Recent advances in the study of a long pulse relativistic backward wave oscillator

Laser interferometry was recently used to diagnose plasma formation and evolution in the slow wave structure (SWS) of a relativistic backward wave oscillator (BWO) during the course of microwave generation. The results indicated that plasma from the cutoff neck inlet contributed to the termination of the high power microwave pulse. In an effort to mitigate this pulse shortening effect, the authors have replaced the cutoff neck with a Bragg reflector. As part of these studies, they have observed the cross-excitation instability because of the particularly shallow-ripple SWS used. They present results from recent experiments performed with the long pulse relativistic BWO, including the implementation of a hybrid-hard tube BWO at the University of New Mexico (UNM).