ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2026
Latest News
Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
V. E. Zapevalov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 2 | August 2007 | Pages 340-344
Technical Paper | Electron Cyclotron Wave Physics, Technology, and Applications - Part 1 | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1512
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Until recently, the development of new gyrotrons was directed mainly at the increase of their operating frequency, power, and efficiency. The output power of modern continuous-wave (cw) gyrotrons has reached 1 MW, and there is a clear tendency to increase this power further to at least up to 1.5 to 2 MW. The efficiency of the best gyrotron tubes reaches 40% without recovering the residual energy of the spent electron beam [collector potential depression (CPD)] in the continuous regimes and 50% in the pulsed one and achieves 50% with one-step CPD in the cw regimes and near 70% in the pulsed regimes. We analyze limitations of the gyrotron output power and efficiency imposed by systems forming helical electron beams, the cavity interaction processes, the transmitting capability of the output window, and the losses of stray radiation in the built-in converter and power dissipation on the collector (including CPD). Some specific examples in applying the different limits to real cases of gyrotrons are discussed. Ways to enhance the power and efficiency of gyrotrons based on the results of this analysis are shown.