Design and Simulation of a Cusp Gun for a Gyro-Amplifier and Comparison with Experiment.

Gyro-amplifiers have potential as the high frequency RF drivers for particle accelerators. They require relativistic electron beams with low velocity spread and with a high fraction of the electron energy associated with the cyclotron motion. For harmonic operation and mode control an axis-encircling beam is desirable. The passage of an electron beam through a non-adiabatic magnetic field reversal (cusp) converts part of the electron beam's axial velocity into axis-encircling transverse velocity. A cusp-based electron beam forming system, yielding a 10 MW, 150 kV, 70 A axis-encircling beam will be presented. This cusp gun is being designed as the electron beam source for a microwave gyro-amplifier that is relevant for high frequency accelerator applications. The latest results from numerical simulations and experiments are presented and compared