Experimental study of a vircator with premodulated electron beam

An initial experimental study of a vircator where a feedback mechanism is used to premodulate the electron beam has been performed. The anode-cathode gap distance and the applied voltage were varied and their influence on the frequency content and field strength of the generated microwave pulse are investigated and compared with particle in cell simulations. The frequency content of the microwave radiation was in good agreement between experiments and simulations. The vircator was very narrow banded at 2 GHz.