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In this article, two types of compact and effective input and output couplers for a 6–18 GHz 5-kW-level helix traveling wave tube (TWT) are designed, fabricated, and cold- tested. The input coupler section includes an impedance transformer, a conical coaxial window, and a transition to a subminiature version A (SMA) connector for a radio frequency (RF) input. For achieving a high-power output, a new type of double-ridged waveguide window is used in the output coupling section. The output coupling structure consists of a standard double-ridged waveguide (WRD650), an impedance transformer, a square sapphire window, and a coaxial to double-ridged waveguide transition. The commercially available 3-D electromagnetic simulation software package CST is used to further optimize these structures, including couplers terminated with an actual complex helix slow-wave structure (SWS). According to the simulation results, the input and output couplers are fabricated and tested. The experimental results of the optimized coupled structures are presented, and both couplers show excellent transmission performance for a 6–18-GHz high-power helix TWT.

The failure threshold time of semiconductors caused by the impact of irradiated high-power electromagnetic waves (HPEM) is experimentally studied. A SN7442 integrated circuit (IC) is placed in an emulator with a WR430 closed waveguide and is irradiated by HPEM generated from a magnetron oscillator. The state of the SN7442 component is observed by a light-emitting diode (LED) detector and the voltage measured in the SN7442 component. As the magnitude of the electric field in the HPEM is varied from 24 kV/m to 36 kV/m, the failure threshold time falls from 195 s to 17 s with dependence of the irradiated electric field (E) on the failure threshold time (T) from T~E−12 to a T~E−6.

We report an effective strategy to enhance the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of metallic nanoparticles by introducing a Fabry–Perot (FP) cavity for high-quality sensing. The concept is based on the combined excitation of LSPRs in metallic nanoparticles and optical cavity modes supported by the FP cavities, whose strong interactions result in two ultra-narrowband hybridized plasmon modes with a huge electric field enhancement. A high-quality double-band plasmonic nanosensor, with the refractive index sensitivity approaching 600 nm/RIU and a figure of merit exceeding 28 is achieved here, which suggests that the cavity-coupling strategy could offer new perspectives for achieving ultra-compact efficient biosensors.

The 3-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed to determine the origin of sideband and spurious noises generated in a cooker magnetron. A novel simulation technique is used, which introduces cathode emission current nonuniformities. These nonuniformities are due to nonuniform distributions of electric field on a thermionic emission surface, which result from cathode geometry. It is shown that cathode end-caps shape and magnetic pole-piece geometries are the causes of sideband and spurious noises in conventional microwave ovens. The 3-D simulation results are in satisfactory agreement with the spectrum of a typical cooker magnetron.

The field emission properties of the controlled emission edge of a vertically aligned graphene-based thin film are presented. A current and current density of above 7 mA and 200 A/cm2, respectively...

Researchers have investigated plasma-related phenomena and internal breakdowns in the gigawatt–terahertz relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) caused by field emissions from the surfaces of the waveguide circuits in these oscillators. In order to increase the power-handling capability of relativistic electron beam devices, an RBWO is proposed in the form of an oversized structure in which the diameter ( $D$ ) of the electrodynamic structure is increased to several times the free-space wavelength ( $\lambda )$ . An optimal periodic rectangular corrugation structure of which the axial mode is matched to the $\pi $ mode is designed in order to determine only the TM01 mode without mode competition in a slow-wave structure (SWS). The oversized RBWO has a fairly large diameter and uses a resonant reflector to achieve optimum efficiency while also preventing mode competition in the SWS. Absorption of a decelerated electron beam is achieved by the collector, which protects against breakdown and damage. The results of 0.5–0.1 THz from 500 kV–5 kA in the relativistic region are observed by means of a particle-in-cell simulation, and the dispersion relationship is determined by a finite-difference time-domain simulation. The outcomes show that a high-power oversized RBWO can control the selection of the mode and the interaction efficiency.

