Abstract
Controlling the phase and frequency of a gyrotron backward-wave oscillator (gyro-BWO) by means of injection-locking techniques is of practical importance. This study employed a nonlinear self-consistent time-independent code to analyze the nonlinear oscillation behavior of a driven gyro-BWO. There are three regimes in the driven gyro-BWO, including amplification, injection-locked oscillation, and mode competition regimes. Based on the theory of nonlinear oscillation, the amplification and injection-locked oscillation modes are the stable modes and compete with each other in the mode competition regime. An oscillator plane of the driven gyro-BWO is elucidated in the paper. This work demonstrates for the first time that the amplification mode transits to the injection-locked oscillation mode in the driven gyro-BWO. Moreover, the signification efficiency enhancement of the driven gyro-BWO over the free-running efficiency is found. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.