Instability Entanglement in the Electron Cyclotron Maser

Abstract

Investigation of absolute instability (AI) and convective instability (CI) of the electron cyclotron maser has independently led to the birth of gyrotron oscillators and amplifiers. Here, it is demonstrated that these instabilities can form a cooperative relationship owing to the nonlinear behavior of the stimulated electron beam. The CI can be induced in a zero‐drive system with the assistance of AI, and the ohmic losses of all the excited waves inside the system are greatly reduced, which is called “instability entanglement” here. According to the theoretical and experimental study of a 167/330 GHz gyrotron, when instability entanglement occurs, the ohmic dissipation decreases to one‐ninth of the AI‐only condition, and the output power is enhanced by 20%. This discovery is promising for surpassing the ceiling of output power and frequency of gyrodevices placed by ohmic losses.