Experimental study on ladder cathode L-band MILO

A ladder cathode L-band MILO is experimentally investigated. The measurement methods and measurement system are introduced. The proper cathode material is selected and the cathode emission of electrons is investigated, then one of the key factors is obtained, which results in an asymmetric microwave mode generated by symmetric MILO. Additionally, other factors are also investigated, which can affect the output microwave power such as the dimension of the diode shelter, the diameter of the choke vanes, the extraction gap, and so on. After experimental investigation, employing an electron beam of about 420 kV and 33 kA, ladder cathode L-band MILO generates 1.22~1.47 GW of high power microwave with over 20 ns of pulse duration at 1.21 GHz. The conversion efficiency between electrons and micro