Cavity magnetron

Magnetron redirects here. It is not to be confused with

Megatron or Metatron.
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum

Obsolete 9 GHz magnetron tube and magnets from a Soviet aircraft radar. The tube is embraced between the poles of two
horseshoe-shaped alnico magnets (top, bottom), which create a
magnetic eld along the axis of the tube. The microwaves are
emitted from the waveguide aperture (top) which in use is attached to a waveguide conducting the microwaves to the radar
antenna. Modern tubes use rare earth magnets which are much
less bulky.

Magnetron with section removed to exhibit the cavities. The cathode in the center is not visible. The waveguide emitting microwaves is at the left. The magnet producing a eld parallel
to the long axis of the device is not shown.

generating a microwave signal from direct current power

supplied to the tube.
The rst form of magnetron tube, the split-anode magnetron, was invented by Albert Hull in 1920, but it wasn't
capable of high frequencies and was of little use. Similar
devices were experimented with by many teams through
the 1920s and 1930s. On November 27, 1935, Hans
Erich Hollmann applied for a patent for the rst multiple cavities magnetron, which he received on July 12,
1938,[1] but the more stable klystron was preferred for
most German radars during World War II. The cavity
magnetron tube was later improved by John Randall and
Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of Birmingham,
England.[2] The high power of pulses from their device
made centimeter-band radar practical for the Allies of
World War II, with shorter wavelength radars allowing
detection of smaller objects from smaller antennas. The
compact cavity magnetron tube drastically reduced the
size of radar sets[3] so that they could be more easily installed in night-ghter aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft[4]
and escort ships.[3]

A similar magnetron with a dierent section removed. Central

cathode is visible; antenna conducting microwaves at the top;
magnet is not shown.

tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of

a stream of electrons with a magnetic eld while moving
past a series of open metal cavities (cavity resonators).
Bunches of electrons passing by the openings to the cavities excite radio wave oscillations in the cavity, much
as a guitars strings excite sound in its sound box. The
frequency of the microwaves produced, the resonant frequency, is determined by the cavities physical dimensions. Unlike other microwave tubes, such as the klystron
and traveling-wave tube (TWT), the magnetron cannot
function as an amplier, increasing the power of an applied microwave signal; it serves solely as an oscillator,

In the post-war era the magnetron became less widely

used in the radar role. This was because the magnetrons
output changes from pulse to pulse, both in frequency
and phase. This makes the signal unsuitable for pulseto-pulse comparisons, which is widely used for detecting and removing "clutter" from the radar display.[5] The
magnetron remains in use in some radars, but has become
1

1 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION

much more common as a low-cost microwave source for tube designs that would avoid his patents. One concept
microwave ovens. In this form, approximately one billion used a magnetic eld instead of an electrical charge to
magnetrons are in use today.[5][6]
control current ow, leading to the development of the
magnetron tube. In this design, the tube was made with
two electrodes, typically with the cathode in the form of
a metal rod in the center, and the anode as a cylinder
1 Construction and operation
around it. The tube was placed between the poles of a
horseshoe magnet[8] arranged such that the magnetic eld
1.1 Conventional tube design
was aligned parallel to the axis of the electrodes.
With no magnetic eld present, the tube operates as a
diode, with electrons owing directly from the cathode
to the anode. In the presence of the magnetic eld, the
electrons will experience a force at right angles to their
direction of motion, according to the left-hand rule. In
this case, the electrons follow a curved path between the
cathode and anode. The curvature of the path can be
controlled by varying either the magnetic eld, using an
electromagnet, or by changing the electrical potential beIn an electron tube, the current of electrons emitted by tween the electrodes.
the cathode can ow in only one direction, from the cathode to the anode. This property can be used to convert At very high magnetic eld settings the electrons are
bi-directional current ow alternating current, to one- forced back onto the cathode, preventing current ow. At
directional current ow direct current, a process known the opposite extreme, with no eld, the electrons are free
as "rectication. A tube used for this purpose (usually to ow straight from the cathode to the anode. There is
called a rectier tube) has only two electrodes (which a point between the two extremes, the critical value or
is why it is called a "diode"), a negatively charged cath- Hull cut-o magnetic eld (and cut-o voltage), where
ode, which emits electrons and a positively charged an- the electrons just reach the anode. At elds around this
ode, which attracts the electrons that have been emitted point, the device operates similar to a triode. However,
by the cathode. Thus a current of electrons ows in magnetic control, due to hysteresis and other eects, reone direction only, from the cathode to the anode. (How- sults in a slower and less faithful response to control curever, a two-anode version was also produced, permitting rent than electrostatic control using a control grid in a
full-wave rectication and thus higher DC output energy. conventional triode (not to mention greater weight and
saw limited use in convenThe Type 81 vacuum tube, widely used in 1930s radio complexity), so magnetrons
[8]
tional
electronic
designs.
sets, is an example. It largely replaced the earlier Type
80 single-anode tube.) If a source of alternating current It was noticed that when the magnetron was operating
is connected between the anode and the cathode, current at the critical value, it would emit energy in the radio
will only ow during the half of the alternating current cy- frequency spectrum.[8] This occurs because a few of the
cle when the anode is positive in relation to the cathode, electrons, instead of reaching the anode, continue to cirthus the bi-directional alternating current is converted cle in the space between the cathode and the anode. Due
to a uni-directional direct current. (The two-anode tube to an eect now known as cyclotron radiation, these elecallows DC current to ow during both halves of the alter- trons radiate radio frequency energy. The eect is not
nating current cycle.)
very ecient. Eventually the electrons hit one of the elecIf a third electrode is inserted between the cathode and trodes, so the number in the circulating state at any given
the anode (called a control grid), the ow of electrons be- time is a small percentage of the overall current. It was
tween the cathode and anode can be regulated by varying also noticed that the frequency of the radiation depends
the electric charge on this third electrode. This allows on the size of the tube, and even early examples were built
the resulting electron tube (called a "triode" because it that produced signals in the microwave region.
In a conventional electron tube (vacuum tube), electrons
are emitted from a negatively charged, heated component called the cathode and are attracted to a positively
charged component called the anode. The components
are normally arranged concentrically, placed within a
tubular-shaped container from which all air has been
evacuated, so that the electrons can move freely (hence
the name vacuum tubes, called valves by the British)

