Efficiency and stability enhancement of a virtual cathode oscillator

A virtual cathode oscillator (VCO) with a resonant cavity is presented and investigated numerically and theoretically, and its efficiency and stability are enhanced. An equivalent circuit method is introduced to analyze the resonant cavity composed of anode foil and feedback annulus, and a theoretical expression for the fundamental mode frequency of the resonant cavity is given. The VCO is investigated in detail with a particle-in-cell method. We obtain the microwave frequencies from simulation, theoretical expression, and relative references, and draw three important conclusions. First, the microwave frequency is a constant when the diode voltage is changed from 588 kV to 717 kV. Second, the fluctuation of the microwave frequency is very small when the AK gap is changed from 1.2 cm to 1.6 cm. Third, the microwave frequency agrees with the theoretical result. The relative error, which is calculated according to the theoretical and simulation frequencies, is only 1.7%. (physics of gases, plasmas, and electric discharges)