A Study of Interaction of an Electron Beam with a Strong High-Frequency Field in the Waveguide Switch of a High-Power Microwave Compressor

We present the results of simulating numerically the operation of a high-power active compressor of microwave radiation pulses in the 3-cm wavelength band with a waveguide switch activated by an electron beam. The influence of the nonlinear character of electron beam interaction with the high-frequency field in the switch on the output parameters of the compressor is discussed, and the simulation results are compared with the experimental data. It is shown that at a high power of the input radiation, the effect of electron expulsion from the region of the inhomogeneous field in the switch can lead to a decrease in the compressor gain and elongation of the leading front of the compressed pulse.