Crossed Field Device Physics in Perturbed Systems

Abstract

The primary project goal of this proposed effort is to combine theory, simulation, and experiment to elucidate crossedfield device physics and improve the performance of crossed field devices such as magnetrons and Crossed Field Amplifiers (CFAs). Improvements could include magnetron phase control via injection locking, fast magnetron startup, reduced noise in CFAs, and improved CFA gain. The team will build on existing theoretical developments, simulations, and experiments to further this research. Four different crossed field configurations will be studied including simple planar and cylindrical structures, a magnetron, and a CFA. These systems will be analyzed under various forms of perturbations of the electric field, magnetic field, and electron injection. This pproach will provide the first complete experimental benchmarking of 1 D planar, analytic theory. Extensions of the 1 D, planar analytic theory to cylindrical coordinates using the Euler Lagrange equation from variational mechanics will be considered and compared to particle in cell simulations and experiment. Detailed experimental measurements of electron trajectories and noise will be measured using arrays of diagnostic probes and collectors to provide direct measurement of the electrons in the interaction space. The experimental measurements can then be compared directly to the simulations and provide further insight to the theoretical analysis. An industrial magnetron will also be studied using modulated electron sources based on gated field emission arrays to control electron injection spatially and temporally. The modulated sources will enable study of magnetron start up, phase, and noise propagation. The experimental measurements will be compared with simulations of the magnetron and qualitatively to 1 D models of AC voltages and models examining the impact of the interaction of multiple emitted electrons from cathode in crossed field geometries ...

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jan 14, 2022
Source ID
FA95501910101

Entities

People

  • Jim Browning

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Boise State University
  • United States Air Force

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Electronics Engineering
  • Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster