New High Power Coherent Radiation Sources.
Abstract
In recent years, there has been considerable renewed interest in the development of novel devices for the production of high power coherent electromagnetic radiation. This interest has been motivated largely by the realization that, with existing technology, certain processes utilizing relativistic electron beams can produce coherent electromagnetic radiation at power levels far in excess of those achieved by conventional electron devices. This paper will review the current status of this rapidly developing field, with emphasis on two generic devices. The major thrust in the recent development of electron beam driven radiation sources has been directed towards achieving shorter wavelengths, greater power and higher efficiencies. Shortly after the development of such successful sources as the magnetron, kylstron and various traveling wave devices, it became clear that, in their original form, they were limited in their ability to produce high levels of radiation efficiently at short wavelengths. To circumvent the inherent limitations of these conventional coherent radiation sources, many new concepts and mechanisms, as well as variations on conventional concepts, were proposed. This paper is concerned primarily with two devices which are, relatively speaking, newcomers to the list of coherent classical radiation sources. They are the free electron laser and the cyclotron resonance maser (CRM); one well known type of CRM is the gyrotron.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 09, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA137317
Entities
People
- Phillip A. Sprangle
- T. Coffey
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory