Phase locking in backward-wave oscillators with strong end reflections

The theory of phase-locked oscillations in a backward-wave oscillator with strong end reflections is developed. Numerical results demonstrate that the locking bandwidth of such a device phase-locked by a prebunched electron beam can be twice the bandwidth of a resonator formed by a waveguide with strong end reflections. It is also shown that the device can operate with the efficiency exceeding 50% and that, in some cases, it can exhibit a hysteresis in the process of tuning the signal frequency. The applicability of the results obtained to the experiments with the plasma-assisted backward-wave oscillator currently underway at the University of Maryland is discussed.