now has three electrodes) to function as an "amplier" because small variations in the electric charge applied to the
control grid will result in identical variations in the much
larger current of electrons owing between the cathode
and anode.[7]

1.2

Hull or single-anode magnetron

The idea of using a grid for control was patented by Lee

de Forest, resulting in considerable research into alternate

Early conventional tube systems were limited to the high

frequency bands, and although very high frequency systems became widely available in the late 1930s, the ultra
high frequency and microwave regions were well beyond
the ability of conventional circuits. The magnetron was
one of the few devices able to generate signals in the microwave band and it was the only one that was able to
produce high power at centimeter wavelengths.

1.4

1.3

Cavity magnetron

Split-anode magnetron

3
a runaway eect.[8]

1.4 Cavity magnetron

Split-anode magnetron from 1935. (left) The bare tube, about 11

cm high. (right) Installed for use between the poles of a strong
permanent magnet

The original magnetron was very dicult to keep operating at the critical value, and even then the number of
electrons in the circling state at any time was fairly low.
This meant that it produced very low-power signals. Nevertheless, as one of the few devices known to create microwaves, interest in the device and potential improvements was widespread.

Cutaway drawing of a cavity magnetron from 1984. Part of the

righthand magnet and copper anode block is cut away to show the
cathode and cavities. This older magnetron uses two horseshoe
shaped alnico magnets, modern tubes use rare earth magnets.

The great advance in magnetron design was the cavity

magnetron or electron-resonance magnetron, which
The rst major improvement was the split-anode mag- works on entirely dierent principles. In this design the
netron, also known as a negative-resistance mag- oscillation is created by the physical shaping of the anode,
netron. As the name implies, this design used an anode rather than external circuits or elds.
that was split in two, creating two half-cylinders. When Mechanically, the cavity magnetron consists of a large
both were charged to the same voltage the system worked cylinder of metal with a hole drilled through the center of
like the original model. But by altering the voltage of the circular face. A wire acting as the cathode is run down the
two plates, the electrons trajectory could be modied so center of this hole, and the metal block itself forms the anthat they would naturally travel towards the lower volt- ode. Around this hole, known as the interaction space,
age side. The plates were connected to an oscillator that are a number of similar holes drilled parallel to the interreversed the relative voltage of the two plates at a given
action space, separated only a very short distance away.
frequency.[8]
A small slot is cut between the interaction space and each
At any given instant, the electron will naturally be pushed
towards the lower-voltage side of the tube. The electron
will then oscillate back and forth as the voltage changes.
At the same time, a strong magnetic eld is applied,
stronger than the critical value in the original design. This
would normally cause the electron to circle back to the
cathode, but due to the oscillating electrical eld, the
electron instead follows a looping path that continues toward the anodes.[8]

of these additional holes, the resonators. The resulting block looks something like the cylinder on a revolver,
with a somewhat larger central hole. (Early models were
actually cut using Colt pistol jigs.) The parallel sides of
the slots acted as a capacitor while the anode block itself
provided an inductor analog. Thus, each cavity formed its
own resonant circuit, the frequency of which was dened
by the energy of the electrons and the physical dimensions
of the cavity.[8]

Since all of the electrons in the ow experienced this

looping motion, the amount of RF energy being radiated
was greatly improved. And as the motion occurred at any
eld level beyond the critical value, it was no longer necessary to carefully tune the elds and voltages, and the
overall stability of the device was greatly improved. Unfortunately, the higher eld also meant that electrons often circled back to the cathode, depositing their energy
on it and causing it to heat up. As this normally causes
more electrons to be released, it could sometimes lead to

