Research progresses on Cherenkov and transit-time high-power microwave sources at NUDT

Research progresses on Cherenkov and transit-time high-power microwave(HPM)sources in National University of Defense Technology(NUDT)of China are presented.The research issues are focused on the following aspects.The pulse-shortening phenomenon in O-type Cerenkov HPM devices is suppressed.The compact coaxial relativistic backward-wave oscillators(RBWOs)at low bands are developed.The power efficiency in M-Type HPM tubes without guiding magnetic field increased.The power capacities and power efficiencies in the triaxial klystron amplifier(TKA)and relativistic transit-time oscillator(TTO)at higher frequencies increased.In experiments,some exciting results were obtained.The X-band source generated 2 GW microwave power with a pulse duration of 110 ns in 30 Hz repetition mode.Both L-and P-band compact RBWOs generated over 2 GW microwave power with a power efficiency of over 30%.There is approximately a 75% decline of the volume compared with that of conventional RBWO under the same power capacity conditions.A 1.755 GHz MILO produced 3.1 GW microwave power with power efficiency of 10.4%.A 9.37 GHz TKA produced the 240 MW microwave power with the gain of 34 dB.A 14.3 GHz TTO produced 1 GW microwave power with power efficiency of 20%.

An open-end high-power microwave-induced fracturing system for hard rock

Microwave pre-treatment is considered as a promising technique for alleviating cutter wear. This paper introduces a high-power microwave-induced fracturing system for hard rock. The test system consists of a high-power microwave subsystem (100 kW), a true triaxial testing machine, a dynamic monitoring subsystem, and an electromagnetic shielding subsystem. It can realize rapid microwave-induced fracturing, intelligent tuning of impedance, dynamic feedback under strong microwave fields, and active control of microwave parameters by addressing the following issues: the instability and insecurity of the system, the discharge breakdown between coaxial lines during high-power microwave output, and a lack of feedback of rock-microwave response. In this study, microwave-induced surface and borehole fracturing tests under true triaxial stress were carried out. Experimental comparisons imply that high-power microwave irradiation can reduce the fracturing time of hard rock and that the fracture range (160 mm) of a 915-MHz microwave source is about three times that of 2.45 GHz. After microwave-induced borehole fracturing, many tensile cracks occur on the rock surface and in the borehole: the maximum reduction of the P-wave velocity is 12.8%. The test results show that a high-power microwave source of 915 MHz is more conducive to assisting mechanical rock breaking and destressing. The system can promote the development of microwave-assisted rock breaking equipment.

A low-noise X-band microwave source with digital automatic frequency control for electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

We report a new design of microwave source for X-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer.The microwave source is equipped with a digital automatic frequency control circuit.The parameters of the digital automatic frequency control circuit can be flexibly configured for different experimental conditions,such as the input powers or the quality factors of the resonator.The configurability makes the microwave source universally compatible and greatly extends its application.To demonstrate the ability of adapting to various experimental conditions,the microwave source is tested by varying the input powers and the quality factors of the resonator.A satisfactory phase noise as low as-135 d Bc/Hz at 100-k Hz offset from the center frequency is achieved,due to the use of a phase-locked dielectric resonator oscillator and a direct digital synthesizer.Continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance experiments are conducted to examine the performance of the microwave source.The outstanding performance shows a prospect of wide applications of the microwave source in numerous fields of science.

Progress in Microwave Technology Applied to the Recovery of Precious Metals from the Secondary Resources

The recovery of precious metals from the secondary resources by microwave technology has emerged in recent years. Microwave technology as a new method for the recovery of precious metals has shown significant advantages against the conventional recovery procedures. This paper presents a review of the advances in microwave technology applied to the recovery of precious metals from the secondary resources. Many different applications are considered, including microwave-assisted leaching, microwave augmented ashing and microwave pyrolysis. In general, microwave enhanced recovery of precious metals from secondary resources.

