586

IEEE 'TRANSACTIONS O N P L A S M A SCIENCk. VOL.. I X . N O 7. JUNE 1990

Relativistic Magnetron Development For Use in a Lightweight, Repetitively Pulsed, Portable HPM Transmitter

Abstract-The design and development of a relativistic magnetron for use on a portable, repetitively pulsed HPM transmitter is described. Operation of the magnetron at peak power levels of 700 MW, efficiencies of 15%, pulse widths up to SO ns, output energies of 15 J, and repetition rates of 2 Hz is described. Frequency variation of the magnetron by varying the cathode radius is described and frequency change during the magnetron pulse is analyzed. Practical system design considerations such as integration, lifetime, reliability, and reproducibility are discussed.

quency variation or chirp of the magnetron output pulse is compared to estimates based on the plasma loading of the resonator and gap closure due to the expanding plasma. 11. MAGNETRON SYSTEM DESIGN The magnetron research program at AA1 has focused on the A6-type of magnetron first used at MIT [ I ] and extensively studied by other researchers [2]-[4]. The A6 was chosen because of its demonstrated high efficiency at high output power levels and modest operating voltage of less than a megavolt. The modest operating voltage results in a compact, lightweight pulse power system. The design approach has been to include the prime power, pulsed power, source, magnet circuit, vacuum system, cooling system, and antenna in an integrated system. The result of the design effort has been the lightweight portable system shown in Fig. 1. Depicted is a diagram of the MTD-1 and the layout of the various subsystems. Not shown is the prime power generators and heat exchanger for the water cooling. The total weight of the system, including heat exchanger, is 1500 kg. When the system is mounted on the trailer, the total weight, including trailer, is 2200 kg. Although the integrated system design is of critical importance to the magnetron the main subject of this section will be the design of the magnetron itself. The design objectives of the magnetron are given in Table I. The ouput power, and beam voltage requirements led to the choice o f t h e A6 magnetron design, A cross section of a typical resonator for an A6 magnetron is given in Fig. 2. The dimensions of the A6 version used in the MTD-1 are similar to those used in [1]-[4], The frequency variability requirement was met by providing for a replaceable cathode assembly, allowing for a change in the cathode diameter and therefore the resonant fiequency of the structure. A field emission cathode is the only suitable emitter for the high current densities ( > 2 KA/cm2) required. The requirements for a long life and high pulse repetition rate (PRR) are often at odds with a

DEVELOP a HPM transmitter for use in testing, an integrated system design approach must be taken. At such an approach has been in dethe Test Device-1 (MTD-l). The entire prime power, charging supplies~ generator, magnet Pulser? magnets, vacuum pump, Output waveguide, antenna, and diagnostics, has been integrated into a 'Ompact package. The emphasis Of this paper be placed On the magnetron and not the Other components Of the system, Other than to recognize that the design Of the Other components has a direct influence On the design and performance Of the source. The paper will be divided into five main sections: The first is the introduction; the second will describe the design of the magnetron and the considerations that must be made in designing a repetition-rate capable source with good reliability and lifetime; the third will describe the diagnostics used t' frequency, Output power, and pulse shape; the fourth presents the Of the experiments; the fifth offers conclusions. Data showing the pulse Output power, efficiency, frequency, repetition rate, and lifetime of the magnetron are presented. The Output Of the pulse power generator is to interpret the source data and for calculations of efficiency. The freManuscript received September 27. 1989: revised January 18. 1990. The authors are with the AA1 Corporation. P. 0. Box 126, Hunt Valley. MD 21030. IEEE Log Number 9035701.

T"

I. INTRODUCTION

0093-3813/90/0600-0586$01 0 1990 IEEE .OO

SPANG r / d . ' RELATIVISTIC MAGNETRON DEVELOPMENT

HIGH VACUUM CONTROL 8 INSTRUMENTION

587

YARX GENERATOR

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,
IGNFRON TRIGGER CAPACITOR STORAGE BANK

Fig. I . Diagram of Mobile Test Device-I.

