Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2004, pp.

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Design Study of an Electron Gun for a High Power Microwave Source

J. E. Han, M. Yoon and S. Y. Park
Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784 (Received 10 November 2003) This paper describes a design study for a high-current DC thermionic electron gun. This gun is to be used for an electron generator for a high-power microwave source such as a relativistic backward wave oscillator. The designed gun showed a capability of producing an annular electron beam with very a high current of 1 kA at a 1-MeV beam energy. Obtaining such a high current beam was possible by achieving a relatively high compression ratio of about 210, which in turn was obtained by carefully optimizing the gun geometry.
PACS numbers: 84.40.F, 07.57.H, 52.75.V Keywords: Electron gun, High power microwave

I. INTRODUCTION Microwave technology has been developed in the eld of the electronic systems, such as electronic astronomy, long-distance communication, radar systems, medical treatment equipment, missiles, etc. Especially, in recent years, electronic attacks on enemy systems in modern war by means of the high-power microwaves(HPM) had received much attention in defense technology. A HPM device emits microwaves to jam the enemys electronic system so that it can either completely destroy the system or, at least, make it stop working momentarily. HPM devices for electronic warfare exceed 1 GW in peak power and span the centimeter- and millimeterwave range of frequencies between 8-12 GHz (i.e., Xband). The generated device for HPM can be a relativistic klystron (RK), a relativistic magnetron (RM), a diraction generator (DG), a vircator, a relativistic backward-wave oscillator (RBWO), etc. Among these devices, we focus on the RBWO as the source of HPM exceeding 1 GW in peak power. One of the key issues in designing the HPM device is its source to generate an electron beam. If a high-output microwave power is to be produced, the electron gun should be able to generate very high current electrons, typically of the order of kiloamperes. Among various possible sources, we particularly focus on the thermionic gun because it has a few advantages, such as high reliability and a long cathode lifetime. On the other hand, compared to other guns such as those based on the eld-emission cathode, the thermionic gun, in general, produces less current density. In order to
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obtain high current of the output electron beam, one must develop means to overcome space-charge repulsive forces in the electron gun. For this, we take a gureof-merit parameter, the compression ratio dened as the area of the output electron beam divided by that of the initial electron beam. Thus, to obtain an output electron beam current of the order of kiloamperes when the initial electron current density is 15 A/cm2 , a typically achievable value for the annular electron beam from a thermionic cathode, one has to obtain a compression ratio of over 200 [1]. To achieve such a high compression ratio, solenoids with a peak eld about 0.5 T have been employed while at the same time the geometry of the gun itself has also been carefully optimized. The initial shape of the electron beam was made to be annular, which is suitable for the RBWO source, and its radius was limited to 9-11 mm. The anode voltage was chosen to be 1 MV to reduce the space-charge repulsive forces, thereby increasing the perveance. This paper describes a designed electron gun and the beam optics results. A solid electron beam is considered rst because it is easier to focus a solid beam than it is to focus an annular electron beam. We then alter the solid beam into an annular electron beam, and by systematically optimizing the gun geometry, as well as introducing magnetic focusing, we obtain an output beam of l kA with a very high compression ratio of about 210. This paper is structured as follows: after describing the method that we employed to design the electron gun, we present the characteristics of the designed gun and the parameters associated with it. We then show the results of the beam optics simulation. Finally, a summary and conclusive remarks are given.

calculs@postech.ac.kr moohyun@postech.edu E-mail: sypark@postech.ac.kr

II. THEORY
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Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2004

One of the important parameters in designing an electron gun is the perveance. The perveance P is dened from the Child-Langmuir Law I = P V 3 /2 , (1)

tions of motion of the electron beam are derived from the relativistic Lorentz force equation: d(mv ) = e(E + v B ), dt (2)

where I is the electron output beam current and V is the extraction voltage or the anode voltage. It is seen from this equation that a high-current beam can be obtained by increasing the perveance, as well as the anode voltage. Perveance aects the space-charge eect, and it depends on the geometry of the electron gun. The equa-

where e(> 0) is the electron charge, m is the electron mass, E is the electric eld, B is the magnetic eld, and v is the velocity of an electron. Introducing normalized variables, z = Z, r = R, and a = A, we can change the form of Eq. (2) to that in terms of secondorder derivatives of each of the orthogonal variables:

= (1 )1/2 [Ez (1 Z 2) + Z RE r +Z AE cRB + cAB r ], Z = (1 )1/2 [Er (1 R 2) + Z RE z +R AE cZB + cAB z ], R = (1 )1/2 [E (1 A 2) + Z AE z +A RE r cZB r + cRB z ], A

(3) (4) (5)

where = e/m0 c2 [24]. Once information on the elds has been given,then these equations can be solved at least numerically; therefore, trajectories of the electrons can be determined.

