Development of a high-power THz radiation source for plasma diagnostics

A high power radiation source in the THz range with long pulse and narrow l ine width is required for diagnosing fusion type plasmas by collective Thom son scattering. Gyrotrons currently meet the requirements concerning power, pulse length and line width when operating in the 50-150 GHz range. They m ay have the potential also to do this in the THz range. In this paper two m ethods based on harmonic operation are investigated. Both look promising, i f high conversion efficiency can be attained. This, however, still has to b e demonstrated. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.