Recent Status and Future Prospects of Coaxial-Cavity Gyrotron Development at KIT

Coaxial-cavity gyrotrons are microwave sources that can extend the possible power levels of hollow cavity gyrotrons significantly and make them attractive for future fusion experiments and power plants. KIT already demonstrated operation of a modular short-pulse 170 GHz coaxial-cavity gyrotron with an output power of 2.2 MW, operating in the TE34,19 mode. Today’s focus of KIT is the verification of this technology at longer pulses, which will prove the long-pulse capabilities also. At the moment, the current KIT prototype has been extended with cooling capabilities for all critical, highly loaded components of the tube and two new, different electron guns are available for operation. This paper will give an overview about the recent status and the future prospects connected to the coaxial-cavity gyrotron development at KIT, including both experimental and theoretical activities.