TABLE I DESIGN OBJECTIVES H E MTD-I MAGNETRON OF T

Output Power Frequency Efficiency Pulse Width Pulse Repetition Rate Reproducibility Reliability Lifetime Magnetic Field Beam Voltage Beam Current
1 Gigawatt 3-5 GHz, Variable

>30%
50 ns 10 Hz High High >10.000Shots cl0 KG 500-1000 KV 10-20 KA

Fig. 2 . Cross section of a typical A6 resonator

high current density cathode. AA1 has developed a cathode which has a lifetime of 1000 to 1500 shots. Our experience has been that the commonly employed black velvet emitters only last for 100 to 500 shots in our magnetron. The resonator structure must be cooled in order to dissipate the spent beam energy and eddy current

heating from the pulsed magnetic field. A water-cooled brazed assembly was designed to provide the required heat dissipation characteristics. End caps were employed at both ends of the resonator to define the resonator volume and avoid unwanted spurious resonances in the end spaces. The magnetron is mounted on top of a cylindrical, graded-ring insulator. The graded-ring insulator provides for the accurate alignment between the cathode and resonator vanes. A picture of the completed magnetron is given in Fig. 3. A Marx generator was used as the pulsed power source for the magnetron. The pulser must be capable of providing high voltages to turn-on the field emission cathode quickly, and must be able to adjust to the required magnetron operating voltage, which for the MTD-1 was 400500 kV. To save weight and volume and reduce the system complexity, a pulse-forming network (PFN) was eliminated from the pulser design. The lack of a PFN may result in reduced magnetron performance, but the system trade-off favored using the lighter-weight and simpler pulser. Oil insulation was not used to further reduce the pulser weight. Pressurized Freon gas was employed instead of oil. The spark gaps are operated in a pressurized, dry air column. The pulser is capable of repetition rates in excess of 10 Hz and consumes 4 kW of high voltage charging power at 35 kV. The magnet system must be capable of producing up to 10 kG field strengths with a reasonable consumption of prime power. Resistive dc electromagnets are commonly employed to produce the field, but in the MTD-1 design prime power requirements must be kept as small as possible, so this option was ruled out. Superconducting magnets will produce the required fields with a very small consumption of power. This option was rejected because of the logistical difficulty and cost of providing the liquid helium, the difficulty of properly aligning the field, and the expected fragility of the cryogenic dewar. Permanent

588

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 18, NO. 3. JUNE 1990

32 dB for the rod array at 4.6 GHz. Either antenna can be mounted on top of the MTD-1 cabinet shown in Fig. 1.
111. EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENT
A variety of techniques were used to characterize the microwave output of the magnetron and the power input from the Marx generator. Fig. 4 shows the type of diagnostics which have been employed. The Marx generator output is monitored by current and voltage sensors. B-dot loops and Rogowski loops are used to measure the current of the Marx generator. Problems with RF interference on the B-dot loop led to the primary use of the Rogowski loop for a current diagnostic. The voltage sensor is of the capacitive type. The cable length of the two sensors to a dual-channel oscilloscope was kept the same so that the impedance and input power curves of the magnetron could be produced. The current and voltage sensors measure the output of the Marx generator and the input to the bottom of the cylindrical insulator. The product of the two sensors at any instant in time gives the total power incident to the magnetron. The magnetic field is determined by calibrating the charge voltage of the magnet capacitor bank to the magnetic field produced inside the magnetron resonator by the coils. The field strength is measured by inserting a small B-dot loop between the cathode and vanes of the resonator. The B-dot loop was calibrated by measurement of the dimensions and turns of the probe and by comparison to a known pulsed magnetic field. The field was mapped throughout the resonator volume and found to be uniform to within 5 % . To monitor the microwave output, the signal produced by a waveguide directional coupler is usually used. The coupling value is 60 dB and the directivity is greater than 20 dB. The coupler was calibrated using a swept frequency scalar analyzer measurement. The signal from the directional coupler is passed through a series of coaxial attenuators and cables to the instrument screen room. The coaxial attenuators were rated for peak powers of up to 5 kW. A 5-GHz low-pass filter was used to eliminate any second harmonic output of the magnetron from affecting the power calibration. The combination of cable, attenuators, and filter was calibrated as a unit by using a swept frequency scalar analyzer. The typical attenuation used is 40 dB. The entire measurement path from waveguide to diode detector was calibrated, in only two measurements resulting in a worst case accuracy of f 1.0 dB. The attenuated signal was split in two, with half the power going to a calibrated diode detector, and half to a mixer for frequency diagnostics. The diode detectors had capacitances of 3 pF, resulting in rise times of less than 0.5 ns into a 5 0 4 load. The output of the diodes was captured on a digital oscilloscope with a 350-MHz bandwidth and a sampling rate of 1 ns/point. A few measurements were checked using a faster oscilloscope with a bandwidth of 700 MHz and a sampling rate of 100 ps /point. No significant differences between the two