Damage effects and mechanism of the silicon NPN monolithic composite transistor induced by high-power microwaves

A two-dimensional model of the silicon NPN monolithic composite transistor is established for the first time by utilizing the semiconductor device simulator, Sentaurus-TCAD. By analyzing the internal distributions of electric field, current density, and temperature of the device, a detailed investigation on the damage process and mechanism induced by high-power microwaves （HPM） is performed. The results indicate that the temperature elevation occurs in the negative half-period and the temperature drop process is in the positive half-period under the HPM injection from the output port. The damage point is located near the edge of the base-emitter junction of T2, while with the input injection it exists between the base and the emitter of T2. Comparing these two kinds of injection, the input injection is more likely to damage the device than the output injection. The dependences of the damage energy threshold and the damage power threshold causing the device failure on the pulse-width are obtained, and the formulas obtained have the same form as the experimental equations, which demonstrates that more power is required to destroy the device if the pulse-width is shorter. Furthermore, the simulation result in this paper has a good coincidence with the experimental result.

Investigation on latch-up susceptibility induced by high-power microwave in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor inverter

The latch-up effect induced by high-power microwave（HPM） in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor（CMOS） inverter is investigated in simulation and theory in this paper. The physical mechanisms of excess carrier injection and HPM-induced latch-up are proposed. Analysis on upset characteristic under pulsed wave reveals increasing susceptibility under shorter-width pulsed wave which satisfies experimental data, and the dependence of upset threshold on pulse repetitive frequency（PRF） is believed to be due to the accumulation of excess carriers. Moreover, the trend that HPMinduced latch-up is more likely to happen in shallow-well device is proposed.Finally, the process of self-recovery which is ever-reported in experiment with its correlation with supply voltage and power level is elaborated, and the conclusions are consistent with reported experimental results.

Spatial-temporal variations in near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River during the period 2002–2011 based on the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System(AMSR-E) data

Detecting near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in high-altitude cold regions is important for understanding the Earth＇s surface system, but such studies are rare. In this study, we detected the spatial-temporal variations in near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River（SRYR） during the period 2002–2011 based on data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System（AMSR-E）. Moreover, the trends of onset dates and durations of the soil freeze-thaw cycles under different stages were also analyzed. Results showed that the thresholds of daytime and nighttime brightness temperatures of the freeze-thaw algorithm for the SRYR were 257.59 and 261.28 K, respectively. At the spatial scale, the daily frozen surface（DFS） area and the daily surface freeze-thaw cycle surface（DFTS） area decreased by 0.08% and 0.25%, respectively, and the daily thawed surface（DTS） area increased by 0.36%. At the temporal scale, the dates of the onset of thawing and complete thawing advanced by 3.10（±1.4） and 2.46（±1.4） days, respectively; and the dates of the onset of freezing and complete freezing were delayed by 0.9（±1.4） and 1.6（±1.1） days, respectively. The duration of thawing increased by 0.72（±0.21） day/a and the duration of freezing decreased by 0.52（±0.26） day/a. In conclusion, increases in the annual minimum temperature and winter air temperature are the main factors for the advanced thawing and delayed freezing and for the increase in the duration of thawing and the decrease in the duration of freezing in the SRYR.

Comparison of different plasma chambers in microwave ion source for the intense neutron tube

The microwave absorption efficiency, which is relevant to magnet field and its distribution, is a major parameter of the microwave ion source (MWIS) for the intense neutron tube. Based on previous work, the relations between microwave absorption efficiency and plasma chamber structure and thickness of the microwave introduction window are studied. The microwave absorption efficiency reaches to 100% when plasma chamber is 100mm long and the window thickness is 30mm. The microwave absorption efficiency as a function of pressure is also presented.

High-power microwave propagation properties in the argon plasma array

The argon plasma induced by the L-/C-band high-power microwave(HPM) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Influences of the microwave power, pulse width, polarization and the plasma electron density on the protection performance of the plasma array against HPM are studied. The results show that the effect of HPM is caused by energy accumulation, with the gas breakdown emerging only after a short time. The attenuation of the wave by the plasma array with the tubes off can reach approximately 23 dB at 1.3 GHz. It can also be obtained that the protection performance of the plasma array against the TE wave is better than that against the TM one. The plasma array shows better protection performance in the L-band than in the C-band. In addition,the attenuation of 5.6 GHz HPM can reach 30 dB when the tubes are turned on in the experiment.The research shows that the plasma array has protection ability against HPM.

