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Mode-joining longitudinal corrugations are studied as a means of high azimuthal mode selectivity for cavities of high-harmonic terahertz gyrotrons. Their number dictates the choice of the jointed operating mode, which has a form of strongly coupled co- and counter-rotating azimuthal harmonics. It is found that the distinctive feature of this mode is a weak dependence of eigenvalue and ohmic losses on corrugation size. First, this favors the use of mode-joining corrugations with variable depth for efficient suppression of all competing modes by both diffractive and ohmic losses in the gyrotron cavity. Second, this provides a good robustness of gyrotron performance against manufacturing errors in the size of corrugations and only a minor conversion of the operating mode to spurious modes at junctions of the corrugated cavity with smooth-walled waveguides. The beneficial properties of mode-joining corrugations are demonstrated by a cavity design for a gyrotron operated in the second-harmonic TE±9,4 and third-harmonic TE±18,4 modes at 398 GHz and 593 GHz, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper is based on the invited talk presented by the same authors at the 8th International Workshop on Far-Infrared Technologies (IW-FIRT 2021). It overviews some well-known and novel and emerging applications of gyrotrons in diverse scientific and technological fields and presents both the current status and the prospects of the research in such a wide area worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various regimes of hybrid, bulk-surface, modes being excited in the clinotron oscillator with a sheet electron beam and nonuniform grating have been studied theoretically. It is shown that higher output power of the hybrid mode in comparison with pure surface or bulk modes is due to an increase of a feedback and efficiency of the radiation output caused by radiating harmonic and due to high coupling factor caused by the surface harmonic. 2D PIC simulations predicted output power of dozens of Watts in 0.5–0.7 THz range provided by the 0.2 A, 17 kV beam with the output efficiency of up to 1%. The simulated frequency tuning range was about 5%. Mode competition has been discussed, in particular; it is shown that single or two mode operation, hysteresis effect, etc. are controlled by the waveguide height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the experimental study on the frequency tuning of a double-beam gyrotron, an unexpected abrupt increase of the output power was observed for some magnetic field values corresponding to the excitation of high-order axial modes (HOAM). This effect can be explained through an after-cavity interaction of the spent but bunched electron beam with the neighboring transverse mode which has the same azimuthal but the next (i.e., greater by one) radial index with respect to the operating mode. The calculations show that under certain conditions the cyclotron synchronism between the electron beam and the next radial mode occurs in the extended region of an output cone, while the bunching of the spent electron beam is responsible for the excitation of this mode. The influence of some additional factors such as reflections of both modes from the output window, electron velocity spread, and magnetic field profile was studied numerically. It was shown that reflections, mode transformation, and velocity spread can enhance the effect of an abrupt power increase and reduce the starting current of the operating mode. The discovered after-cavity interaction can be either useful for a power increase at the HOAM operation of the frequency-tunable gyrotron or harmful for high cyclotron harmonic operation due to an expansion of the zone of fundamental cyclotron resonance mode excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to investigate the clinical course of ocular damage and the healing process in eyes exposed to 162 GHz millimeter wave (MMW). As a 162-GHz electromagnetic wave source, a gyrotron FU CW GV was used. An ocular damaged rabbit model with good reproducibility for 162 GHz MMW exposure was developed, and damage occurrence threshold values were obtained. The right eyes of pigmented rabbits were exposed to 162 GHz from a spot-focus-type lens antenna, and the non-exposed contralateral eyes were used as control eyes. Slit-lamp examination 1 day after MMW exposure revealed a round area of opacity, characterized by fluorescein staining indicating damaged epithelial cells in the central pupillary zone. Corneal edema, indicative of corneal stromal damage, peaked 2–3 days after exposure, with thickness gradually subsiding to normal by 9 days after exposure. Power densities of 162 GHz MMW causing ocular damage with probabilities of 10, 50, and 90% obtained by probit analysis were 173, 252, and 368 mW/cm2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equi-distantly distributed multi-peak frequency spectrum was observed in a high-power 300-GHz band gyrotron for the case of strong reflection off the vacuum window. An oscillation mode different from the design mode can oscillate by adjusting the magnetic field in the cavity. However, a large fraction of the output wave is reflected by the vacuum window. The reflected wave returns to the cavity through an