In cylindrical coordinates for example, the potential at the node 4 in Fig. 1 can be expressed by RV1 + RV2 + (R 1/2)V3 + (R 1/2)V5 4RV4 = R (R.H.), (6) where R is the distance from the symmetric axis and (R.H.) is / 0 Generally, the simulation error is about 0.1102 [6,7]. The codes then iterate until the potential value converges.

III. METHOD To solve Eq. (5), we invoked the computer program Egun Code [5]. Since the electric eld can be modied in the presence of the space charge, this code also solves the Poission equation 2 V = / 0 numerically, where V is the potential, is the space-charge density of electrons, and 0 is permittivity of vacuum. With properly given boundary conditions, the Egun code divides the geometrical structure of a gun into a number of meshes, as shown in Fig. 1, and the potential at each node is calculated iteratively by using the nite-dierence method.

IV. RESULT During our study, we noticed that obtaining high compression ratio with the annular beam was very dicult and required a time-consuming iterative procedure. Therefore, instead of optimizing the gun geometry with an annular beam, the design study was at rst initiated with a solid electron beam. After optimizing the gun geometry with the solid beam, the beam was transformed to an annular beam with the same geometry. Then the geometry of the annular beam was re-optimized. We found that this procedure was less time consuming and helped us understand the dependence of the geometry on the compression ratio of a beam. Figure 2 shows the gun layout and the trajectories of electrons in the solid beam. The compression ratio was 3000, which is a typical number in a gun with a solid beam [8, 9]. In Fig. 2, the gun is shown to be of the Pierce type [10]. Electrons are emitted from the cathode shown on the left in the gure, and just above the cathode, there is an electrode that prevents electron from diverging, which can be seen from the shape of the equipotential lines. A voltage of 0.5 MV is applied to the anode shown in the middle of the gure. On the top of the gun,

Fig. 1. Method of doing general boundaries.

Design Study of an Electron Gun for a High Power Microwave Source J. E. Han et al.

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Fig. 2. Gun layout and electron trajectory of the solid beam.

Fig. 4. Geometrical model of the annular beam gun with trajectories of electrons.

Fig. 3. Geometrical model of the annular beam gun.

a solenoidal eld is applied with a peak value of about 1 T. The output beam current was 200 A. Having optimized the electron gun with the solid beam, we then changed the shape of the electron beam at the cathode to an annular electron beam. In order to get an output beam having a high current, we reduced the length between the anode and the cathode while at the same time increasing the anode voltage to 1 MV . Both of these result in an increase in the electric eld strength and, therefore, a reduction in the space-charge eect. It is noted that to avoid the electrical break down, which occurs at approximately 20 MV/m, the distance between the cathode and the anode should not be too short [11]. Figure 3 is the geometrical model of the gun with an annular beam, which has cylindrical symmetry. In this gure, the horizontal axis is the Z axis. It is seen that there are a total of seven units. One unit corresponds to 10 cm; therefore, the total length along the Z axis is 70 cm. The vertical axis runs along the radial (R) direction, and the total length is 25 cm. The dashed line shows the focusing line. The portion which is covered by the dashed line is the cathode to make an annular beam. Adjacent to the cathode, there are electrodes that intercept the Coulomb force of electrons. Again, the anode is shown in the middle where a 1-MV voltage is applied. Figure 4 shows the electron trajectories in the same gun geometry. The electron current density just outside the cathode is about 15 A/cm, and the compression ratio with this gun

Fig. 5. Current density of the output electron beam.