Fig. 3. Photograph of the completed MTD-magnetron

magnets would be the ideal solution to the problem-consuming no prime power and being lightweight and compact. A set of magnets that produced the required field shape was constructed of a neodymium-iron-boron material with an energy density of 33 MGOe. Unfortunately, the field produced by the these magnets was only 4.5 kG, far short of the required value. The addition of pulsed or dc booster coils to the permanent magnets was considered. The small volume available for the booster coils when the permanent magnets were in their proper position caused excessive coil losses in the dc case, and too low an inductance in the pulsed case. The low inductance resulted in the too fast a magnet pulse causing high eddy current losses and insufficient flux penetration. By eliminating the permanent magnets and relying solely on pulsed coils, the coils could be made larger and the inductance increased. The frequency of the pulse was optimized until coil losses and eddy current losses were balanced. The result was a reasonably compact magnet system which consumed only 10 kW of power. The final element in the HPM transmitter design is an antenna to radiate the HPM fields into the atmosphere. The antenna must have a sufficiently large aperture to avoid air breakdown, be compatible with an evacuated waveguide, and provide the required gain, pattern, and polarization. Three different antennas have been designed to meet the various requirements. They all operate linearly polarized. A waveguide twist can be inserted and the antenna rotated to change the polarization. A simple horn antenna is used when a broad beam is required. This type of antenna was primarily used for verification of source output power measurements. For testing applications a dielectric lens antenna and dielectric rod array were designed. The gains are 23 dB for the lens antenna and

SPANG

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RELATIVISTIC M A G N E T R O N DEVF.I.OPMENT
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measurements were found. The diodes were calibrated at multiple frequencies by using a synthesized RF source, which was calibrated using an rms microwave power meter. All power measurements in this paper are based on the rms average power. The other half of the attenuated signal was fed to a highlevel, double balanced mixer in a heterodyne receiver to make a frequency measurement. Frequency measurements with two different levels of accuracy will be presented in this paper. The low accuracy measurements are indicated by frequency values to the nearest 100 MHz. These measurements were taken by using a microwave sweeper set on the CW mode for the local oscillator (LO), and the 350-MHz bandwidth oscilloscope to capture the intermediate frequency (IF). The high accuracy measurements are indicated by frequency values to the nearest megahertz. These values were measured with the sweeper locked to a microwave counter to produce an LO within 10 KHz of the nominal value. The 700-MHz bandwidth oscilloscope with a k 50 ps resolution was used to capture the IF. A zero-crossing algorithm was used in both cases to determine the value of the IF. Measurements were made at different LO frequencies to determine the mixing product and sideband and thus the absolute frequency of the magnetron output. 'To verify the power output measurements from the dire( tional coupler, two other diagnostic techniques were err ployed: A calorimeter and radiated field measurements. The calorimeter is a lossy cone of graphite material similar to that used by other researchers [ 5 ] . Four thermistors were mounted to the cone using thermally conductive epoxy. The thermistors were connected in series to a bridge circuit to determine the change in resistance. The calorimeter was calibrated for the temperature rise as a function of the input energy by using a 20-W traveling wave tube as a known RF source. The cone was sufficiently isolated from the surroundings so that no significant heat loss occurred during the time of the calibra-

tion pulse. Incident pulses with energies as low as 1 J were detectable using this arrangement. The microwave power envelope from the directional coupler was numerically integrated to determine its total energy. These results were then compared to the results from the calorimeter. Within the limits of accuracy (f 0.5 J ) of the measurement, no differences were seen between the two types of measurements. 'The other power measurement technique employed was a radiated field diagnostic. Instead of operating the magnetron into a waveguide dummy load, an antenna was connected and allowed to radiate into a 12-m-long cylindrical tank. All three of the available antennas were used for this purpose, but primary reliance was placed on the horn antenna. The antennas were monitored for breakdown using open-shutter photography. The tank was sufficiently long that far field antenna patterns could be developed. Anechoic absorber was placed at the end of the tank to absorb the incident energy and reduce reflections. A standard gain horn, open-ended waveguide, and dipole antenna were used as receiving antennas. The output of the receiving antenna was passed through a cable, attenuator, and filter combination to a calibrated diode, similar to the arrangement used with the directional coupler. The insertion loss of the tank was determined as a function of frequency using a time-domain network analyzer. The result was a power envelope waveform which could be compared directly to the directional coupler output. The two measurements agreed to within the limits of accuracy of the calibration ( rt 2 dB). IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The data to be presented in this section include the output power, efficiency, repetition rate, lifetime, and frequency characteristics of the magnetron. The output frequency of the magnetron is primarily determined by the mode of the resonator and the cathode diameter. Fig. 5 shows the plotted frequency versus cathode diameter for

590

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE. VOL. IX. NO. 3. J U N E 1990

Frequency (GHz)
/

3.5

1
01

02

03

04

05

06

07

Cathode Radius (in.)