Analysis of High-Power Microwave Propagation in a Magnetized Plasma Filled Waveguide

Plasma filling can dramatically improve the performance of high power microwave devices. The characteristics of high-power microwave propagation along plasma filled waveguides in an axial magnetic field are analyzed in this paper, and the ponderomotive force effect of high power microwave is taken into consideration. Theoretical analysis and preliminary numerical calculations are performed. The analyses show that the ponderomotive effect would change the plasma density, distribution of microwave field intensity, and dispersion of wave propagation. The higher the microwave power, the stronger the ponderomotive effect. In different magnetic fields, the ponderomotive effect is different.

Short-pulse high-power microwave breakdown at high pressures

The fluid model is proposed to investigate the gas breakdown driven by a short-pulse（such as a Gaussian pulse） highpower microwave at high pressures.However,the fluid model requires specification of the electron energy distribution function（EEDF）;the common assumption of a Maxwellian EEDF can result in the inaccurate breakdown prediction when the electrons are not in equilibrium.We confirm that the influence of the incident pulse shape on the EEDF is tiny at high pressures by using the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision（PIC-MCC） model.As a result,the EEDF for a rectangular microwave pulse directly derived from the Boltzmann equation solver Bolsig＋ is introduced into the fluid model for predicting the breakdown threshold of the non-rectangular pulse over a wide range of pressures,and the obtained results are very well matched with those of the PIC-MCC simulations.The time evolution of a non-rectangular pulse breakdown in gas,obtained by the fluid model with the EEDF from Bolsig＋,is presented and analyzed at different pressures.In addition,the effect of the incident pulse shape on the gas breakdown is discussed.

An investigation on improving the homogeneity of plasma generated by linear microwave plasma source with a length of 1550 mm

To develop a larger in-line plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD)device,the length of the linear microwave plasma source needs to be increased to 1550 mm.This paper proposes a solution to the problem of plasma inhomogeneity caused by increasing device length.Based on the COMSOL Multiphysics,a multi-physics field coupling model for in-line PECVD device is developed and validated.The effects of microwave power,chamber pressure,and magnetic flux density on the plasma distribution are investigated,respectively,and their corresponding optimized values are obtained.This paper also presents a new strategy to optimize the wafer position to achieve the balance between deposition rate and film quality.Numerical results have indicated that increasing microwave power and magnetic flux density or decreasing chamber pressure all play positive roles in improving plasma homogeneity,and among them,the microwave power is the most decisive influencing factor.It is found that the plasma homogeneity is optimal under the condition of microwave power at 2000 W,chamber pressure at 15 Pa,and magnetic field strength at 45 mT.The relative deviation is within−3.7%to 3.9%,which fully satisfies the process requirements of the equipment.The best position for the wafer is 88 mm from the copper antenna.The results are very valuable for improving the quality of the in-line PECVD device.

Design of High-power Microwave Waveguide Divider

A new LHW antenna will be used in LHCD system on tokanak HT-7U, where a high-power microwave waveguide power divider is a key device. This paper presents the power divider structure whose coupling element is in the common narrow wall between two identical waveguides, a certain of which is completely excavated. Green's Function Method is used to analyze the electric field distributions of the structure, and consequently the graphs between the scattering matrix and the geometrical dimensions are given. The graphs can be straightly applied to the process of the power divider.

The microwave absorption of ceramic-cup microwave ion source

An experiment system of ceramic-cup microwave ion source has been built here. Its microwave absorption efficiency as a function of the magnetic field and the pressure is presented. When the microwave incident power is 300-500W the microwave absorption efficiencies are more than 90% if the system is optimized and the magnetic field at the microwave window is 0.095T.

Nonlinear Properties of an Inhomogeneous Diode Structure in a Strong Microwave Field

Results of experimental investigation of detection (rectification) of high power X-band microwave signal in diodes of various design (semiconductor p-n-junction, point-contact, Schottky, Metal-Isolator-Metal—MIM) are reported. The maximum of the detected direct voltage V vs. power P of microwave signal and subsequent polarity reversal, previously found in MIM diodes in the optical and microwave bands, have found to be characteristic of all investigated diodes as well. After the reversal of polarity, this dependence comes linear, and the sign of the voltage corresponds to thermoEMF. In some diodes, the hysteresis on V(P) was observed. All 5 types of V(P) of MIM diodes (have made from different pairs of metals), reported earlier, were reproduced on same p-n-junction diode by variable external DC bias. These results joined with abnormal frequency cutoff forced to suggest that there is an unknown mechanism for direct flow of charge carriers (and for generate direct current) in the high-frequency electrical field, which differs from the conventional rectification.

