Cascaded Oscillators for High-Power Microwave Applications

Switched oscillators (SWOs) are a class of mesoband high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) sources that are built on wideband switching technology. SWOs are compact and simple, but relatively limited in maximum power. Inspired by the concept of the Marx generator, this article presents a model for cascaded SWOs whereby several oscillators are charged in parallel and then arranged to deliver their output to a common waveguide where the signals are combined. The combination is made coherent using the signal from the initial SWO to trigger the subsequent sources. By considering an optimized arrangement of the oscillators, the constructive interference between the oscillators leads to producing high power at the output of the waveguide. A simulation-based design procedure is provided to achieve this goal, followed by a discussion on the challenges in implementing the concept in future experiments.