High-efficiency virtual cathode oscillator with photonic crystal

Abstract

We study the properties of microwave generation in a virtual cathode oscillator with a photonic crystal composed of metal grids. Our simulation results show the high efficiency of photonic crystal structure utilization in comparison with the standard scheme of an axial virtual cathode oscillator: operation efficiency reaches 20% at the optimal parameters. The obtained results demonstrate that the virtual cathode oscillator with a photonic crystal can be considered as a prospective high-power microwave source where the vircator operation mechanism and photonic crystal properties complement each other to produce high-power electromagnetic radiation.