CNES-Chalmers-IAP-ONERA-XLIM activities in the domain of high RF power breakdown phenomena

Multipactor breakdown is an important potential failure mechanism in many different microwave devices working under close to vacuum conditions. Applications range from space borne RF equipment to high-power microwave generators. The basic physics involved in the multipactor phenomenon is well known for the case of two infinite pallel plates made of metal. However, most realistic RF device geometries involve inhomogeneous RF electric fields and curved field lines and sometimes also dielectric material. The purpose of this paper is to set up methodologies to determine the Multipactor threshold in such situations.