The magnetic eld is set to a value well below the critical,

so the electrons follow arcing paths towards the anode.
When they strike the anode, they cause it to become negatively charged in that region. As this process is random,
some areas will become more or less charged than the areas around them. The anode is constructed of a highly
conductive material, almost always copper, so these differences in voltage cause currents to appear to even them
out. Since the current has to ow around the outside of
the cavity, this process takes time. During that time addi-

4
tional electrons will avoid the hot spots and be deposited
further along the anode, as the additional current owing around it arrives too. This causes an oscillating current to form as the current tries to equalize one spot, then
another.[9]
The oscillating currents owing around the cavities, and
their eect on the electron ow within the tube, causes
large amounts of microwave radiofrequency energy to be
generated in the cavities. The cavities are open on one
end, so the entire mechanism forms a single larger microwave oscillator. A tap, normally a wire formed into
a loop, extracts microwave energy from one of the cavities. In some systems the tap wire is replaced by an
open hole, which allows the microwaves to ow into a
waveguide.
As the oscillation takes some time to set up, and is inherently random at the start, subsequent startups will
have dierent output parameters. Phase is almost never
preserved, which makes the magnetron dicult to use
in phased array systems. Frequency also drifts pulse
to pulse, a more dicult problem for a wider array of
radar systems. Neither of these present a problem for
continuous-wave radars, nor for microwave ovens.

3 APPLICATIONS

Output coupling
loop

Resonating cavity

Copper
anode block

Oxide-coated
cathode

Leads to cathode
& heater

Resonant cavity magnetron high-power

high-frequency oscillator

A cross-sectional diagram of a resonant cavity magnetron. Magnetic lines of force are parallel to the geometric axis of this structure.

the receiver can be synchronized with an imprecise magnetron frequency. Where precise frequencies are needed,
other devices, such as the klystron are used.

The magnetron is a self-oscillating device requiring no

external elements other than a power supply. A welldened threshold anode voltage must be applied before
oscillation will build up; this voltage is a function of the
2 Common features
dimensions of the resonant cavity, and the applied magnetic eld. In pulsed applications there is a delay of sevAll cavity magnetrons consist of a heated cathode placed eral cycles before the oscillator achieves full peak power,
at a high (continuous or pulsed) negative potential cre- and the build-up of anode voltage must be coordinated
ated by a high-voltage, direct-current power supply. The with the build-up of oscillator output.[10]
cathode is placed in the center of an evacuated, lobed, cirWhere there are an even number of cavities, two concencular chamber. A magnetic eld parallel to the lament
tric rings can connect alternate cavity walls to prevent inis imposed by a permanent magnet. The magnetic eld
ecient modes of oscillation. This is called Pi strapping
causes the electrons, attracted to the (relatively) positive
because the two straps lock the phase dierence between
outer part of the chamber, to spiral outward in a circular
adjacent cavities at Pi radians (180).
path, a consequence of the Lorentz force. Spaced around
the rim of the chamber are cylindrical cavities. Slots are The modern magnetron is a fairly ecient device. In a
cut along the length of the cavities that open into the cen- microwave oven, for instance, a 1.1 kilowatt input will
tral, common cavity space. As electrons sweep past these generally create about 700 watts of microwave power,
slots, they induce a high-frequency radio eld in each res- an eciency of around 65%. (The high-voltage and the
onant cavity, which in turn causes the electrons to bunch properties of the cathode determine the power of a maginto groups. (This principle of cavity resonator is very netron.) Large S band magnetrons can produce up to 2.5
similar to blowing a stream of air across the open top of megawatts peak power with an average power of 3.75
a glass pop bottle.) A portion of the radio frequency en- kW.[10] Some large magnetrons are water cooled. The
ergy is extracted by a short antenna that is connected to magnetron remains in widespread use in roles which rea waveguide (a metal tube, usually of rectangular cross quire high power, but where precise control over fresection). The waveguide directs the extracted RF energy quency and phase is unimportant.
to the load, which may be a cooking chamber in a microwave oven or a high-gain antenna in the case of radar.
The sizes of the cavities determine the resonant fre- 3 Applications
quency, and thereby the frequency of the emitted microwaves. However, the frequency is not precisely controllable. The operating frequency varies with changes in 3.1 Radar
load impedance, with changes in the supply current, and
with the temperature of the tube.[10] This is not a problem Main article: History of radar (Centimetric radar)
in uses such as heating, or in some forms of radar where

3.2

Heating

3.2 Heating

9.375 GHz 20 kW (peak) magnetron assembly for an early commercial airport radar in 1947. In addition to the magnetron
(right), it contains a TR (transmit/receive) switch tube and the
superheterodyne receiver front end, a 2K25 reex klystron tube
local oscillator and a 1N21 germanium diode mixer. The waveguide aperture (left) is connected to the waveguide going to the
antenna.

In a radar set, the magnetrons waveguide is connected

to an antenna. The magnetron is operated with very short
pulses of applied voltage, resulting in a short pulse of high
power microwave energy being radiated. As in all primary radar systems, the radiation reected o a target is
analyzed to produce a radar map on a screen.
Several characteristics of the magnetrons output make
radar use of the device somewhat problematic. The rst
of these factors is the magnetrons inherent instability in
its transmitter frequency. This instability results not only
in frequency shifts from one pulse to the next, but also
a frequency shift within an individual transmitted pulse.
The second factor is that the energy of the transmitted
pulse is spread over a relatively wide frequency spectrum, which requires the receiver to have a correspondingly wide bandwidth. This wide bandwidth allows ambient electrical noise to be accepted into the receiver, thus
obscuring somewhat the weak radar echoes, thereby reducing overall receiver signal-to-noise ratio and thus performance. The third factor, depending on application,
is the radiation hazard caused by the use of high power
electromagnetic radiation. In some applications, for example a marine radar mounted on a recreational vessel, a
radar with a magnetron output of 2 to 4 kilowatts is often found mounted very near an area occupied by crew or
passengers. In practical use these factors have been overcome, or merely accepted, and there are today thousands
of magnetron aviation and marine radar units in service.
Recent advances in aviation weather avoidance radar and
in marine radar have successfully replaced the magnetron
with semiconductor microwave oscillators, which have a
narrower output frequency range. These allow a narrower
receiver bandwidth to be used, and the higher signal to
noise ratio in turn allows a lower transmitter power, reducing exposure to EMR.

Magnetron from a microwave oven with magnet in its mounting

box. The horizontal plates form a heat sink, cooled by airow
from a fan. The magnetic eld is produced by two powerful ring
magnets, the lower of which is just visible. Almost all modern
oven magnetrons are of similar layout and appearance.

In microwave ovens, the waveguide leads to a radio

frequency-transparent port into the cooking chamber. As
the xed dimensions of the chamber, and its physical
closeness to the magnetron, would normally create standing wave patterns in the chamber, a motorized fan-like
stirrer is placed in the waveguide to randomize the pattern. This is not always eective for larger objects in the
chamber, and most modern microwave ovens also include
a rotating table for the food to sit on, the turntable.

3.3 Lighting
In microwave-excited lighting systems, such as a sulfur
lamp, a magnetron provides the microwave eld that is
passed through a waveguide to the lighting cavity containing the light-emitting substance (e.g., sulfur, metal
halides, etc.). These lamps are much more complex than
other methods of lighting, and not commonly used though
ecient.

4 History
In 1912, Swiss physicist Heinrich Greinacher was looking for new ways to calculate the electron mass. He settled
on a system consisting of a diode with a cylindrical anode

HISTORY

surrounding a rod-shaped cathode, placed in the middle

of a magnet. The attempt to measure the electron mass
failed because he was unable to achieve a good vacuum in
the tube. However, as part of this work, Greinacher developed mathematical models of the motion of the electrons in the crossed magnetic and electric elds.[11][12]
In the US, Albert Hull put this work to use in an attempt
to bypass Western Electric's patents on the triode, which
they had gained by buying Lee De Forest's patents on the
control of current ow using electric elds via the grid.
Hull intended to use a variable magnetic eld, instead
of an electrostatic one, to control the ow of the electrons from the cathode to the anode. Working at General
Electric's Research Laboratories in Schenectady, New
York, Hull built tubes that provided switching through
the control of the ratio of the magnetic and electric eld
strengths. He released several papers and patents on the
concept in 1921.[13]
Hulls magnetron was not originally intended to generate VHF (very-high-frequency) electromagnetic waves.
However, in 1924, Czech physicist August ek[14]
(18861961) and German physicist Erich Habann[15]
(18921968) independently discovered that the magnetron could generate waves of 100 megahertz to 1 gigahertz. ek, a professor at Pragues Charles University,
published rst; however, he published in a journal with
a small circulation and thus attracted little attention.[16]
Habann, a student at the University of Jena, investigated
the magnetron for his doctoral dissertation of 1924.[17]
Throughout the 1920s, Hull and other researchers around
the world worked to develop the magnetron.[18][19][20]
Most of these early magnetrons were glass vacuum tubes
with multiple anodes. However, the two-pole magnetron,
also known as a split-anode magnetron, had relatively low
eciency. The cavity version (properly referred to as a
resonant-cavity magnetron) proved to be far more useful.
In 1937-1940 a multi-cavity magnetron was built by the
British physicist John Randall, together with a team of
British coworkers, for the British and American military
radar installations in World War II.[21]
While radar was being developed during World War II,
there arose an urgent need for a high-power microwave
generator that worked at shorter wavelengths (around 10
cm (3 GHz)) rather than the 150 cm (200 MHz) that
was available from tube-based generators of the time. It
was known that a multi-cavity resonant magnetron had
been developed and patented in 1935 by Hans Hollmann
in Berlin.[22] However, the German military considered
the frequency drift of Hollmans device to be undesirable,
and based their radar systems on the klystron instead. But
klystrons could not at that time achieve the high power
output that magnetrons eventually reached. This was one
reason that German night ghter radars were not a match
for their British counterparts.[23]
In 1940, at the University of Birmingham in the United
Kingdom, John Randall and Harry Boot produced a

