INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONICS

ISSN: 0020-7217 (Print) 1362-3060 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/tetn20

Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift

G. S. PARK, J. L. HIRSHFIELD & C. M. ARMSTRONG

To cite this article: G. S. PARK, J. L. HIRSHFIELD & C. M. ARMSTRONG (1992) Passive gyrotron
cavity loading and frequency shift, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONICS, 72:5-6,
921-941, DOI: 10.1080/00207219208925625

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207219208925625

Published online: 22 Oct 2007.

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INT. J. ELECTRONICS, 1992, VOL. 72, NOS. 5 AND 6, 921-941

Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift

G. S. PARKtt. J. L. HIRSHFIELDH and C. M. ARMSTRONGt

Measurements of change in Q and frequency shift are presented for the penulti-
mate cavity in a 3-cavity gyroklystron under conditions where the cavity does not
oscillate. This allowed detailed comparisons to be made with linearized theory,
over a wide range of beam currents and DC magnetic fields. The theory was
formulated to take into account the effects of cut-off beam tunnels on the effective
length of the cavity, the geometrical beam filling factor, the effect of a spread in
beam pitch angle, and the effect of the cavity RF magneticfields. Best fits between
the data and the theoretical curves for change in Q and frequency shift were
obtained for beam a-values in good agreement with those predicted from a
modified Herrmannsfeldt code. Calculations of oscillation starting currents for
TEal' TEall' TE o I 2 , and TE o l 3 rectangular cavities as a function of the cavity
detuning parameter show that seriouserrors can occur if one neglects the cavity RF
magnetic fields.

I. Introduction
It has long been recognized that an electron beam will influence both the real and
reactive parts of the impedance of a circuit with which the beam interacts. This effect
can be quite pronounced near a circuit resonance and/or a beam resonance, such as
cyclotron resonance. As early as 1947, Smith and Shulman (1947) published analysis
and measurements of the loading and frequency shift of a microwave resonator by a
low-energy electron beam. Cavity frequency shift and change in Q methods were
developed by Brown et al. (1966) in the 1950s and 1960s to determine the electron
density and collision rates in low temperature gas discharge plasmas.
Since the late I960s, with the development of electron cyclotron maser and
gyrotron devices, detailed knowledge of cavity beam loading and frequency shift has
been critical in the design of practical devices. One measure of the success of these
efforts is given by the remarkable performance of present-day gyrotrons: 940 kW of
power at 2·1 mm wavelength with an electronic efficiency of about 20% (Kreischer
and Temkin 1983).
Nevertheless, a comprehensive comparison between theory and experiment for
both loading and frequency shift has yet to be made. Often, measurements of
oscillator starting current (related to linearized beam loading) are made for
comparison with theory. But such comparisons only test that portion of the
parameter space where the change in cavity Q is near its most negative value. The
shift in frequency measurements (Brand et al. 1983, Kreischer et al. 1984, Jones and
Lindsay 1986) are inevitably made on running oscillators, for which the linearized
theory is probably not applicable. Furthermore a number of nettlesome effects have
received limited attention, such as careful inclusion of the beam's geometric filling
factor, the cavity fields fringing into the beam tunnels, and electron velocity spread.

Received 31 May 1991; revised II September 1991.

tCode 6840, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, U.S.A.
tOmega-P Inc., Box 2008 Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520, U.S.A.
0020-7217/92 $3.00 © 1992 Taylor & Francis Lid.
922 G. S. Park et al.

