Experimental study of a C-band long-pulse high-efficiency klystron-like relativistic cavity oscillator

In this paper, a comparative investigation of a C-band long-pulse high-efficiency klystron-like relativistic cavity oscillator is carried out by using numerical simulation and practical experiments. It is indicated that owing to the improper configuration of the solenoid, some returning electrons originating from the cathode supporting rod would hit the entrance of the diode and shunt the input electric power. As a result, the startup process of the device is delayed and the saturated output power is decreased as well. In the initial experiment, the output power and the pulse duration are only about 3.2 GW and 78 ns, respectively. To eliminate the influence of the returning electrons, by increasing the turn number of the winding at both ends of the solenoid, the magnetic field at the diode region is enhanced so that the returning electrons could be guided to the shielding bowl in front of the insulator. As the shielding bowl is under the same potential as the cathode, the returning electrons would not shunt the input power. In contrast, after solenoid compensation, the output power of the device is increased to 4.4 GW at a diode voltage of 700 kV and a current of 14 kA, whereas the pulse duration is extended to 96 ns. Also, the corresponding conversion efficiency achieves about 45%.