The anode block which is part of the cavity magnetron developed

by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of
Birmingham.

working prototype similar to Hollmans cavity magnetron, but added liquid cooling and a stronger cavity.
Randall and Boot soon managed to increase its power output 100 fold. Instead of abandoning the magnetron due
to its frequency instability, they sampled the output signal and synchronized their receiver to whatever frequency
was actually being generated. In 1941, the problem of
frequency instability was solved by coupling (strapping)
alternate cavities within the magnetron. (For an overview
of early magnetron designs, including that of Boot and
Randall, see [24] )
Because France had just fallen to the Nazis and Britain
had no money to develop the magnetron on a massive
scale, Churchill agreed that Sir Henry Tizard should oer
the magnetron to the Americans in exchange for their nancial and industrial help (the Tizard Mission). An early
10 kW version, built in England by the General Electric
Company Research Laboratories, Wembley, London (not
to be confused with the similarly named American company General Electric), was given to the US government
in September 1940. The British magnetron was a thousand times more powerful than the best American transmitter at the time and produced accurate pulses.[25] At
the time the most powerful equivalent microwave producer available in the US (a klystron) had a power of only
ten watts. The cavity magnetron was widely used during
World War II in microwave radar equipment and is often
credited with giving Allied radar a considerable performance advantage over German and Japanese radars, thus
directly inuencing the outcome of the war. It was later

7
described by noted Historian James Phinney Baxter III as
The most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores.[26]
The Bell Telephone Laboratories made a producible
version from the magnetron delivered to America by
the Tizard Mission, and before the end of 1940, the
Radiation Laboratory had been set up on the campus of
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop various types of radar using the magnetron. By early 1941,
portable centimetric airborne radars were being tested
in American and British aircraft.[25] In late 1941, the
Telecommunications Research Establishment in Great
Britain used the magnetron to develop a revolutionary
airborne, ground-mapping radar codenamed H2S. The
H2S radar was in part developed by Alan Blumlein and
Bernard Lovell.
Centimetric radar, made possible by the cavity magCaution: radiowaves hazard
netron, allowed for the detection of much smaller objects and the use of much smaller antennas. The combination of small-cavity magnetrons, small antennas, and
high resolution allowed small, high quality radars to be
installed in aircraft. They could be used by maritime
patrol aircraft to detect objects as small as a submarine
periscope, which allowed aircraft to attack and destroy
submerged submarines which had previously been undetectable from the air. Centimetric contour mapping
radars like H2S improved the accuracy of Allied bombers
used in the strategic bombing campaign. Centimetric
gun-laying radars were likewise far more accurate than
the older technology. They made the big-gunned Allied
battleships more deadly and, along with the newly developed proximity fuze, made anti-aircraft guns much more
dangerous to attacking aircraft. The two coupled together
and used by anti-aircraft batteries, placed along the ight
path of German V-1 ying bombs on their way to London,
are credited with destroying many of the ying bombs be- Caution: Poisonous particles for the lungs
fore they reached their target.
Since then, many millions of cavity magnetrons have been
manufactured; while some have been for radar the vast
majority have been for microwave ovens. The use in
radar itself has dwindled to some extent, as more accurate signals have generally been needed and developers
have moved to klystron and traveling-wave tube systems
for these needs.

Some magnetrons have beryllium oxide (beryllia) ceramic insulators, which are dangerous if crushed and inhaled, or otherwise ingested. Single or chronic exposure
can lead to berylliosis, an incurable lung condition. In
addition, beryllia is listed as a conrmed human carcinogen by the IARC; therefore, broken ceramic insulators or
magnetrons should not be directly handled.

All magnetrons contain a small amount of thorium mixed

with tungsten in their lament. While this is a radioactive metal, the risk of cancer is low as it never gets air5 Health hazards
borne in normal usage. Only if the lament is taken out
nely crushed, and inhaled can it pose
At least one hazard in particular is well known and docu- of the magnetron,
[28][29][30]
a
health
hazard.
mented. As the lens of the eye has no cooling blood ow,
it is particularly prone to overheating when exposed to
microwave radiation. This heating can in turn lead to a
higher incidence of cataracts in later life.[27] A microwave 6 See also
oven with a warped door or poor microwave sealing can
be hazardous.
Crossed-eld amplier
There is also a considerable electrical hazard around mag Klystron
netrons, as they require a high voltage power supply.