Recent progress of parameter-adjustable high-power photonic microwave generation based on wide-bandgap photoconductive semiconductors

Radio frequency/microwave-directed energy sources using wide bandgap SiC photoconductive semiconductors have attracted much attention due to their unique advantages of high-power output and multi-parameter adjustable ability.Over the past several years,benefitting from the sustainable innovations in laser technology and the significant progress in materials technology,megawatt-class output power electrical pulses with a flexible frequency in the P and L microwave wavebands have been achieved by photoconductive semiconductor devices.Here,we mainly summarize and review the recent progress of the high-power photonic microwave generation based on the SiC photoconductive semiconductor devices in the linear modulation mode,including the mechanism,system architecture,critical technology,and experimental demonstration of the proposed high-power photonic microwave sources.The outlooks and challenges for the future of multi-channel power synthesis development of higher power photonic microwave using wide bandgap photoconductors are also discussed.

Microwave damage susceptibility trend of a bipolar transistor as a function of frequency

We conduct a theoretical study of the damage susceptibility trend of a typical bipolar transistor induced by a high-power microwave （HPM） as a function of frequency. The dependences of the burnout time and the damage power on the signal frequency are obtained. Studies of the internal damage process and the mechanism of the device are carried out from the variation analysis of the distribution of the electric field, current density, and temperature. The investigation shows that the burnout time linearly depends on the signal frequency. The current density and the electric field at the damage position decrease with increasing frequency. Meanwhile, the temperature elevation occurs in the area between the p-n junction and the n n＋ interface due to the increase of the electric field. Adopting the data analysis software, the relationship between the damage power and frequency is obtained. Moreover, the thickness of the substrate has a significant effect on the burnout time.

Hardening measures for bipolar transistors against microwave-induced damage

In the present paper we study the influences of the bias voltage and the external components on the damage progress of a bipolar transistor induced by high-power microwaves. The mechanism is presented by analyzing the variation in the internal distribution of the temperature in the device. The findings show that the device becomes less vulnerable to damage with an increase in bias voltage. Both the series diode at the base and the relatively low series resistance at the emitter, Re, can obviously prolong the burnout time of the device. However, Re will aid damage to the device when the value is sufficiently high due to the fact that the highest hot spot shifts from the base-emitter junction to the base region. Moreover, the series resistance at the base Rb will weaken the capability of the device to withstand microwave damage.

Dependence of plasma structure and propagation on microwave amplitude and frequency during breakdown of atmospheric pressure air

The structure and propagation of the plasma in air breakdown driven by high-power microwave have attracted great interest.This paper focuses on the microwave amplitude and frequency dependence of plasma formation at atmospheric pressure using one two-dimensional model,which is based on Maxwell’s equations coupled with plasma fluid equations.In this model,we adopt the effective electron diffusion coefficient,which can describe well the change from free diffusion in a plasma front to ambipolar diffusion in the bulk plasma.The filamentary plasma arrays observed in experiments are well reproduced in the simulations.The density and propagation speed of the plasma from the simulations are also close to the corresponding experimental data.The size of plasma filament parallel to the electric field decreases with increasing frequency,and it increases with the electric field amplitude.The distance between adjacent plasma filaments is close to one-quarter wavelength under different frequencies and amplitudes.The plasma propagation speed shows little change with the frequency,and it increases with the amplitude.The variations of plasma structure and propagation with the amplitude and frequency are due to the change in the distribution of the electric field.

Balmer H_α,H_β and H_γ Spectral Lines Intensities in High-Power RF Hydrogen Plasmas

Hα（Balmer-alpha）, Hβ （Balmer-beta） and Hγ （Balmer-gamma） spectral line inten- sities in atomic hydrogen plasma are investigated by using a high-power RF source. The intensities of the Hα, Hβ and Hγ spectral lines are detected by increasing the input power （0-6 kW） of ICPs （inductively coupled plasmas）. With the increase of net input power, the intensity of Hα im- proves rapidly （0-2 kW）, and then reaches its dynamic equilibrium; the intensities of Hβ can be divided into three processes： obvious increase （0-2 kW）, rapid increase （2-4 kW）, almost constant （4-6 kW）; while the intensities of Hγ increase very slowly. The energy levels of the excited hydro- gen atoms and the splitting energy levels produced by an obvious Stark effect play an important role in the results.