A high-power periodic nanosecond pulse source of coherent 8-cm electromagnetic radiation

The generation of short electromagnetic pulses excited in an extended slow-wave system (SWS) of a relativistic backward wave tube (BWT) operating in the so-called superradiance regime with a carrier frequency of 3.7 GHz has been simulated and experimentally studied. At a decreased magnetic field (about 0.2 T) in the SWS, the BWT generated 2.5-ns microwave pulses with a power of up to 800 MW. At a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz, the working life of the system was limited by the lifetime of an explosive emission cathode (10⁶ pulses). The possibility of phase synchronization of the high-frequency field of the relativistic microwave oscillator with respect to the voltage pulse front is demonstrated for the first time.