Experimental Classification and Enhanced Suppression of Parasitic Oscillations in Gyrotron Beam Tunnels

High-power gyrotrons may suffer from parasitic oscillations that are excited in the electron-beam compression zone. Different damping structures are proposed in the literature that reduce the possibility of parasitic excitation by increasing the starting currents of the modes. In this work, we focus on a dielectric-loaded (stacked) beam tunnel. Based on our previous theoretical studies, we make targeted modifications to the beam tunnel in order to classify the parasitic signals and localize the areas where they are excited. After two successive modifications, the beam tunnel exhibits improved behavior with higher starting currents of the parasitic modes. The experiments are performed by using a modular 170-GHz, 1-MW short-pulse gyrotron, which due to its flanged construction gives the possibility to modify the beam tunnel without affecting the rest of the tube.