Plasma wave tube
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsRobert W. Schumacher, Joseph Santoru
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A plasma wave tube is described in which a pair of counterpropagating electron beams are injected into a waveguide housing in which a plasma is formed, prefeferably by an array of fine wire anodes. The electron beams couple with the plasma to produce electron plasma waves, which radiate electromagnetic energy for beam voltages and currents above established threshold levels. A rapid control over output frequency is achieved by controlling the plasma discharge current, while the output power can be controlled by controlling the voltage and/or current levels of the electron beams.
Claims26
An improved plasma wave tube, comprising:
- a waveguide housing having first and second ends,
- means for introducing an ionizable gas into said housing,
- a plurality of wire anodes extending into said waveguide housing to form a discharge plasma from ionizable gas therein, and
- electron beam generating means mounted in alignment with each other on opposite faces of the waveguide housing for generating a pair of counterpropagating electron beams through the plasma within said housing at a sufficient voltage, relative to the waveguide housing, to establish a pair of electrostatic plasma waves which mutually couple to emit electromagnetic radiation within the waveguide housing, the eletrostatic plasma wave propagating in a direction perpendicular to the length of the waveguide housing, and
- an output window, at the first end of the waveguide housing, for coupling the electromagnetic radiation out of the waveguide housing,k
An improved plasma wave tube, comprising:
- a rectangular waveguide housing having first and second ends,
- means for introducing an ionizable gas into said housing,
- at least one wire anode extending within said housing for forming a plasma by ionizing gas introduced into the housing, and
- a pair of contradirected electron beam generators disposed on opposite sides of said waveguide housing for generating a pair of counterpropagating electron beams through said plasma, said electron beam generators generating their respective electron beams at a sufficient distance, to establish a pair of electrostatic plasma waves which mutually couple to emit electromagnetic radiation within the waveguide housing generally transverse to the electron beams, and propagating along the length of the waveguide housing, and
- an output window at the first end of the waveguide housing for coupling the electromagnetic radiation out of the waveguide housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.