Experimental study on G-band oversized backward wave oscillator driven by weakly relativistic electron beam

We studied a G-band oversized backward wave oscillator (BWO) driven by a weakly relativistic electron beam of less than 100 kV. Rectangular corrugations are used as slow-wave structures having surface waves with upper cutoff frequencies above 150 GHz (G-band). We examine how dispersion characteristics of surface waves are affected by accuracy in machining the corrugation amplitude, width, and period length. Of these, accuracy in the amplitude has the largest effect. Uniformly distributed annular electron beams are generated by a disk-type cold cathode and injected into the G-band BWO. G-band BWO operations in 137 - 173 GHz and above 173 GHz are achieved by changing the corrugation amplitude. The radiation patterns are fairly broad, and the estimated radiation power is at kW level. (author)