This paper describes experimental tests of the theory of both cavity loading
(change in Q) and cavity pulling (change in resonant frequency) performed on an
experimental facility for studying multi-cavity gyroklystron efficiency optimization
(Bollen et al. 1985). The apparatus consists of three independent rectangular cavities
through which passes an annular electron beam from a magnetron injection gun. A
multi-coil axial magnetic field system is provided, which can be adjusted to give a
wide range of field profiles. As a result, the system parameters can be adjusted so
that the cavities remain passive (i.e. free of oscillations) during measurements of
both beam loading and frequency shift. In this way, predictions of the linearized
theory can be expected to hold, and meaningful comparisons between theory and
experiment can be made. Comprehensive comparisons of this type have not been
previously reported.
This paper also contains a derivation of the real and reactive power transfer from
a gyrating electron beam to the fields of a rectangular TE olI cavity, which is the
cavity in the laboratory apparatus. Extension of the work presented here to other
cavity configurations is straightforward. The method used, based on solution of the
linearized Vlasov equation for the beam in the prescribed fields of the cavity, was set
forth by Hirshfield et al. (1965). Variants of this method have been used by other
workers in the meantime, as have methods based on solutions of the underlying
equations of motion. Many of these analyses have neglected interaction in the cavity
between the electrons and the RF magnetic field (Kreischer et al. 1984). It will be
shown that this neglect cannot always be justified.
Most of the discussion in this paper is for cold electron beams, since it can be
shown that velocity spread effects are of relatively minor importance in the
experiments reported here. However, the formalism applies to any axisymmetric
velocity distribution.
In passing, the theory derived here is extended to rectangular TE oh cavities, in
order to derive the starting current for so-called CARM oscillators in the presence of
finite axial velocity spread. It is shown that the influence of the RF magnetic field is
not generally negligible in determining the start oscillation current for CARM
oscillators.

2. Interaction between electrons and cavity fields

In this section we treat the linearized interaction between beam electrons and the
fields of a rectangular TE olI cavity. The objective of the calculation presented is to
obtain expressions for the real and reactive power transfer between the beam and the
cavity. The real part of the power transfer relates to the change in reciprocal-Q
effected by the beam, while the reactive part relates to the cavity frequency shift. A
calculation of the real power transfer (for a TEo!! cylindrical cavity) was presented
in an early paper on the cyclotron resonance maser (CRM) (Hirshfield et al. 1965).
The derivation presented here is a straightforward extension of that early work.
Comparison will be made with the results obtained by several authors who neglected
interactions involving the cavity RF magnetic fields; the derivation given below
includes these interactions.
The calculation proceeds by integrating the linearized Vlasov equation along
unperturbed electron orbits. The cavity fields are given by
(I)
 Passive qyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 923

and

B, = -iy(~ Eo cos k~z sin kJ.y sin wt)+iz ( ; Eo sin k~z cos kJ.y sin wt) (2)

where k~=n/a,kJ. =n/b, and where the third cavity dimension is d. The cavity
resonant frequency is w=c(k~+kD'/2. The electron velocity is v=iAwcoscP)
+i,(wsinc/»+izu. The static uniform magnetic field is B=izBo , with the electron
gyrofrequency O=eB/my, where y is the relativistic energy factor
y=(I_v·v/c 2) - ' /2.
One finds for an equilibrium electron distribution function fo(u, w) that the
driving term in the Vlasov equation becomes

+EO(~}cos k~z sin «,» sin on cos c/>l(U~ -w ~:) (3)

We now solve the linearized Vlasov equation for the perturbed distribution function
f,(r, v, r):

(4)

by integrating along unperturbed particle orbits. This is equivalent, in the small

Larmor orbit approximation valid for weakly relativistic electrons, to make the
substitutions

X(T)-+X
Y(T)-+y
Z(T)-+Z-UT

and
t(T)-+t-T

and carrying out the following integral to obtain the perturbed part of the
distribution function.

(5)

where

A(T;z,c/>,t)=sin(kuz-kiUT) cos (Wt-WT) cos (c/>-OT) (6)

and
924 G. S. Park et al.

B(,; z, cf>, t)=cos (kHz-kHu,) sin (wt-w,) cos (cf>-(1.) (7)

It is convenient to separate the parts of A and B which contain cos on cos cf> from
the parts containing sin on cos cf>. These we designate Ae, As> Be' and B•. Terms
containing sin cf> do not contribute to the power transfer, as shall be seen below.

Ae(,;z, cf>, t)=cos wt cos cf>[sink!z(cos w, cos (h cos kHu,)

-cos kHz(cos W, cos (h sin kHu,)] (8)

A,(,;z, cf>, t)=sin on cos cf>[sin kHz(sin w, cos (1. cos kHu,)

(9)

B c( ' ; z, cf>, t)= -cos on cos cf>[sin w, cos O,(cos kHz cos kuu,+sin k.z sin kHu,)] (10)

and

From these, we can find the corresponding orbit integrals.

