Dielectric Cherenkov masers as powerful amplifiers with superwide bandwidth

Here, we explore an important feature of dielectric Cherenkov masers (DCM's) that distinguishes them from other relativistic microwave devices. Most previous DCM experiments were carried out with rather thin dielectric liners or films. In this paper we show, however, that when the coefficient of waveguide filling with dielectric is not small, the beam-wave coupling doesn't depend on frequency, and, hence, superwide bandwidth is possible. The value of bandwidth is also determined by the current and velocity of the electron beam. DCM dispersion relations are examined both analytically, in the simplest model of total waveguide filling, and numerically, for a hollow beam in a waveguide with a dielectric liner. We show that a maximum value of bandwidth is achieved at a certain optimal value of the beam current for fixed velocity (and vice versa). Numerical results demonstrate a -3 db bandwidth of 40-50% at a peak gain of 40 dB for electron energies of 300-600 keV and beam currents of 1-10 kA.<
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