AbstractAn experiment of a virtual cathode oscillator (vircator) built on the low impedance intense electron beam accelerator Flash II is reported. A novel spectrum diagnosis method—a circulating dispersion line—is proposed. A thin oil layer coated graphite cathode is introduced in the experiment to decrease the delay time of the explosive emission process and obtain a homogeneous electron beam emission for improving the high-power microwave (HPM) generation efficiency. The effect of diode current on HPM generation in the vircator system is discussed. The HPM pulse width has a strong connection with the diode current waveform. For most shots, corresponding to the time that microwave emission starts, there is an inflection point in the diode current pulse. Compared with the case that no microwave is generated, the diode current increases more slowly following the inflection point. HPM generation terminates when the beam current reaches the self-pinching critical current of the diode.
Microwave generation power in a nonrelativistic electron beam with virtual cathode in a retarding electric field