Microwave Burst at Triggered Instability in a Hot Electron Plasma

A hot electron plasma is produced in a magnetic-mirror field by high-power microwave discharges. When an instability is triggered in a hot electron plasma, it is observed that the instability is accompanied by a burst of energetic electrons escaping from the magnetic mirror, a fast rising x-ray signal, a sudden increase of light intensity, and an intense burst of microwaves composed of harmonics of 2.1 GHz. This frequency cannot be explained in terms of the electron cyclotron frequencies associated with the magnetic field intensity within the plasma chamber.