geometry is about 200. In this procedure, we obtain a beam current of about 515 A, and the highly compressed electron beam is shown to be stable. Electrons tend to move perpendicular to the equipotential line (i.e., along the electric eld line). If the electrode adjacent to the cathode is tilted toward the anode, then electrons can be focused. Thus, the angle between the cathode surface and adjacent electrode is carefully optimized, which guarantees well focused beam. In order to avoid electrical breakdown, there is an approximately 10-cm spacing between the anode and the cathode. On top the electron gun, a solenoidal magnetic eld is applied with a peak value of 0.5 T. From the calculated beam trajectory, we nd the Z position where the beam waist occurs. Then, a magnetic eld of B (Z ) = 2500[1+tanh(0.0063(Z 400))] is applied. This function of magnetic eld can be realized by using multi-layer solenoids [12,13]. Figure 5 shows the current density of the output electron beam. In this gure, the horizontal axis is along the R direction of the output beam of Fig. 4 and spans up to 13.5 mm. The vertical axis is the normalized current density. In order to achieve a beam current over 1 kA, we need a smaller gap between the anode and the cathode and a

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Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2004

Figure 7 depicts the current density in Fig. 6. In this gure, the beam radius is also between 9 and 11 mm, and the compression ratio is about 205. The current density is 14.0 A/cm2 . Table 1 summarizes the results for the designed electron gun. It is seen that for a higher compression ratio, a larger output beam current can be obtained.

V. CONCLUSION
Fig. 6. Gun layout electron trajectories of an annular beam with a 1.07-kA output beam current.

So far, we have described a newly designed the DC thermionic electron gun for HPM. By carefully optimizing the geometry of the cathode, electrode, and anode, we could produce an annular electron beam with a 1-kA output beam current, a 1-MeV beam energy, and a very high compression ratio of about 210 : 1 [14].

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by the Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

REFERENCES
[1] Gilmour, Microwave Tubes (Artech House, 1986), p. 107. [2] Albert Septier, Focusing of Charged Particles, 2nd ed. (Academic Press, 1967), p. 23. [3] Jin Au Kong, Electromagnetic Wave Theory, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 1990), p. 170. [4] J. R. Pierce, Theory and Desigh of Electron Beams (D. Van Nostrand, 1954), p. 11. [5] J. D. Lawson, The Physics of Charged-Particle Beams, 2nd ed. (Clarendon Press, 1988), p. 81. [6] John David Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd ed. (Wiley, 1998), p. 47. [7] Jinyul Hu and Moohyun Yoon, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 37, 10 (2000). [8] V. P. Yakovlev and O. A. Nezhevenko, Proc. of the 1997 IEEE Particle Acc. Conf. (Canada, 1997), p. 3186. [9] Y. V. Baryshev, I. V. Kazarezov, E. V. Kozyrev, G. I. Kuznetsov, I. G. Makarov, O. A. Nezhevenko, B. Z. Persov, M. A. Tiunov, V. P. Yakovlev and L. A. Zapryagaev, Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. A 340, 241 (1994). [10] A. S. Gilmour, Principles of Traveling Wave Tubes (Artech House, 1994), p. 103. [11] J. Isidorovic, Acta Phys. Pol. A 88, S-37 (1995). [12] M. Yoon and G. Mavrogenes, Proc. PAC (Chicago, 1989), p. 903. [13] Hyun-Joon Shin, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 37, 350 (1999). [14] E. C. Jung and Jongmin Lee, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 34, 209 (1999).

Fig. 7. Current density of the output electron beam in Fig. 5. Table 1. E-gun simulation results Compression Ratio 198 200 205 Current (A) 67 515 1070 Magnetic Field (T) 0.5 0.5 0.5

broader area of the cathode which emits initial electrons. Figure 6 presents the nal gun layout and the electron trajectories for which the output current is 1.07 kA. In order to prevent breakdown, a gap between the anode and the cathode or the anode and the electrode of over 10 cm has to be retained. Also, the equipotential line is shown to be smooth without discontinuity. A peak magnetic eld of 0.5 T also is applied with a slight readjustment of the magnetic eld B (Z ) = 2500[1 + tanh(0.00543(Z 475))]. The output beam energy in this case is also 1 MeV; therefore, the beam power is over 1 GW, which meets the requirement of the HPM.