The Fano metamaterial provides a way of trapping and releasing electromagnetic waves in microwave and terahertz regime. We show that, by utilizing the electromagnetic properties, the efficiency of radiation power from the Cerenkov effect in our recently proposed metallic metamaterial is much larger than the one from the ordinary Cerenkov and Smith-Purcell effects. The optimization of the efficiency was numerically conducted by manipulating the quality(Q) factor of the trapped Cerenkov light. The proposed metamaterial is suitable for developing compact and highly efficient free electron lasers.

Uniform, highly conductive, thin film field emitters are in immense need for future development of high power compact terahertz(THz) vacuum electronic devices(VED). Reduced graphene oxide(rGO) based free standing film as high current sheet beam cathode is fabricated by hydrothermal method. This hydrothermal method facilitates highly conductive, thin, compact film. We achieved to get few micrometers to sub-micrometer thick film which is much thinner than conventional vacuum filtered film resulting in higher field enhancement factor, current density, and current. This approach can successfully establish a fabrication method for uniform, thin high current field emitter for high power THz VEDs.

Alignment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) inside the CNT fiber is very important for the fast electron movement through CNTs. We utilized nanoparticles, such as ZnO for the alignment of CNTs and described how semiconducting ZnO can act as an alignment agent in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fibers. Due to the alignment of CNTs through the ZnO nanoparticles linking groups, the CNTs inside the fibers were equally distributed by the attraction of bonding forces into sheet-like bunches, such that any applied mechanical breaking load was equally distributed to each CNT inside the fiber, making them mechanically robust against breaking loads. Although semi-conductive ZnO nanoparticles were used here, the electrical conductivity of the aligned CNT fiber was comparable to bare CNT fibers, suggesting that the total electron movement through the CNTs inside the aligned CNT fiber is not disrupted by the insulating behavior of ZnO nanoparticles. Due to the high electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of CNT fiber, it is a good candidate as field emitter. For using CNT fiber as cathode for sheet beam, CNT fiber further was converted to the sheet structure, which are more important for getting sheet

Scandia (Sc2O3)-doped tungsten nanoparticle-based high current density cathode is developed for the application in terahertz (THz) devices. This paper involves synthesis of scandia-doped tungsten nanoparticle powder using chemical technique, estimation of optimum porosity, and development of pellet with required porosity by optimizing process parameters. The cathode, made out of the above pellet, is tested in an analytical system containing Auger electron spectroscope and anode. The results show that the cathode can deliver more than 100 A/cm2 current density with stable emission—strongly recommending it as a candidate for the use in a THz device. Theoretical estimates show that the void porosity is to be kept at 21% for proper surface coverage to produce good emission with long life.

It is well known that a suspended monolayer graphene has a weak light absorption efficiency of about 2.3% at normal incidence, which is disadvantageous to some applications in optoelectronic devices. In this work, we will numerically study multiband and broadband absorption enhancement of monolayer graphene over the whole visible spectrum, due to multiple magnetic dipole resonances in metamaterials. The unit cell of the metamaterials is composed of a graphene monolayer sandwiched between four Ag nanodisks with different diameters and a SiO2 spacer on an Ag substrate. The near-field plasmon hybridizations between individual Ag nanodisks and the Ag substrate form four independent magnetic dipole modes, which result into multiband absorption enhancement of monolayer graphene at optical frequencies. When the resonance wavelengths of the magnetic dipole modes are tuned to approach one another by changing the diameters of the Ag nanodisks, a broadband absorption enhancement can be achieved. The position of the absorption band in monolayer graphene can be also controlled by varying the thickness of the SiO2 spacer or the distance between the Ag nanodisks. Our designed graphene light absorber may find some potential applications in optoelectronic devices, such as photodetectors.

A V-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) prevails nowadays as an amplifier device for satellite communication and electronic countermeasures. The folded waveguide (FW) is a promising slow-wave structure for V-band TWT with advantages of high power and considerable bandwidth. A novel FW periodically loaded with right-angled rectangular grooves is analyzed for the purpose of gaining higher power within a shorter circuit. The radio-frequency characteristics are investigated by numerical simulation, and the nonlinear large-signal performance of such a TWT is analyzed by a 3-D particle-in-cell code MAGIC. Compared with normal circuits, a relatively higher continuous-wave power (60–80 W) and a similar bandwidth (5 GHz) at V-band are predicted by simulation. Meanwhile, the novel circuit is also shorter when the output power becomes saturated. It, therefore, will favor the miniaturized design of a broadband and high-power V-band TWT.