[COS (kHZII)-COS(kIZ)]
2k HU
l' lud
o
,Ac=cos w, cos
A.
'I' 1_11 2 (12)

(13)

and
2k nu
r* d,B.=-SIDW'COScf>
. [Sin (knzll)-sin (kHZ)]
1_112 ' (15)
Jo
where 11= (O-w)/knu. In the interest of clarity we have not written out the
non-resonant terms. They are identical with the resonant terms exhibited, but for the
interchange of - 0 for O. In any case, the non-resonant terms are negligible since
(0 + w) ~ (0 - w) for all cases of interest in this work.
We can now write I, as

Il(Y, z; t; u, w, cf»
eEo.
2m(k SID kJ.Y cos cf>
[R cos wt-S
1_11 2
sin wt]
(16)
nu)2
where

(17)
 Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 925

and

S(z, u, w) = [sin (kuzO)-O sin (kuz)]kuu i:,

(18)

The instantaneous power transfer P between the beam electrons and the cavity is
found from the volume integral of Jl'El = JxE x, i.e.

P=E o cos rot J: dx f: f dy dz sin kuz sin kJ.y Jiy, z, t) (19)

where

J x= -e fo
28 dl/l f"" du f"" dww 2
cos 1/I/1(Y' z, t; 1/1, u, w) (20)
- 00 0
The real power transfer P,cal is one-half (from averaging over time) the part of P that
multiplies cos" rot, while the reactive power transfer P,cac' is one-half the part of P
that multiplies cosrot sin rot. These are

and

x 010
[K(O)u--
ow
(k- roU) M(O) (010
ll
u - - wOfo)]
ow au- (22)

where the functions in the integrands are defined as follows:

G(O)-
_[COS1_0
(7tO/2)]2
2 (23)

I ) (7tO sin 7tO) (24)

K(O)= ( 1_02 T-I-02

and

M(O)=C ~02)G+ °IS~;O) (25)

Equations (21) and (22) contain a multiplier 7t which comes from integrating cos? 1/1
over 1/1. Terms in A and B proportional to sin 1/1 would have integrated to zero at this
stage, thus justifying our dropping of these earlier. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show plots of
926 G. S. Park et al.

G(O), G'(O); K (0), K'(O); and M(O), M'(O); the prime indicates differentiation with
respect to O.
A number of prior authors have given derivations similar to the above, but some
neglected the contributions of the RF magnetic field. The widely-cited results of
Kreischer and Temkin (\ 983), for example, are numbered among these. Their
formulae corresponding to our (21) and (22) thus do not contain terms beyond the
first in square brackets. Others who neglect RF magnetic field effects include Jones
and Lindsay (1986) and Brand et al. (\983). It is noteworthy that Brand shows
calculated results for starting current and frequency detuning as a function of
magnetic field for a TE o.14 •1 fundamental harmonic gyrotron with both the
inclusion and the neglect of RF magnetic fields. In that example, the difference
between the two calculations was indeed insignificant. However, as will be shown
below, such is not always the case, and generalizations may not be in order. A
similar conclusion has been reached by Jones and Alcock (1984) who also caution
against neglecting the RF magnetic field contributions.
Integration over the velocity variables (u, w) for arbitrary distribution functions
fo(u, w) is conveniently carried out after (21) and (22) are integrated by parts, in
order to remove the velocity derivatives on fo. Sparing the intermediate steps, one
finds

(26)

1.5

0.5
G(6)
o

-0.5

-1
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 2 3 4
6=n-ro
k.zvz
Figure I. G(O) and dG((J)/dO as a function of O.
 Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 927

K(9) 0

-1

-2
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 2 3 4
9=0-00
kzvz
Figure 2. K(9) and dK(9)/d9 as a function of 9.

2E2
p react = - ne
2 Jd dx Jb dy sin2 «,» f'"
k20 du J'" dw fo(x, y, u, w)-W
milo 0 _'" 0 u
2) 2
x
{[
1 W2
K(IJ)----K'(IJ)
20)l2
1
] --
2 c k II u 2
(k U)[( 2+-
_I
W
W M(IJ)+-IJM'(IJ)]}
u u 2
w
2

M(9) 0

-1

-2
-4 -3 -2 0 -1 2 3 4
9=0-00
kzvz
Figure 3. M(9) and dM(9)/d9 as a function of 9.
928 O. S. Park et al.

