Experimental Microwave Gain Measurements on a Recirculating Planar Crossed-Field Amplifier

The Recirculating Planar Crossed-Field Amplifier (RPCFA) is a high-power microwave amplifier adapted from the Recirculating Planar Magnetron developed at the University of Michigan.1 The RPCF A was designed in simulation using ANSYS HFSS and the particle-in-cell code MAGIC.2 The pulsed power for the RPCF A is provided by the Michigan Electron Long Beam Accelerator with Ceramic insulator stack (MELBA-C). In simulation, the RPCFA showed amplification of a 1.3 MW injected signal to 29 MW while retaining zero drive stability.