The emission capability of as prepared reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and tungsten doped reduced graphene oxide (W-rGO) film field emitter (FE) cathodes are investigated experimentally. It is observed that W-rGO films showed a highest emission current density of ∼ 800 A/cm2 at an applied DC electric field of 6.6 V/μm, which is far superior than the current density of ∼ 390 A/cm2 from an as prepared rGO film. Short stability test also showed that emission current is much more stable than the rGO films. These excellent improvements can be attributed to the doping of tungsten into the rGO film, which helped to repair the broken bonds thus lowering the turn on field. Also, tungsten gives the film an excellent mechanical stability and higher thermal load handling capability, which is very important to achieve a stable, high performance operation and long life.

Non-thermal irreversible electroporation (NTIRE) to avoid thermal damage to cells during intense DC ns pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) is a recent modality for medical applications. This mechanism, related to bioelectrical dynamics of the cell, is linked to the effect of a DC electric field and a threshold effect with an electrically stimulated membrane for the charge distribution in the cell. To create the NTIRE condition, the pulse width of the nsPEF should be shorter than the charging time constant of the membrane related to the cell radius, membrane capacitance, cytoplasm resistivity, and medium resistivity. It is necessary to design and fabricate a very intense nanosecond DC electric field pulser that is capable of producing voltages up to the level of 100 kV/cm with an artificial pulse width (∼ns) with controllable repetition rates. Many devices to generate intense DC nsPEF using various pulse-forming line technologies have been introduced thus far. However, the previous Blumlein pulse-generating devices are clearly inefficient due to the energy loss between the input voltage and the output voltage. An improved two-stage stacked Blumlein pulse-forming line can overcome this limitation and decrease the energy loss from a DC power supply. A metal oxide silicon field-effect transistor switch with a fast rise and fall time would enable a high repetition rate (max. 100 kHz) and good endurance against very high voltages (DC ∼ 30 kV). The load is designed to match the sample for exposure to cell suspensions consisting of a 200 Ω resistor matched with a Blumlein circuit and two electrodes without the characteristic RC time effect of the circuit (capacitance =0.174 pF).

A klystron is an important vacuum device which is useful in medical linear accelerators because it amplifies the radio-frequency (RF) signals required to produce high-energy particle beams. The properties of the nonlinear input and output dynamics in the klystron circuit arouse distortion in various types of parameters pertaining to the beam voltage, beam current, RF power, and operating frequency from unpredictable external factors. Therefore, low-level RF (LLRF) control systems can facilitate the regulation of the output of the klystron to a desired level. Low-level RF control system of the klystron is designed to stabilize the applied voltage and control the resonance frequency of the cavity of the klystron. In this work, an infallible low-level RF control system, the most suitable for a klystron, is designed to use a beam monitoring and an interlock system with components that include an isolator and a phase shifter. Moreover, with regard to pulse distortion at the flap top at the RF output power, the stability of the RF power pulse at the flap top part was improved somewhat by a variable inductor which controlled the inside of the pulse modulator. In this LLRF control experiment, the pulse modulator generated 140kV-95A and succeeded in generating RF output power of 2.856GHz-6MW level of an S-band klystron. During this process, the efficiency of the RF power was approximately 42∼45% and the pulse repetition rate was 10 Hz. The flattop pulse width was measured and found to be 1 µs.

High power terahertz vacuum electron devices demand high current density and uniform emission dispenser cathode. It was found that the coating of noble metals e.g., Os, Ir, and Re on the surface of tungsten dispenser cathodes enhances the emission capabilities and uniformity. Hence metal coated cathode might be the best candidate for terahertz devices applications. In this study, ternary-alloy-film cathode (2Os:2Re:1 W) and Os coated cathode have been developed and the results are presented. The cathodes made out of this alloy coating showed 1.5 times higher emission and 0.02 eV emission uniformity as compared to those of simply Os coated cathodes which can be used in terahertz devices application.