A result similar to (26) was obtained by Hirshfield et al. (1965, equation (14)).
Neglecting RF magnetic fields would cause the coefficients of 0(0) and 0'(0) in (26)
to become (U 2( W2)(W(k and -wny2(2k~c2, respectively; the terms involving M(O)
llu)
and M'(O) would be absent. Equations (26) and (27) have been evaluated for a delta-
function distribution, in which all electrons have the same magnitudes of parallel
and perpendicular velocities, i.e.

n(x,y)
fo(x,y; u, w)=-2--o(u-uo)o(w-wo) (28)
1tWo

and for a mono-energetic distribution function with a uniform bounded spread

~u= U2 -U 1 in parallel velocity, i.e.

fo(x, y;u, w) = Cn(x, y)o[w-(v 2 -u 2)'/2][H(u-u,)- H(U-U2)] (29)

where HW=I for ~>O, and H(~)=O for ~<O, and where

C-1=n{[uiv2-uD'/2+v2 sin-' (U2(V)]-[u,(v 2-uDl/2+V2 sin-' (udv)J)

For any velocity distribution function, we require the spatial integral

(NA> = II dx dy sin? kJ.y n(x, y) (30)

For an axially-symmetric beam density function n(r), (30) is conveniently evaluated

in polar coordinates (with the origin at x=d(2, y=b(2). This gives

(NA>= rOdO I dr rn(r) cos? (kJ.rcosO)=n Idrrn(r)[I+J o(2kJ.r)] (31)

where Jo(2kJ.r) is the zeroth-order Bessel function. If n(r)=N, a constant, over a

cylindrical beam of radius R, we find

(32)

where f is a dimensionless filling factor. From the above form one sees that as the
beam diameter shrinks and 2kJ.R-0, then j--e l . For a uniform annular beam with
inner and outer radii R, and R 2 one has

f = ~2 [ 1+ R2J,(2kJ.R2)-R,J,(2kJ.Rt)]
kJ.(Ri-RD
(33)

Whenfo(u, w) is given by (28) we find

flE5 e (34)
p re al = -2mw2 F,(Oo; 1X0, Po, Yo)

and

(35)

where
 Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 929

+ ~ [IJ2 Po(Po - IJo)(Y~ -

2 0 (X~+I
I )J G'(IJ)} (36)

and

- (X~Po(Y~-I)K'(IJ) I [(2 2)M(IJ) 2IJ M'(IJ )]} (37)

x {K(IJ0 ) 2«(X~+ I) 0 2(Po-1J 0) +(Xo 0 +(Xo 0 0

In (34) and (35), we have introduced the DC beam current l = N Aeuo

=f-'<NA)euo. In addition, IJ o = (Oo-w)/klluo, with 0 0= eB/myo; yo=[I-(u~
+w~)/c2rI/2; (Xo= wdv«: and Po=Oo/kuuo.
Equations (34) and (35) may be used to find the change in reciprocal quality
factor t1(I /Q) and the change in resonance frequency t1w/w due to the beam's
perturbation upon the cavity (Slater 1950). The stored energy in the TE oll cavity
mode is

Thus

(38)

and

~ =~ :.~t= :2~~ (;:)( 1+ ;:) -3/2FiIJ o; (Xo, Po, Yo) (39)

where fA = 41t&omc 3[e = 17045 A. Since the geometric filling factor f may not be
known with high precision in some cases, it may be convenient to normalize
measurements of t1(I/Q) and t1w/w. A convenient point of normalization is IJo = 0,
where G(IJ=O) = I, G'(IJ=O)=O, K(IJ=O)=o, K'(IJ=O)= -1t/2, M(IJ=O)=1t/2, and
M'(IJ=O)=O. One then finds
2)( 2)-1/2 f f 2
t1 Q ( ~) = 16(a
o
1t2 bd
a
I + b2
c
l u2
A 0
(40)

and

t1W) =~(a2)
( w 0 1t bd
(I + a:)-1/2{(X~P02(Y~-I)
b (Xo+ I
2H~}ff
Po t,
(41)

Equation (38) can be used to find the start-oscillation current 1" for a cyclotron
resonance maser, as that current necessary to make t1(l /Q) = - Q - I, i.e, where
930 G. S. Park et al.

