Dynamics of the axial mode transition process in a 0.33-THz second-harmonic gyrotron is investigated to reveal the physical mechanism of realizing broadband frequency tuning in an open cavity circuit. A new interaction mechanism about propagating waves, featured by wave competition and wave cooperation, is presented and provides a new insight into the beam-wave interaction. The two different features revealed in the two different operation regions of low-order axial modes （LOAMs） and high-order axial modes （HOAMs） respectively determine the characteristic of the overall performance of the device essentially. The device performance is obtained by the simulation based on the time-domain nonlinear theory and shows that using a 12-kV/150-mA electron beam and TE 3,4 mode, the second harmonic gyrotron can generate terahertz radiations with frequency-tuning ranges of about 0.85 GHz and 0.60 GHz via magnetic field and beam voltage tuning, respectively. Additionally, some non-stationary phenomena in the mode startup process are also analyzed. The investiga- tion in this paper presents guidance for future developing high-performance frequency-tunable gyrotrons toward terahertz applications.