7
Maser
Microwave EMP Rie
Radiation Laboratory
Traveling-wave tube

References

[1] US 2123728 Magnetron of Hans Erich Hollmann, requested by Telefunken GmbH

[2] The Magnetron. Bournemouth University. 19952009.
Retrieved 23 August 2009.
[3] Schroter, B. (Spring 2008). How important was Tizards
Box of Tricks?" (PDF). Imperial Engineer 8: 10. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
[4] Who Was Alan Dower Blumlein?". Dora Media Productions. 19992007. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
[5] Eli Brookner, From $10,000 Magee to $7 Magee and
$10 Transmitter and Receiver (T/R) on Single Chip,
IEEE
[6] Ma, L. "3D Computer Modeling of Magnetrons. University of London Ph.D. Thesis. December 2004. Accessed
2009-08-23.
[7] Electric Valves: Diodes, Triodes, and Transistors"[
[8] The Magnetron
[9] The Magnetron
[10] L.W. Turner,(ed), Electronics Engineers Reference Book,
4th ed.
Newnes-Butterworth, London 1976 ISBN
9780408001687, pages 7-71 to 7-77
[11] H. Greinacher (1912) "ber eine Anordnung zur Bestimmung von e/m (On an apparatus for the determination of e/m), Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen
Gesellschaft, 14 : 856-864.
[12] Invention of Magnetron
[13] Albert W. Hull (1921) The eect of a uniform magnetic
eld on the motion of electrons between coaxial cylinders, Physical Review, 18 (1) : 31-57. See also: Albert
W. Hull, The magnetron, Journal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 40, no. 9, pages 715-723
(September 1921).
[14] Biographical information about August ek:
R. H. Frth, Obituary: Prof. August ek, Nature, vol. 193, no. 4816, page 625 (1962).
The 70th birthday of Prof. Dr. August ek,
Czechoslovak Journal of Physics, vol. 6, no.
2, pages 204-205 (1956). Available on-line at:
Metapress.com.
[15] Biographical information about Erich Habann:

REFERENCES

Gnter Nagel, Pionier der Funktechnik. Das

Lebenswerk des Wissenschaftlers Erich Habann,
der in Hessenwinkel lebte, ist heute fast vergessen
(Pioneer in Radio Technology. The lifes work of
scientist Erich Habann, who lived in Hessenwinkel,
is nearly forgotten today.), Bradenburger Bltter
(supplement of the Mrkische Oderzeitung, a daily
newspaper of the city of Frankfurt in the state of
Brandenburg, Germany), 15 December 2006, page
9.
Rainer Karlsch and Heiko Petermann, ed.s, Fr und
Wider Hitlers Bombe": Studien zur Atomforschung
in Deutschland [For and Against Hitlers Bomb":
Studies on atomic research in Germany] (N.Y.,
N.Y.: Waxmann Publishing Co., 2007), page 251
footnote.
[16] See:
A. ek, Nov metoda k vytvoren netlumenych
oscilac" ["New method of generating undamped
oscillations"], asopis pro pstovn matematiky a
fysiky [Journal for the Cultivation of Mathematics and Physics], vol. 53, pages 378-380 (May
1924). (Available on-line (in Czech) at: Czech Digital Mathematics Library.)
A. ek, "ber eine Methode zur Erzeugung von
sehr kurzen elektromagnetischen Wellen [On a
method for generating very short electromagnetic
waves], Zeitschrift fr Hochfrequenztechnik [Journal for High Frequency Technology], vol. 32, pages
172-180 (1928).
A. ek, Spojen pro vrobu elektrickch vln
["Circuit for production of electrical waves"],
Czechoslovak patent no. 20,293 (led: 31 May
1924; issued: 15 February 1926). Available on-line
(in Czech): Czech Industrial Property Oce.
[17] Erich Habann, Eine neue Generatorrhre [A new generator tube], Zeitschrift fr Hochfrequenztechnik, vol. 24,
pages 115-120 and 135-141 (1924)
[18] W. Kaiser, The Development of Electron Tubes and of
Radar technology: The Relationship of Science and Technology, pp. 217 - 236 in O. Blumtritt, H. Petzold and W.
Aspray, eds., Tracking the History of Radar, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 1994
[19] James E. Brittain, The magnetron and the beginnings of
the microwave age, Physics Today, vol. 38, pages 60-67
(1985).
[20] See for example: (1) Soviet physicists: (i) Abram A. Slutskin and Dmitry S. Shteinberg, ["Obtaining oscillations
in cathode tubes with the aid of a magnetic eld"], Zhurnal Russkogo Fiziko-Khimicheskogo Obshchestva [Journal
of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society], vol. 58, no. 2,
pages 395-407 (1926); (ii) Abram A. Slutskin and Dmitry
S. Shteinberg, ["Electronic oscillations in two-electrode
tubes"], Ukrainski Fizychni Zapysky [Ukrainian Journal
of Physics], vol. 1, no. 2, pages 22-27 (1927); (iii)
A. A. Slutzkin and D. S. Steinberg, Die Erzeugung von
kurzwelligen ungedmpften Schwingungen bei Anwendung des Magnetfeldes ["The generation of undamped