150

(l03.0

100
N Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
::I:
Beam current: 4.06 A
~
=
z
50
C/)
>.
0
c:
Q) 0
:J
0-
e
u.
-50

-100
-6 -4 -2 o 2 4 6
9
Figure 4. Calculated frequency shift as a function of (J for beam 0: values of ]-0, ],5,2'0,2'5
and 3-0.

energy gain into the cavity from the electron beam just balances energy losses from
the cavity. The start-oscillation current l« is then found to be

1
1. = - ~;;Q(:~ (I + :~r/2 F1 (8o; ao, Po, Yo) 1
(42)

Examples of results computed from (38) and (39) are shown in Figs 4 and 5 for
cavity parameters as follows:

0.08
(l-3.0

'2 0 .06
o Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
U
c: Beam current: 4.06 A
:J
u. 0.04
c:
'ca
!:2.
00.02
Q
...
~

-0.02
-6 -4 -2 o 2 4 6
9
Figure 5. Calculated change in Q as a function of (} for beam e-values of ]'0, ]'5,2'0,2,5 and
3·0.
 Passive gyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 931

50

40

30

20

10

o
4 4~ 4 -1~ ·1
9
Figure 6. Start oscillation currentas a function of (J: (0) with RF magnetic field; (b) without
RF magnetic field. Beam ex-values of \·7, ]·8 and \·9 when k. = nia.

cavity length: 8·763 em

cavity width: 3·703 em

cavity height: 3·627 em

cavity cold Q: 800

These parameters are similar to those in the experiments to be described in the
next section, where detailed comparisons between theory and experiment will be
made. As is seen from the figures, the !1w/w and !1(I/Q) values are both sensitive to
beam IX (=w/u). For IX= 1·0 and IX= 1'5, !1(I/Q) remains greater than zero so that
cavity oscillations cannot occur.
For higher values of IX, cavity oscillations are possible. Equation (42) has been
evaluated for the same cavity used in the experiments, but for beam IX values of 1'7,
1·8 and 1·9. The contributions of the RF magnetic field were included in one set of
computations, and neglected in a second set which were otherwise identical. The
results are shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen that both the magnitudes and the detuning
variations of the start oscillation current are markedly different for the two cases.
This example should serve to make the case for inclusion of RF magnetic field effects
in all calculations, and to raise questions as to the accuracy of the extensive results
cited in the past which neglected the RF interactions.
The effects of a spread in parallel velocity upon start oscillation current has been
evaluated from (42), but using for F 1 the function derived from (26) with (29) as the
distribution function. Results, in terms of 0= (o'-w)/knu are shown in Fig. 7 for
parallel velocity spreads (!1u/u) up to 20%. As is seen, the effect upon oscillator
starting current is almost imperceptible. This result is similar to those obtained by
others (Kreischer and Temkin 1983).
For a TE o l " rectangular cavity, it can easily be shown that the expression for the
starting current is similar to (42), except for the substitutions k ll =nrt/a, and
n3 (1 +a 2/n 2 b 2 ) 3 / 2 for (I +a 2 /b 2 ) 3 / 2 . We have evaluated this modified expression for
starting current for n = 2 and 3, using the cavity parameters listed above. For n = 2,
932 G. S. Park et al.

results for a cold beam with a-values between 2·7 and 2·9 are shown in Fig. 8, where
runs both with and without the RF magnetic field are given. Again, it is evident that
RF magnetic field contributions are very significant, even more so than for n= I. It
is also seen that, for the cavity parameters in these examples, much higher a-values
are needed to support higher-n oscillations than for n = 1. In Figs 9 and 10, the
effects of axial velocity spread upon starting current for the n = 2 and n = 3 cases are
shown. Here the magnitude of the minimum starting current is not influenced
significantly by velocity spreads up to 20%, although the detuning dependence is
altered for the higher spread values. This behaviour was noted by Kreischer and
Temkin (1983) as well.

