Design Study of GW-THz Wave Transmission Without Mode Competition in an Oversized Relativistic Backward Wave Oscillator

Abstract

Researchers have investigated plasma-related phenomena and internal breakdowns in the gigawatt–terahertz relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) caused by field emissions from the surfaces of the waveguide circuits in these oscillators. In order to increase the power-handling capability of relativistic electron beam devices, an RBWO is proposed in the form of an oversized structure in which the diameter ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) of the electrodynamic structure is increased to several times the free-space wavelength ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda )$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . An optimal periodic rectangular corrugation structure of which the axial mode is matched to the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pi $ </tex-math></inline-formula> mode is designed in order to determine only the TM01 mode without mode competition in a slow-wave structure (SWS). The oversized RBWO has a fairly large diameter and uses a resonant reflector to achieve optimum efficiency while also preventing mode competition in the SWS. Absorption of a decelerated electron beam is achieved by the collector, which protects against breakdown and damage. The results of 0.5–0.1 THz from 500 kV–5 kA in the relativistic region are observed by means of a particle-in-cell simulation, and the dispersion relationship is determined by a finite-difference time-domain simulation. The outcomes show that a high-power oversized RBWO can control the selection of the mode and the interaction efficiency.