shortwave oscillations by application of a magnetic eld"],

Annalen der Physik, vol. 393, no. 5, pages 658-670 (May
1929).
(2) Japanese engineers: Hidetsugu Yagi, Beam transmission of ultra-short waves, Proceedings of the Institute of
Radio Engineers, vol. 16, no. 6, pages 715-741 (1928).
Magnetrons are discussed in Part II of this article. See
also: (i) Kinjiro Okabe, ["Production of intense extrashort radio waves by a split-anode magnetron (Part 3)"],
Journal of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of Japan,
pages 284 (March 1928); (ii) Kinjiro Okabe, On the
short-wave limit of magnetron oscillations, Proceedings
of the Institute of Radio Engineers, vol. 17, no. 4, pages
652-659 (1929); (iii) Kinjiro Okabe, On the magnetron
oscillation of new type, Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, vol. 18, no. 10, pages 1748-1749 (1930).
[21] The Magnetron. Radar Recollections - A Bournemouth
University/CHiDE/HLF project. Defence Electronics History Society (formerly CHiDE).
[22] US 2123728 Hans Erich Hollmann/Telefunken GmbH:
Magnetron led November 27, 1935
[23] W. Kaiser, The Development of Electron Tubes and of
Radar technology: The Relationship of Science and Technology, pp. 217 - 236 in O. Blumtritt, H. Petzold and W.
Aspray, eds., Tracking the History of Radar, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 1994:229
[24] Willshaw, W. E.; L. Rushforth; A. G. Stainsby; R.
Latham; A. W. Balls; A. H. King (1946). The highpower pulsed magnetron: development and design for
radar applications. The Journal of the Institution of
Electrical Engineers - Part IIIA: Radiolocation 93 (5).
doi:10.1049/ji-3a-1.1946.0188. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
[25] Angela Hind (February 5, 2007). Briefcase 'that changed
the world'". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
[26] James Phinney Baxter III (Ocial Historian of the Ofce of Scientic Research and Development), Scientists
Against Time (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1946),
page 142.
[27] Lipman, R. M.; B. J. Tripathi; R. C. Tripathi (1988).
Cataracts induced by microwave and ionizing radiation. Survey of Ophthalmology 33 (3): 200210.
doi:10.1016/0039-6257(88)90088-4. OSTI 6071133.
PMID 3068822.
[28] http://www.ansto.gov.au/NuclearFacts/
BenefitsofNuclearScience/Inthehome/
[29] http://www.engineerguy.com/elements/videos/
video-microwave.htm
[30] http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/thorium.
html#exposure

External links

Information
Magnetrons

Magnetron collection in the Virtual Valve Museum

MicrowaveCam.com Videos of plasmoids created in
a microwave oven
TMD Magnetrons Information and PDF Data
Sheets
(Title is somewhat cryptic) Concise, notablyexcellent article about magnetrons; Fig. 13 is representative of a modern radar magnetron.
Patents
US 2123728 Hans Erich Hollmann/Telefunken
GmbH: Magnetron led November 27, 1935
US 2315313 Buchholz, H. (1943). Cavity resonator
US 2357313 Carter, P.S. (1944). High frequency
resonator and circuit therefor
US 2357314 Carter, P.S. (1944). Cavity resonator
circuit
US 2408236 Spencer, P.L. (1946). Magnetron casing
US 2444152 Carter, P.S. (1948). Cavity resonator
circuit
US 2611094 Rex, H.B. (1952).
capacitance resonance circuit

Inductance-

GB 879677 Dexter, S.A. (1959). Valve oscillator

circuits; radio frequency output couplings

10

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Cavity magnetron Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavity_magnetron?oldid=722016949 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Bryan Derksen,

