Theoretical analysis and simulation study on a coaxial vircator with enhanced modulation

Abstract

Based on large-signal theory, a one-dimensional theoretical model of a coaxial vircator is developed to give the microwave gain of the nonlinear beam–wave interaction, and the effect of injected current premodulation on the microwave gain is analysed theoretically. In addition, a coaxial vircator with improved dual-cavity modulation structure, which has the advantage of enhancing the effect of the modulation cavity on the injected electron beam by way of feedback microwaves, is presented. The simulation results are presented to test the validity of the proposed theory, and it can be seen that the system power efficiency can become further strengthened by adjusting the parameters of the microwave feedback channel until the feedback electric field is at the proper phase. Finally, through optimization, a structure capable of generating 7.05 GW average output power and 19.5 % power conversion efficiency at 2.95 GHz operating frequency is obtained.