Research Plan of Mr.

Mashood Abdullah
Plasma Assisted Slow-wave Oscillator (PASOTRON)
Significant improvements in the performance of microwave sources have been achieved
in recent years by the introduction of the appropriate amount of plasma into tubes designed to
accommodate plasma. Plasma filling has been credited with increasing the electron beam
current, bandwidth, efficiency and reducing or eliminating the need for guiding magnetic field
in microwave sources. In most of these devices a strong axial magnetic field is applied to guide
the electron beam. Applying such a strong magnetic field requires heavy and bulky solenoids.
Plasma Assisted Slowwave !scillator "acronym of PAS!#$!%&'() device. PAS!#$!% has at
least two unique features, (& It employs the plasma cathode gun to generate a highperevance
electron beam and *& it utili+es the ion focusing mechanism for the beam transport in the
absence of guiding magnetic field.
#he PAS!#$!% ,igh Power -icrowave ",P- '*)& source utili+es various slowwave structures
and operated, either as backward wave oscillator or as forward wave amplifiers. a typical
PAS!#$!% has an electron gun , slow wave stricture"S.S& and output coupler/antenna same
as in other linear beam microwave tubes. #he plasmachannel beam transport eliminates the
need for an externallyapplied axial magnetic field to confine the beam, which results in a very
compact, low weight ,P- source compared to conventional technologies.
0or the first few months, I will review the existing material on PAS!#$!%. #he achieved
level of understanding the physics and the performance of PAS!#$!% can be used as a
starting point for further escalation of PAS!#$!% parameters. 1omputational tools for
simulating in slow wave devices will be learnt. 2sing these tools, modeling of physical behavior
of plasma filled devices will be carried out.
Some of the studies and tasks that I will perform would be3
"a& $eview the existing literature on Plasma Assisted Slowwave !scillator.
"b& Study of electron beam propagation in PAS!#$!%.
"c& 4lectromagnetic wave propagation in radially inhomogenous plasma existing in PAS!#$!%.
"d& Introduction of electromagnetic wave with electron beam in many plasmacolumn in a
PAS!#$!%.
References:
[1] D.M. Goebel et al., IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 22, 5! "1##$
[2] D. m. Goebel, %.M. &'tler, R.(. Sc)'mac)er, %. Santor', an* R.+. Eisen)art ,-i.)/0o1er
micro1a2e so'rces base* on 'nma.neti3e* bac41ar* 1a2e oscillator,5 Plasma Sci. 2ol. 22,
00. 5!/556, 7ct. 1##.
[6] M. Reiser, T)eor8 an* Desi.n of c)ar.e* Particle &eam "1ile8, 9e1 :or4, 1##$ 00. 2;6.
[] <.S. Gilmo'r, %r., Princi0les of tra2elin. (a2e T'bes, "<rtec), &oston, 1##$
[5] -.R. %o)nson, ==&ac41ar*/1a2e 7scillator,> Proc. IRE, 2ol. 6, 00. ?@/?#!, 1#55.
[?] R.(. Sc)'mac)er et al., >Plasma assiste* )i.) 0o1er micro1a2e .enerator> A.S. Patent
#126?!, 1##;.
-y choice of supervisors3
"(& r. !. "ho#al