limited to, the boundaries at the ends of the slow wave structure, the location of the emission region, the method of launching the beam, the anode-cathode gap, and the number of cavities, all have a significant effect on the operation of the tube. A number of tests at diode voltages from 150 kV to over 500 kV have been conducted to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling the operation of the device. To data RF powers over 1 GW for short pulses (< 100 ns) have been achieved with the goal of further experiments and corresponding simulations are reported here.