Ultrawideband Plasma Relativistic Microwave Source

Abstract

An ultrawideband (UWB) plasma relativistic microwave source based on the amplification of self-noise of a relativistic electron beam in plasma is described. There is a fundamental difference of the described source from the existing high-power UWB radiation sources. The UWB plasma microwave source allows one to obtain higher energy per pulse than existing sources (up to 10 J). In addition, the mean frequency of the microwave signal generated by the UWB plasma microwave source can be tuned from pulse to pulse (e.g., from 2 to 3.5 GHz). It is important that the microwave pulse energy remains unchanged after tuning the frequency.