Fig. 5. Frequency versus cathode radius for the K and 2~ modes. (-) = Pi mode theory. (*) = 2 Pi mode experiment. (+@-) = 2 Pi mode theory. ( M ) = Pi mode experiment.

the two primary modes of the A6 magnetron, the n and 27r modes (also known as the 30 and the 0, modes.) The theoretical curves are based on admittance matching theory [6] with a correction term for the finite axial length of the magnetron [7]. The experimentally determined points are typically slightly lower than the theoretical curve. This 'discrepancy can be attributed to two possible causes: The first is that the end caps of the magnetron do not completely terminate the resonant structure, so that the effective electrical length of the resonator is longer than the physical length. The other cause of the discrepancy is due to the electron-beam loading of the cavity and lowering of the cold resonant frequency. Bench measurements of the magnetron show that the cold resonance of the magnetron is higher than the operating frequency. The output power of the magnetron varies with frequency as the cathode diameter is changed. Operation in the 2 a mode between 4.271 and 4.6 GHz has shown the highest output powers. Operation has also been obtained in the T mode at 3.1 GHz at slightly lower peak powers. Operation in lower power competing modes has also been seen-the 7 a / 3 mode (the 1I , mode) at 4.8 GHz and the 2 n / 3 mode (the 20 mode) at 2.9 GHz. Mode identification has been made by three techniques. Primary reliance was placed on the comparison between the operating frequency and theoretical frequency for the different modes. Comparison was also made between the slope of the theoretical and experimental frequency versus cathode diameter curves to help identify the mode. The third mode identification technique was employed in the beginning of the experimental program. The single-shot operation being used at that time did not require a brazed, one-piece construction so that a flexible magnetron configuration was used. The flexibility allowed for variation of the number of outputs. Relative phase measurements were made using two outputs to identify the 2 n mode and the 7 a / 3 mode. The early results with two outputs in the single-shot version yielded peak powers of 1.2 GW (0.8 GW

from one output and 0.4 GW from the opposite), but pulse-to-pulse reproducibility and reliability was poor. The final magnetron design was configured with only one output to maximize the reliability and simplify the system integration design. Table I1 is a summary of the magnetron performance at various frequencies. Output power is the peak power during the pulse. Pulse width is the 3-dB width of the pulse based on the peak power indicated. Energy is the total integrated power for the entire length of the output pulse. Efficiency is the instantaneous efficiency at the peak power of the pulse. The efficiency is calculated by multiplying the current and voltage input to the magnetron from the Marx generator to determine the incident power. The incident power is divided into the output power at the time when the microwave output is at its maximum to determine a peak instantaneous efficiency. Tolerances have been indicated to show the relative uncertainty in each value. Fig. 6 shows the pulse shape for operation at 4.6 GHz. At this frequency the highest peak powers are obtained. The relative shortness of the microwave pulse compared to the voltage pulse could be due to plasma gap closure shifting the resonant frequency of the magnetron or plasma breakdown in the high voltage section of the tube or output circuit. At 4.6 GHz, the magnetron is operated with the smallest anode-cathode gap. A change in cathode diameter due to the expanding cathode plasma can cause a loss of resonance between the magnetron and beam which results in either a mode jump or termination of oscillation. Frequency measurements indicate a small frequency shift when the high power portion of the pulse terminates, but an accurate determination of the frequency is difficult because of the short pulse width. At 4.362 GHz, the anode-cathode gap is larger and the resonance less sensitive to cathode diameter changes. This could explain the longer pulse width seen at the lower frequencies. The other explanation of the short pulse length is that the magnetron resonator or waveguide output is experiencing a breakdown or discharge type of effect. A high density plasma breakdown should completely shut off the microwave output, which is not seen. A partial discharge could partially shut off the microwave output, or a thin electrode plasma could cause disruption of the RF-procucing mechanism. Fig. 7 shows the typical output pulse shape for 4.362GHz (2% mode) operation. Although the peak power is less than that required for high efficiency operation, the pulse width is equal to the full width of the voltage pulse. The total energy is greater than that obtained with the high peak efficiency operation. Figs. 8 and 9 show the output voltage and current from the Marx generator. The large voltage spike shown at the beginning of the voltage pulse serves to turn on the cathode. The microwave oscillations start after this peak. The second spike in the voltage trace is probably due to reflections from the magnetron as the magnetron impedance drops below the pulser impedance, or from stray capaci-

