OSCILLATIONS AND CHAOS IN PLASMA-FILLED DIODES

A plasma-filled diode has four different regimes of operation: stable, oscillatory, chaotic, and unstable, So far only a special case of cha rge neutrality at the entrance electrode (alpha = n(i0)/n(e0) = 1) has been considered, In the present investigations the analysis has been extended to the more general case of alpha not equal 1, i.e., when the re is a net positive or negative charge present at the entrance electr ode, The device is frequently used as a model of modern microwave tube s such as vircators and split-cavity oscillators.