3. Experimental arrangement and results

The 4·5 GHz, three-cavity gyroklystron amplifier at the Naval Research Labora-
tory was used in this study. A schematic of the experimental set-up is shown in Fig.
II. The gyroklystron was designed to be operated at the fundamental mode, and the
drift tubes are cut-off at the operating frequency. From efficiency considerations, the
third cavity is made longer than the first and second (Arfin and Ganguly 1982). All
the cavities are tunable by moving a foil membrane which forms one of the cavity
walls. A coupler for the second cavity is provided to monitor the level of electron
bunching and RF power level. The second cavity, which is the penultimate cavity of
a three-cavity gyroklystron, was used as a passive diagnostic cavity (i.e. a cavity free
of beam-driven oscillations) to measure loading and frequency shift. For optimum
operation of a gyroklystron, the effect on cavity loading due to parameters such as
beam current, external magnetic field and electron beam IX can be critical.
A magnetron injection gun (MIG) provides an annular beam which is injected
into the RF interaction region with a voltage of 30 kV and a current of up to 5 A. In
this double-anode MIG gun, the mod anode controls initial conditions on the
electron beam near the cathode and strongly influences the value of a. The external
magnetic field is supplied by eight conventional magnet coils in a stack which is
capable of operation up to 2000G. To optimize the beam parameters, a trim coil
which is shielded from the magnet stack by an iron plate is used for adjusting the

20 , ,

16 -e- 0.5.10.20%
'% spread in
axial valocitv
12
s
-;;
8 I- -

4 I- n.l -

0
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5
e
Figure 7. Start oscillation current as a function of e for parallel velocity spreads of 0, 5, 10
and 20% when k l =1t/a.
 Passive qyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 933

50

40

30
s
-Jil
20

10

0
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5
e
Figure 8. Start oscillation current as a function of (): (a) with RF magnetic field; (b) without
FR magnetic field. Beam {X-values of 2,7, 2·8 and 2·9 when k. =2rt/a.

magnetic field at the gun region. The experiment utilizes a modular with a 60 Hz
repetition rate and a 4 us pulse duration.
When a cavity is loaded with an electron beam, the value of Q is altered by the
resistive loading, and the value of the cavity resonant frequency is shifted by the
reactive loading. To analyse the effect of these two loadings in a passive cavity, the
cavity Q and cavity frequency are determined by measuring the reflected power as a
function of frequency and/or magnetic field. The cavity loading is expected to show
the influence of beam a and magnetic field for a given value of beam current as seen
from Fig. 5. In this figure, the theory given by (40) predicts that the electron beam
gives up its energy to the RF fields when a is greater than 1·5 at a magnetic field of
0·15 T corresponding to a value of - I· 5 for the detuning parameter, O. When the value
of A(I/Q} or gain function is positive, the electron beam gains energy from the input
RF fields. The loaded Q has been observed to decrease down to 60 from the
unloaded Q of 800 at the point of zero frequency shift. The expected behaviour of
the cavity frequency shift due to reactive beam loading with different a's is shown in

50

% spread in
40 axial velocity
. k 20 %

30

20

10

o
-1.8 -1.6 -1.4 -1.2 -1 -0.8 -0.6
9
Figure 9. Start oscillation current as a function of IJ for parallel velocity spreads of 0, 5, 10,
and 20% when k.=2rt/a.
934 G. S. Park et al.

300
0/0 spread 10
10%
250 axial yglodly

200 5%

~
Jj
150 0%

100

50
0-3
o
-1.6 -1.4 -1.2 -1 -0.8 -0.6
9
Figure 10. Start oscillation current as a function of (J for parallel velocity spreads of 0, 5, 10
and 20% when k. = 3rt/a.

Fig. 4 using (41). By plotting l1(l/Q) and cavity frequency shift as a function of the
magnetic field, parameters such as the effective cavity length, cavity filling factor and
IX can be determined by fitting the data to the curves. The theoretical predictions are
compared with experimental results.
The effective cavity length or effective k n of the cavity is experimentally
determined by measuring the frequencies of the three lowest modes, as the tuner
position is varied. From these three identified modes three dimensions of the
penultimate cavity are determined. The experimentally-determined effective cavity
length is 20% greater than that of an ideal rectangular closed cavity, since the beam
tunnel in each side of the cavity allows the electric field to leak into the drift tube. As
shown in Figs 12 and 13, if an ideal closed cavity length is used, the beam loading
effect will be underestimated. Experimental results are compared with the theory for
5 values of IX to determine the beam IX by the best fit. Also shown in the figures are
the calculated frequency shift and calculated change of Q using beam IX-values
determined using a modified Herrmannsfeldt code (Herrmannsfeldt 1979). The peak
frequency shift and maximum change of Q are shifted to higher magnetic fields when

Figure II. Schematic of NRL three-cavity gyroklystron amplifier.

