Improvement of the helical electron beam quality and the gyrotron efficiency by controlling the electric field distribution near a magnetron injection gun

A technique for controlling the electric field distribution near the cathode of a magnetron injection gun is developed. The feasibility of improving the quality of a helical electron beam by optimizing the electric field distribution in a pulsed 4-mm-wave gyrotron is studied theoretically and experimentally. Field distributions are obtained that minimize the electron velocity spread in the beam, coefficient of electron reflection from a magnetic mirror, and intensity of parasitic low-frequency oscillations. It is demonstrated that the gyrotron efficiency can be increased through a rise in the beam quality at the optimized electric field distribution.