internal mode converter. The azimuthal rotating direction of the reflected wave is opposite to that of the oscillating mode. A theoretical calculation of mode competition between the oscillating co-rotating mode and the counter-rotating mode originating from the reflected wave very well reproduces the observed frequency spectrum. The multi-peak frequency spectrum stems from periodic amplitude oscillation caused by the mode competition between the co-rotating mode and the counter-rotating mode. The frequency interval between the peaks is not simply decided by the round-trip time between the cavity and the vacuum window but determined by the period of the amplitude oscillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sub-THz, second harmonic, multifrequency gyrotron, Gyrotron FU CW GVII, which radiates Gaussian beams, was developed. This device was designed to change the frequency in a stepwise manner in the range from 270 to 420 GHz. In this paper, we present the first experiments conducted using this gyrotron. Nine modes were selected for this study. The oscillation frequency of the selected modes was measured using a heterodyne system. The profiles of the Gaussian beams converted from the modes were assessed using an infrared camera, and the power of these beams was measured using a power meter. The oscillations of the nine second harmonic modes were successfully measured, and Gaussian beams converted from seven oscillation modes were observed. Four second harmonic modes, TE8,5, TE6,5, TE5,4, and TE2,6, oscillated in a single mode. The power of the beams ranged from 0.2 to 77 W. Even in the case of spurious oscillation of fundamental modes, the beams converted from the second harmonic modes could be separated from the fundamental mode beams by taking advantage of the different radiation directions emitted through the gyrotron window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present and discuss the new experimental results that characterize the output parameters, and the overall performance of the recently developed 0.8 THz double-beam gyrotron operating at the second harmonic of the cyclotron frequency on the TE8,5 mode. Alongside with this design mode, several other resonances excited at both the fundamental and second harmonic operations in a wide frequency range have been studied. These experiments demonstrate that the usage of a double-beam electron-optical system opens more possibilities for realization of such regimes of operation that otherwise are not accessible in a conventional (single-beam) gyrotron due to a severe competition between the neighboring modes and the narrowness of the zones of a stable single mode operation. Most notably, the results prove that second harmonic operation at higher beam currents and respectively at higher levels of the output power are possible as expected from the preceding theoretical considerations and numerical studies. The results of this study are helpful for getting a better insight in the physics of the operation of the double-beam gyrotrons and suggest some possibilities for further optimization of both the design of the tube and the experimental setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the transmission characteristics of hybrid modes in a corrugated circular waveguide above the Bragg frequency to develop a broad-band transmission line for millimeter waves. Millimeter waves at 294 GHz were transmitted into a straight waveguide. From observed power profiles in waveguide cross-sections, a high attenuation rate of 0.13 dB/m was obtained. To match a theoretical attenuation constant with the experimental one, we introduced an ad hoc coefficient of conventional surface reactance in the waveguide wall. This was necessary because the wall began to look like the surface with a decreasing anisotropic reactance owing to the frequency above the Bragg frequency. Using nonlinear optimization for mode content analysis, the observed power profiles in the waveguide cross-section were matched with theoretical profiles. There was good agreement between the calculated and observed centers of power profiles and attenuation rate along the waveguide. The theoretical analysis showed that the magnetic field at the waveguide wall increases and the substantial attenuation takes place. Above the Bragg frequency coupling to backwards propagating modes is a point of consideration. A combination of the backwards propagating EH and the forward propagating HE modes satisfied the Bragg condition at 294.7 GHz which was the nearest frequency of operating frequency. A strong attenuation of the incoming HE mode by Bragg resonance was not expected due to large difference of 0.7 GHz. It becomes clear that the observed high transmission loss outside of the Bragg resonance can be explained by a decrease in anisotropic surface reactance at the wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gyrotron FU CW GV has been developed as a multifrequency gyrotron for operation over the frequency range from 162 to 265 GHz at frequencies separated by steps of approximately 10 GHz. The oscillation modes were selected; the radii of the caustic surfaces for the electromagnetic waves of the modes had similar values in the waveguide, and it was therefore expected that these modes would be converted into Gaussian beams by a