 Passive qyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 935

30

20

'N 10
:I:
~
~ 0
s:
en
~
c: -10
Gl
:::l

~
u..
-20

-30

-40
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
B (T)
z
Figure 12. Effect of effective cavity length in frequency shift calculation.

a close cavity assumption is made, as compared with results using the effective cavity
length.
The cavity filling factor f is determined using (33). The value off was determined
to be 0·7 using the beam parameters simulated by the modified Herrmannsfeldt
code. When the beam oc is \·0, the maximum and minimum radial excursions of the
beam are I·S2cm and 0'38cm, respectively, where the radius of the beam channel is

0.03

0.025

Effectivecavity 1.0 II at B =0.12 T

0.02 length used ~ 0.9/ z
0.8
0.015
Q
~
0.7
0.5
<I
0.01

0.005

-0.005
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.2 0.22 0.24

Figure 13. Effect of effective cavity length in change in Q calculation.

936 G. S. Park et al.

15

10 • Experiment
IJ Code
N 5 Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
J:
~ Beam current: 1.52 A
.t: 0
:E 0.5
C/) 0.7
0.6
>- 0.9
0
c(I) -5
1.0

~
:::J
CT
!!! -10
u,
(l at Bz=O.12 T
-15

-20
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Bz(T)

Figure 14. Beam IX determination of measured frequency shift as a function of axial

magnetic field for beam current of 1·52A.

1·58 em. By inclusion of the cavity filling factor, the beam loading effect is lowered
by a factor off. All the calculations here use/=0'7, which value follows from (33).
This beam loading analysis in a passive gyrotron cavity enables estimates to be
made of the beam 0: as shown in Figs 14-20. The influence of the effective cavity
length and the cavity filling factor are included in all calculations. Three different

0.01
• Experiment
0.008 IJ Code
nat Bz=O.12 T
Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
0.006 Beam current: 1.52 A

Q
~ 0.004
<I

0.002

o
-0.002
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Bz(T)

Figure 15. Beam IX determination by measured change in Q as a function of axial magnetic

field for beam current of 1·52A.
 Passive qyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 937

30

20 • Experiment
c Code
N Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
:r: 10
~ Beam current: 2.82 A
~
:E 0 0.5
en 0.7
>. ~O.8
0 0.9
c -10
G> 1.0
:::)
CT
G>
It -20 t
a at Bz=O.12 T
-30

-40
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Bz (T)

Figure 16. Beam IX determination by measured frequency shift as a function of axial

magnetic field for beam current of 2·82A.

values of the beam current, 1·52A, 2·82 A and 4·06 A are used. In Figs. 14-19, the
magnetic fields are varied from 0·12 T to 0·22 T. The beam (X is assumed to vary
along the calculated curve in an adiabatic manner as the magnetic field changes. The
beam (X's (0'5,0'7,0,8,0,9 and 1,0) used in Figs 14-19 are the values at a magnetic
field of 0·12T. For the case of 1·52A as shown in Figs 14-15, the experimental

0.02

• Experiment
0.015 c Code

Beam voltage: 29.3 kV

Beam current: 2.82 A
~ 0.01
Q
....
~

0.005

-0.005
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Bz (T)

Figure 17. Beam IX determination by measured change in Q as a function of axial magnetic

field for beam current of 2·82A.
938 G. S. Park et al.

30
• Experiment
20
D Code
N
:r: 10 Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
~ Beam current: 4.06 A
~
:c
C/)
0 0.5
0.7
~ ___~u-::'- 0.8
c -10 0.9
eD
:::]
0- 1.0

~
eD
....
LL.
-20
0; at 8 z=0.12 T
-30

-40 I I I I I ! j
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
B (T)
2

Figure 18. Beam (l determination by measured frequency shift as a function of axial

magnetic field for beam current of 4·06A.

results for a are in good agreement with the modified Hernnannsfeldt code results.
The measured frequency shifts follow the theoretical curve (a=O'8 at B%=O'12T)
very closely. However, the measured ~(l/Q)'s follow best the theoretical curve for
a=O·7 at B%=O·12T. Errors in measurement increase as the frequency shift goes to
zero and ~(I /Q) becomes greater. The frequency shift is measured to an accuracy

0.03
• Experiment
0.025
D Code
0.02 Beam' voltage: 29.3 kV
Beam current: 4.06 A

8 0.015
~
--
.-
<I
0.01

0.005

-0.005
0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 0.24
Bz (T)

