A. S. Sedov

Experimental tests of a 263 GHz gyrotron for spectroscopic applications and diagnostics of various media

A 263 GHz continuous-wave (CW) gyrotron was developed at the IAP RAS for future applications as a microwave power source in Dynamic Nuclear Polarization / Nuclear magnetic resonance (DNP/NMR) spectrometers. A new experimental facility with a computerized control was built to test this and subsequent gyrotrons. We obtained the maximum CW power up to 1 kW in the 15 kV/0.4 A operation regime. The power about 10 W, which is sufficient for many spectroscopic applications, was realized in the low current 14 kV/0.02 A regime. The possibility of frequency tuning by variation of the coolant temperature about 4 MHz/1 °C was demonstrated. The spectral width of the gyrotron radiation was about 10(-6).

Low-voltage gyrotrons

For a long time, the gyrotrons were primarily developed for electron cyclotron heating and current drive of plasmas in controlled fusion reactors where a multi-megawatt, quasi-continuous millimeter-wave power is required. In addition to this important application, there are other applications (and their number increases with time) which do not require a very high power level, but such issues as the ability to operate at low voltages and have compact devices are very important. For example, gyrotrons are of interest for a dynamic nuclear polarization, which improves the sensitivity of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In this paper, some issues important for operation of gyrotrons driven by low-voltage electron beams are analyzed. An emphasis is made on the efficiency of low-voltage gyrotron operation at the fundamental and higher cyclotron harmonics. These efficiencies calculated with the account for ohmic losses were, first, determined in the framework of the generalized gyrotron theory based ...

Terahertz gyrotrons: State of the art and prospects

The state of the art for terahertz gyrotrons that are needed for various scientific research and practical applications is presented. Powers of 5 kW and 200 kW are obtained at frequencies of 1 and 0.7 THz using pulsed gyrotrons with pulse durations of tens of microseconds. A power of 100 W is demonstrated for cw gyrotrons at frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 THz.

Development of 260 GHZ second harmonic CW gyrotron with high stability of output parameters for dnp spectroscopy

Development of continuous-wave 258.6 GHz gyrotron with output power about 20 W with high stability of output parameters is presented. This paper includes results of calculation, design, technical requirements and experimental tests for main subsystems of gyrotron and auxiliaries. The gyrotron setup shall be a part of a complex experimental system for NDP spectroscopy.Results of elaboration of continuous-wave 258.6 GHz gyrotron with output power about 100 W with high stability of output parameters is presented. This paper includes results of calculation, design, experiments and technical requirements for main subsystems of gyrotron and auxiliaries. The gyrotron setup is a main part of a complex experimental system for NDP spectroscopy.

Improvement of Stability of High Cyclotron Harmonic Operation in the Double-Beam THz Gyrotrons

A double-beam scheme of a short-wavelength gyrotron operating at the second cyclotron harmonic is studied both within the framework of the averaged self-consistent approach and using 3-D particle in cell simulations. The analysis shows that the introduction of an additional generating electron beam allows drastically increasing the operating current of a second-harmonic gyrotron with the simultaneous suppression of self-excitation of spurious modes at the fundamental harmonic. As a result, the radiated power of a double-beam gyrotron exceeds the power of a single-beam gyrotron by a factor of four. The developed concept makes it possible to realize high-power (several hundred watts) single-mode gyrotrons in the 0.7-1.0-THz frequency range.

First experimental tests of powerful 250 GHz gyrotron for future fusion research and collective Thomson scattering diagnostics

A 250 GHz continuous-wave (CW) gyrotron has been developed at the IAP RAS jointly with GYCOM Ltd., as a prototype of the microwave source for the envisaged prospective nuclear fusion power plants (DEMO). The main applications of such a tube are electron cyclotron resonance heating and electron cyclotron resonance current drive of magnetically confined plasma as well as its diagnostics based on collective Thomson scattering in various reactors for controlled thermonuclear fusion (e.g., tokamaks and stellarators). The results of the preliminary experimental tests in a pulsed mode of operation are presented. The microwave power of up to 330 kW with an efficiency of 30% without collector depression was obtained. At an accelerating voltage of 55 kV and an electron beam current of 12.5 A (which corresponds to the design parameters for CW operation), the measured output power was about 200 kW. The TEM00 mode content evaluated at the tube output is not less than 98.6%.

Optimal parameters of gyrotrons with weak electron-wave interaction

In low-power gyrotrons with weak electron-wave interaction, there is a problem of determining the optimal length of the operating cavity, which is found as a result of a tradeoff between the enhancement of the electron efficiency and the increase in the Ohmic loss share with increasing cavity length. In fact, this is the problem of an optimal ratio between the diffraction and Ohmic Q-factors of the operating gyrotron mode, which determines the share of the radiated rf power lost in the cavity wall. In this paper, this problem is studied on the basis of a universal set of equations, which are appropriate for a wide class of electron oscillators with low efficiencies of the electron-wave interaction.

A novel THz-band double-beam gyrotron for high-field DNP-NMR spectroscopy

We present the first experimental results of the study on a novel second harmonic THz-band double-beam gyrotron. The tube has demonstrated a stable single-mode operation with output parameters that are appropriate for the next-generation 1.2 GHz dynamic nuclear polarization-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Besides the design mode (TE8,5), a series of other fundamental and second harmonic modes have been excited. This makes the new gyrotron a versatile radiation source, which can be used also in other applications of the high-power science and technologies.

Development of powerful terahertz gyrotrons

One of the most important areas of the present microwaves investigations is development of radiation sources in the sub-Terahertz and Terahertz frequency bands (f ≥ 0.3 THz). Gyrotrons are capable of producing high-power coherent electromagnetic radiation in the millimeter wavelength ranges (see, for example, [1,2]) and looks promising for submillimeter and terahertz bands.

Numerical modeling of azimuthal inhomogeneity of electron Bbeam on gyrotron operation regime

Influence of electron beam misalignment and emission inhomogeneity on gyrotron operation regimewas studied. A comparison of experimental results, numerical simulation data based on multimode nonstationary models of beam-wave interaction in a cavity gyrotron and 3d simulation was made.