A self-consistent, one-dimensional model of the cyclotron autoresonance maser (CARM) amplifier is developed, and numerical simulations based on this model are described. Detailed study results of the CARM gain and efficiency for a wide range of initial energy and velocity spreads are presented. The interaction efficiency is found to be substantially increased when the axial magnetic field is tapered. Efficiencies of greater than 41% are obtained for a 140-GHz CARM amplifier with a tapered axial magnetic field and a 700-kV 4.5-A electron beam with parallel velocity spreads of less than 1%. A discussion of the nonlinear bandwidth and interaction sensitivity to axial-field inhomogeneities is presented.
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