mode converter. In reality, more than ten modes oscillated and the Gaussian-like beams were radiated. A double-disk window with variable spacing maintains the transmittance through the window at a high level over a wide range of frequencies. Using this window, output powers of more than 1 kW were observed for almost all the expected modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gyrotron FU CW GII, the second gyrotron of the Gyrotron FU CW G-series with an internal quasi-optical mode converter, was recently developed at the Research Center for Development of Far-Infrared Region, University of Fukui (FIR FU) [Y. Tatematsu et al., J. Infrared, Millimeter, Terahertz Waves 35, 169 (2014)]. The design oscillation mode of this gyrotron is TE with a corresponding frequency of 393.4 GHz in the second harmonic cyclotron resonance. We observed oscillations of different modes including fundamental harmonic modes in the 200-GHz band upon varying the strength of the magnetic field in the cavity. Radiation patterns corresponding to these modes emitted from the window were Gaussian although the internal mode converter was designed for the TE mode. The directions of the radiated Gaussian beams were found to depend on the oscillation modes with a relation similar to that obtained for another gyrotron that was also equipped with a mode converter. This relation is explained based on geometrical optics. Moreover, numerical calculation with the electromagnetic wave code developed in FIR FU confirmed the same relation. The observed features of the Gyrotron FU CW GII show that it can serve as a unique power source with two frequency bands at 200 and 400 GHz. This result provides a way of developing multiple-frequency gyrotrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second harmonic gyrotrons, Gyrotron FU CW GII and Gyrotron FU CW GIII, were developed at the Research Center for Development of Far-Infrared Region, University of Fukui, Japan to achieve two goals. Each gyrotron was equipped with an internal quasi-optical mode converter. Using Gyrotron FU CW GII allowed the design of the cavity and mode converter to be validated, which was the first goal. After that, Gyrotron FU CW GIII, which is an improved version of Gyrotron FU CW GII, allowed us to achieve a high power output of up to 420 W, which was the second goal, with a cathode voltage setting of −21 kV and a beam current of 0.57 A. This was achieved using a newly developed electron gun and with the careful sitting of the gyrotron on the magnet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positronium is an ideal system for research on Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), especially in a bound state. A discrepancy of 3.9 standard deviations has been found between the measured hyperfine structure (Ps-HFS) and the QED predictions. This may be due to the contribution of unknown new physics or common systematic effects in previous measurements, in all of which the Zeeman effect was used. We propose a new method to directly measure the Ps-HFS using a high power gyrotron. We compare two resonators which have been developed to supply sufficient power to drive the direct transition, a Fabry-Pérot resonator and a ring resonator with a diffraction grating. We plan to perform first direct measurement of Ps-HFS within the next six months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of gyrotrons with an internal mode convertor has started in Research Center for Development of Far-Infrared Region, University of Fukui (FIR FU). As the first gyrotron of such a kind, we have designed and manufactured Gyrotron FU CW GI. It operates at 203 GHz at fundamental cyclotron resonance. We have designed a cavity and a mode convertor under some constraints such as reuse of an electron gun and small diameter of a magnet bore. Designed output power is about 1 kW. We have succeeded in observation of a circular radiation pattern. The maximum observed output power is 0.5 kW for the setting cathode voltage of 20 kV and the beam current of 0.5 A. This success makes gyrotron development in FIR FU to proceed to a new stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas breakdown in the millimetre-wave frequency band is an interesting phenomenon in nonlinear dynamics such as self-organized structure formation. We observed the transition between two types of filamentary plasma arrays in air discharge driven by a 303-GHz millimetre wave. Plasma is ignited at a parabolic mirror's focal point in the overcritical condition. One array parallel to the electric field vector appears with a spacing of λ/4 at the focal point. Filaments then separate into plasma lumps ~10 μs after ignition. At 20 μs, a new comb-shaped array grows in the subcritical condition. Filaments are parallel to the incident beam with spacing of 0.96 λ and elongate towards the incident beam. This comb-shaped array appears only in the electric field plane; bulk plasma with a sharp vertex forms in the magnetic field plane. This array is created by a standing wave structure generated by waves diffracted from the plasma surface. Filamentary plasma array formations can influence the energy absorption by the plasma, which is important for engineering applications such as beamed energy propulsion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]