SPANG

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o / . RELATIVISTIC M A G N E T R O N D E V E L O P M E N T

59 I

TABLE 11. SUMhlARY OF MAGNETRON PERFORMANCE AT VARIOUS FR~QUI:NCII:.S

Freq.

25

Current (KA)
~

(GHz)
4.6

Power (MW)

Energy

(J)
10 15 5

Width (ns)
(A1.1)

Eff

(%I
(*/-2O%)

(+/-IO%) ( + / - I )
700

10

15 7

4362 4.271 31

325
175

50
30 20

4
3

150

800 7 p
I

POWER (MEGAWATTS)

00

~p

~~

-~
~

20

40

60

80

100

Time (ns)
Fig 9 Typical Marx generator current waveform

10

1 5

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60 65

70

TIME (NANOSECONDS)
Fig. 6. Typical output pulse shape at 4.6 GHz

500

PowerJM W )

200

I
\
L

20

40

60

80

100

Time (ns)
Fig 7. Typical output pulse \hape at 4 362 GHz

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Time (ns)
Fig 8 Typical Marx generator voltage wdvelorm

tances. The current waveform is delayed from the voltage pulse by about 10 ns. This value is in line with previously reported times [8] for the turn-on of a field emission cathode at the field gradients present in this magnetron. The input power to the magnetron and the impedance of the magnetron versus time is shown in Fig. 10. The impedance starts out high in excess of 1 kQ as the cathode begins to emit. As the RF oscillation turns on, the impedance drops to 30 0 and finally decreases to 15 0 at the end of the microwave pulse. The X in the power curve shows the point where the microwave output from the magnetron is at its highest point, 700 MW. The beam voltage at this point is 410 kV and the current is 11.5 kA, giving an instantaneous power input to the magnetron of 4.75 GW. Using the high accuracy frequency measurement technique previously described, the frequency variation of the magnetron pulse can be determined. The 4.362-GHz operating point was chosen for this experiment because of its long pulse width. Fig. 11 shows a typical IF trace from the heterodyne receiver. The time between zero crossings is determined and converted into the frequency of the magnetron by subtracting it from the LO frequency. Fig. 12 shows the result of the calculation. At first the magnetron frequency decreases. The decrease is due to the formation of the plasma in the interaction space and the subsequent loading of the cavity resonant frequency. At the end of the pulse the frequency is seen to increase due to the expanding plasma closing the gap. Previously reported results [8]-[ 101 have measured gap closure velocities in the range of 1-2 cm/ps. Using the theoretical predicted values of frequency versus cathode radius, a gap closure velocity has been computed to match the experimentally determined frequency versus time curve. The results have been consistently in the range of 1-2 cm/ps, showing excellent agreement with previous results. The magnetron is water-cooled so as to allow reliable operation at a IO-Hz pulse repetition rate (PRR). The source has presently been operated at PRRs up to 2 Hz. The limiting factor has been the high power consumption of the magnet circuit due to eddy current losses in the magnetron housing from the flux penetration of the pulsed

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE. VOL.

18. NO. 3. J U N E I Y Y O

Impedance (Ohms)
10000

Power (GW),2

i \

- 10

18

IO 0

-~

10

20

30

40

0 50

Time (ns)
Fig. I O . Input power and impedance versus time (-) = Power.
(+-)

Impedance.

