Publication

Abstract : The phenomenon of pulse shortening has a significant impact on the long-pulse operation of the magnetically insulated line oscillator (MILO). The radio frequency (RF) breakdown plasma formed on the surface of the slow wave structure (SWS) disks is widely regarded as the primary cause of pulse shortening in MILO. The degradation of metallic high-frequency structures due to RF breakdown significantly reduces power and pulse duration, limiting the advancement of high-power microwave (HPM) technology toward higher power levels and longer pulse regimes. Due to the complexity of the RF breakdown process, this work employs simulation-based analysis to qualitatively assess its effects on the performance of an axially partitioned dual-band MILO (DBMILO). In these simulations, simplified ion emission from disk surfaces was introduced to approximate the influence of RF breakdown plasma within the interaction structure. The model represents plasma effects through user-defined light and heavy ions without including self-consistent ionization or electron dynamics. The results indicate that the presence of light ions, particularly hydrogen, can perturb beam–wave interaction and reduce output power, indicating the potential significance of plasma effects on DBMILO performance.