Malcolm Farmer, Maury Markowitz, Patrick, RTC, D, Wapcaplet, Ellywa, Stevenj, Glenn, BAxelrod, Ffransoo, Maximus Rex, LMB, Ed
g2s, Bevo, Khym Chanur, Pakaran, Lumos3, Ke4roh, Astronautics~enwiki, Pigsonthewing, PBS, Mat-C, Nunh-huh, Fastssion, Peruvianllama, Cantus, Leonard G., Bobblewik, Geni, Quadell, SamH, Andux, Spiralhighway, Rlcantwell, Iantresman, Kelson, Deglr6328, Epimetreus, Guanabot, ArnoldReinhold, TerraFrost, Tgies, Mashford, Phil websurfer@yahoo.com, Diamonddavej, Cmacd123, .:Ajvol:., Brim,
Bert Hickman, Wikinaut, Valvecollector, Hooperbloob, Atlant, Hohum, Wtshymanski, Kdau, Raygirvan, Carcharoth, Pol098, Canadian
Paul, GraemeLeggett, JIP, Rjwilmsi, Zbxgscqf, Jmcc150, Ian Dunster, FlaBot, Arnero, Margosbot~enwiki, Dannya222, Ncnever~enwiki,
Chobot, YurikBot, Jamesmorrison, Oliviosu~enwiki, Hairy Dude, Anuran, Hellbus, Gaius Cornelius, Shaddack, David R. Ingham, Blutnk,
Bjf, Janet13, Engineer Bob, Sandstein, Light current, Morcheeba, LeonardoRob0t, Curpsbot-unicodify, Chaiken, Mardus, SmackBot, Amit
A., Doktor~enwiki, Hmains, Vercalos, Thumperward, Sadads, Dlenmn, Trekphiler, Addshore, TiCPU, Mushlack, Zaphraud, Pierre cb, Iridescent, Charly Whisky, Tawkerbot2, Chetvorno, Paolodm, Ludwig Boltzmann, Stargzer, Jamoche, Trident13, Headbomb, Tapir Terric,
Electron9, Dezidor, Seanthenry, Majorly, Idiotic ally, Auyon, Science2000, CosineKitty, Jhchristensen, Connormah, Nikevich, Catgut,
$yD!, Vanessaezekowitz, Verdatum, Nono64, ISC PB, Try0yrt, Molly-in-md, Cobi, Funandtrvl, VolkovBot, Philip Trueman, TXiKiBoT,
A4bot, Andy Dingley, SieBot, Cwkmail, Toghome, Ronald S. Davis, Jerryobject, A. Carty, ScAvenger lv, Moletrouser, SallyForth123,
ClueBot, Trojancowboy, Dont think twice, HDP, Kjramesh, Ejay, Gerardbis, Muro Bot, Leofric1, Aitias, King of Tea Tree, Jamesdutson,
Addbot, Olli Niemitalo, MartinezMD, Leszek Jaczuk, Himerish, Verbal, Pietrow, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Wikiawesome77, Bluerasberry,
Materialscientist, Citation bot, Eumolpo, Bci2, Xqbot, LarryB55, SUPERHETRODYNE, Penn Station, FrescoBot, Pingu Is Sumerian,
Pinethicket, A11147066, Raymond C. Watson, Jr., J36miles, Tpudlik, Checkingfax, Thegibbie, Richard4912, Noodleki, Spicemix, Sonicyouth86, ClueBot NG, Crazymonkey1123, Kendall-K1, Ian16th, Reza luke, BattyBot, Redclie maven, Mogism, Mr. Devang Pandey
007, Spyglasses, Riotships, MasterTriangle12, Monkbot, LukasMatt, Unician, Pancho507, KasparBot, The Quixotic Potato, Konqui and
Anonymous: 181

9.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

File:D-W003_Warnung_vor_giftigen_Stoffen_ty.svg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/D-W003_
Warnung_vor_giftigen_Stoffen_ty.svg License: Public domain Contributors: drawn by Torsten Henning Original artist: Torsten Henning
File:Magnetron1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Magnetron1.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 at Contributors: http://www.hcrs.at Original artist: HCRS Home Labor Page
File:Magnetron2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Magnetron2.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 at Contributors: http://www.hcrs.at Original artist: HCRS Home Labor Page
File:Magnetron_MI-189W.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Magnetron_MI-189W.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Self-photographed Original artist: Ulfbastel at German Wikipedia
File:Magnetron_cutaway_drawing.png
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Magnetron_
cutaway_drawing.png License:
Public domain Contributors:
Retrieved June 20, 2014 from NEETS Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series, published by Naval Education and Training Command, US Navy, 1984, NAVEDTRA 172-18-00-82 Module 18: Radar Principles, p.
2-14, g.
2-9 on http://www.rfcafe.com/ Original artist: Unknown<a
href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img
alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
width='20'
height='11'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png
1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='1050'
data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Magnetron_radar_assembly_1947.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Magnetron_radar_
assembly_1947.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Retrieved June 18, 2014 from <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external
text'
href='http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Tele-Tech/Tele-Tech-1947-01.pdf'>Tele-Tech
magazine,
CaldwellClements Inc., New York, Vol.
6, No.
1, January 1947, p.
99</a> on http://www.americanradiohistory.com Original artist:
Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
width='20'
height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
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data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Magnetron_section_transverse_to_axis.JPG Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Magnetron_
section_transverse_to_axis.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Pingu Is Sumerian
File:Original_cavity_magnetron,_1940_(9663811280).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Original_
cavity_magnetron%2C_1940_%289663811280%29.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: Original cavity magnetron, 1940 Original
artist: Science Museum London / Science and Society Picture Library
File:Radio_waves_hazard_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Radio_waves_hazard_symbol.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Resonant_Cavity_Magnetron_Diagram.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Resonant_Cavity_
Magnetron_Diagram.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Resonant_Cavity_Magnetron_Diagram.png in English Wikipedia Original artist: Resonant_Cavity_Magnetron_Diagram.png: Ian Dunster

9.3

Content license

11

File:Split-anode_magnetron.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Split-anode_magnetron.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Retrieved October 24, 2014 from <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external text' href='http:
//www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics/30s/Electronics-1935-09.pdf'>"Microwaves to detect aircraft in Electronics
magazine, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., New York, Vol. 8, No. 9, September 1935, p. 18</a> on http://www.americanradiohistory.com
Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
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data-le-height='590' /></a>

9.3

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