150-

IF Trace (Arb. Units)

5000 pulses with no degradation in performance. The vanes show some signs of wear due to electron bombardment, but the peak output power and efficiency have not been adversely affected. The cathode emitter has shown a reduced life of between 1000 and 1500 pulses. The cathode emitter is an inexpensive part which can be quickly replaced in the field. The limited cathode life does not appear to be a serious factor in limiting the usefulness of the system. The Marx generator requires periodic cleaning to remove contamination of the spark gaps. The system can presently operate between 2000 and 5000 shots between cleanings. The magnet system and other components require no maintenance other than cleaning the insulators of the capacitors and changing the oil in the vacuum pumps.
V. CONCLUSIONS The MTD- 1 magnetron-based HPM transmitter has been shown to be a reliable, lightweight, and portable system for use in HPM effects testing and other areas. The magnetron has equaled or exceeded previously published results for output power, efficiency, and repetition rate at voltage levels of less than 1 MV. Operation of the system can be had at a variety of frequencies by a simple change of cathode diameter. Reproducibility has shown to be excellent under single-shot and repetitive operation. The extended lifetime and reliability of the magnetron will allow the system to used in practical applications, with low down time and maintenance costs. Continued research will constantly improve the performance and compactness of the system, and the modular-integrated system design allows for easy, inexpensive adaptation to other types of HPM sources. REFERENCES
[ I ] A. Palevsky and G . Bekefi, Microwave emission from pulsed, relativistic e-beam diodes. 11. The multiresonator magnetron, Phys. N u i d s . vol. 22, no. 5 . pp. 986-996. May 1979. [2] H. Sze et. a l . , Operating characteristics of a relativistic magnetron with a washer cathode, lEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., vol. PS-15, pp. 327-334, June 1987. [3] T . A. Treado et a l . , Operating modes of relativistic rising-sun and A6 magnetrons, lEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.. vol. 16, pp. 237-248, Apr. 1988. 141 R. T. Sprout and D. A. Phelps, New results with IRT rep-rate IREBHPM tubes. Bull. Amer. Phys. S o c . , vol. 33. no. 9 , p. 2009, Oct. 1988. [SI P. Efthimion et a l . , Broad spectral electromagnetic radiation calorimeter: Centimeters to microns, Rev. Sei. Instrum., vol. 47, no. 9 , pp. 1059-1062. Sept. 1976. [6] N . Kroll. The unstrapped resonant system. in Microwave Magnetrons. G . B . Collins, Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1948, pp. 56-59. [7] H. A. H. Boot et a l . , A new design of high-power S-band magnetron, in Proc. lnt. Conf. on Microwave Valves, May 1958, pp. 419425. [8] R . K. Parker et a l . . Plasma-induced field emission and the characteristics of high-current relativistic electron flow. J . Appl. Phys.. vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 2463-2479, June 1974. [9] T. A. Treado et a l . , Temporal study of long-pulse relativistic magnetron operation using a streak camera, Bull. Amer. Phys. S o c . . vol. 33, no. 9, p. 2009, Oct. 1988. [ I O ] 1. Z. Gleizer et a l . . Limitations on the duration of the microwave emission in a high-current magnetron. Sov. Phys. -Tech. Phys. Lett.. vol. 6 , no. I , pp. 19-20, Jan. 1980.

-150
.200-pp
L
~

1 0

20

30

40

50

Time (ns)
Fig 1 I Typical IF trace trom the heterodyne receiver

4.5

Frequency (GHz)

4.45

4.35

43

1
10

v
- L - p -

--40

20

30

Time (ns)
Fig 12 Mdgnetron trequency versu\ time tor a \ingle pulse

magnetic field. The magnets are presently being upgraded to allow for 10-Hz operation. At a 2-Hz PRR the magnetron output power pulse has shown excellent stability. Power variations were less than f 10% during any burst. The magnetron has been operated at burst lengths equal to three thermal time constants (10 s) of the magnetron cooling circuit so that a full thermal equilibrium has been achieved. The other important design issue for a usable HPM source is the lifetime of the magnetron. The oldest magnetron vane assembly and insulator has operated for over

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RELATIVISTIC MAGNETRON DEVELOPMENT

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S. T. Spang, photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

J. J. Prochazka, photograph and biography not available at the time of

publication.

*
D. E. Anderson (S86-M88), photograph and biography not available at
the time of publication.

*
D. M. Rexroad (S87-M88), photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

*
K. 0. Busby, photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

*
E. P. Scannell (M88). photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.
$

*
K. D. Clahorn (A53-M58), photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

T. K. Seybold (A88). photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

*
S. P. Manning (A88), photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

*
R . J . Williams, Jr. (A88). photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.

*
A. K. Milakovic, photograph and biography not available at the time of publication.
publication.

*
D. A. Woodyard, photograph and biography not available at the time of