Observation of a resonant enhancement of microwave radiation from a gas-filled backward wave oscillator

Abstract
High-power microwave radiation at 8 GHz from a gas-filled backward wave oscillator driven by an intense relativistic electron beam has been measured. It has been observed that an order of magnitude resonant increase in microwave output power occurs at a particular pressure of the background gas. This resonance has also been observed to be strongly dependent on the value of applied axial magnetic field. Possible explanations for the observed results are discussed.