Figure 19. Beam (l determination by measured change in Q as a function of axial magnetic

field for beam current of 4·06A.
 Passive qyrotron cavity loading and frequency shift 939

35
0; a1.5
30 • Experiment
1.4
c Code
N 1.3
:t:
25
Beam voltage: 29.3 kV
e
.t:
Magnetic field: 1.573 kG
1.2
20 1.1
:i:
en 1.0
>.
(J
c 15 0.9
Q) 0.8
::J
CT
Q) 10
It
5

0
0 2 3 4 5 6
Current (A)

Figure 20. Beam ex determination by measured frequency shift as a function of beam current
for axial magnetic field of 1·573kG. (Beam ex spread is estimated as .... 6% by modified
Herrmannsfeldt code when beam current is 4·06A.)

varying from 1 MHz at best to 10MHz at worst. The cavity resonance frequency can
be measured more accurately than the cavity Q by observing measurements of
reflected power. The actual beam a's varied from 0·9 to 1·3 when the magnetic field
was varied from 0·135 T to 0·19 T, based on the assumption of adiabatic motion.
In Fig. 20, measurements of frequency shift are shown as a function of beam
current. The experimental results show that the beam lX increases from 1·1 to 1·3 as
the beam current increases from I A to 4·5 A, while a modified Herrmannsfeldt code
predicts the beam a is almost constant at 1·2 with variation of the beam current. A
beam probe measurement for the same gun by Armstrong et al. (1987) also showed
the same trend as the present measurement in some cases. Recently, measurements
by Guss et al. (1991) have shown that the beam (X is not a monotonically decreasing
or increasing function of beam current. Evidently, effects due to electron optics as
well as space charge determine beam a.

4. Conclusions
In this paper, the long-standing problems of gyrotron cavity loading and shift in
frequency due to the electron beam have been re-examined. This was motivated by
the absence in prior work of comprehensive measurements on a passive cavity, i.e. a
non-oscillating cavity. Previously, measurements of oscillator starting current were
the only legitimate tests of linearized theory, since the running frequency and power
output of a steady-state oscillator are determined by nonlinear effects.
A detailed theoretical exposition has been presented, based on methods devel-
oped 25 years ago, in order to examine questions such as the influence upon cavity
loading and frequency shift of cut-off beam tunnels, the importance of the beam
filling factor, the influence of pitch-angle spread, and the significance of neglecting
the RF magnetic field. Comparisons between measurements, made as a function of
940 G. S. Park et al.

DC magnetic field and DC beam current, allowed curve-fitting methods to be

applied to test the significance of the above questions. It is found that a consistent fit
amongst the various measurements only resulted when the influence of the beam
tunnels was taken into account, and only when the actual beam filling factor was
introduced. The effects of pitch-angle spread were shown to be insignificant for the
experimental parameters in this work. The beam «-values for the resulting best fit
experimental data for both change in Q and frequency shift were shown to be in
good agreement with values predicted from a modified Herrmannsfeldt code applied
to the MIG gun and the B-field profile for the apparatus used in the experiments, so
long as the adiabatic variations of (X with magnetic field were taken into account.
Calculations for oscillator starting currents for TE oI I and TE oln rectangular
cavities were presented, both including and neglecting the influence of the cavity RF
magnetic fields. At least for the examples chosen, it was shown that neglect of the
RF magnetic fields can lead to serious errors, both in the magnitudes and the
detuning dependences of the starting currents. This is in contrast to results published
by Brand et al. (1983), who showed that the neglect of RF magnetic fields did not
introduce significant errors, although their example was for a different cavity mode.
However, it would seem that if one can show that RF magnetic fields are important
in some examples it could be imprudent to neglect them elsewhere without a detailed'
justification. Such a justification was not given in some of the more prominent
publications (Kreischer and Temkin 1983, Jones and Lindsay 1986, Kreischer et al.
1984). The seriousness of the neglect of RF magnetic field is shown by our results to
be larger for cavities with n = 2 and 3 than for n = 1. The influence of pitch-angle
spread for a mono-energetic beam was shown to be relatively insignificant for
spreads less than 10%.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Helpful discussion with V. L. Granatstein were held. Support was provided by
the US Office of Naval Technology in collaboration with the US Naval Research
Laboratory.

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