Electron-Cyclotron Maser Instability Driven by a Loss-Cone Distribution

It is shown that the electron-cyclotron maser instabilities may readily be excited in a plasma with a loss-cone distribution when the electron temperature exceeds a few tens of kiloelectronvolts. The growth rate is typically a few percent of the electron-cyclotron frequency. The appearance of the instability can be avoided by proper control of the plasma density.