A W-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) with double-groove loaded folded waveguide structure (FWSWS) has been designed and numerically modelled. The nonlinear performance of such a TWT is investigated by a particle-in-cell code MAGIC3D. Simulation results indicate this TWT produces a saturated electromagnetic power of 170.2 W at 90 GHz, corresponding to 36.9 dB gain and 69.6 mm interaction distance. A comparison between the novel folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (FWTWT) and the conventional one is also carried out to verify the effect of groove loading on the large-signal performance of TWT. Within the same working conditions, the double groove-loaded FWTWT could obtain higher saturated output power and gain in a shorter interaction length. The maximum of output power and gain of this novel TWT is 58.6% and 10% higher than those of the conventional FWTWT, while the 3-dB bandwidth of TWT is reduced to 4 GHz. With the additional advantage of ease of fabrication based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies, the double-groove loaded FWSWS is suitable for a millimeter-wave TWT with high power capacity and gain.

This paper presents a tapered ridge-loaded folded waveguide (FWG) slow-wave structure (SWS) for broadband and high power millimeter wave traveling wave tube (TWT). The radio-frequency characteristics including dispersion properties, interaction impedance, S-parameters are analyzed. And based upon these results, the nonlinear large signal performance of the tapered ridge-loaded folded waveguide TWT working in W-band is simulated by 3-D particle-in-cell code. In the same ridge length, the tapered FWG has lower reflection and radio-frequency loss than the normal ridge-loaded FWG. Besides, the tapered ridge-loaded FWG TWT also has higher electron efficiency and larger bandwidth, which is more suitable for millimeter-wave TWT.

Recent research and development has been incredibly successful at advancing the capabilities for vacuum electronic device (VED) sources of powerful terahertz (THz) and near-THz coherent radiation, both CW or average and pulsed. Currently, the VED source portfolio covers over 12 orders of magnitude in power (mW-to-GW) and two orders of magnitude in frequency (from ; 10 THz). Further advances are still possible and anticipated. They will be enabled by improved understanding of fundamental beam-wave interactions, electromagnetic mode competition and mode control, along with research and development of new materials, fabrication methods, cathodes, electron beam alignment and focusing, magnet technologies, THz metrology and advanced, broadband output radiation coupling techniques.

Thermal analysis of an L-band 60-kW (continuous-wave) double-ring strapped magnetron for optimizing the design of a cathode support structure and cooling system is presented. This magnetron consists of an oxygen-free copper anode with ten built-in cooling channels and a directly heated tungsten cathode. The operating temperature of the cathode is greater than 2000°C; therefore, proper thermal design of the cathode support structure is essential for reliable operation. The heat convection coefficient for the forced air is estimated by simulations comparing the simulated temperatures for different heat convection coefficients with the measured one. It is observed that the comparison between simulations with measurement is in good agreement for various temperatures from 1000°C to 2000°C when the estimated heat convection coefficient of the forced air is used.

A folded waveguide (FW) is a promising slow-wave structure (SWS) for millimeter-wave traveling-wave tubes (TWTs) with the advantages of high power and considerable bandwidth. A novel rectangular groove-loaded FW SWS is analyzed for the purpose of gaining higher power with a smaller size compared with the normal circuit. The high-frequency characteristics, including dispersion properties and interaction impedance, are investigated by numerical simulation, and the nonlinear large-signal performance of such a TWT is also analyzed by a 3-D particle-in-cell code MAGIC3D. Compared with a normal circuit, larger gain and electronic efficiency together with notably higher output power at a Ka-band are predicted by the simulation. Meanwhile, the novel circuit is also much shorter than the normal circuit with good performance at the working frequencies. It, therefore, will favor the miniaturized design of a high-power millimeter-wave TWT.

The design of a sheet-beam electron gun with planar cathode was made with the help of a three-dimensional electrostatic field solver that was capable of forming a sheet-beam of 19 mA at 12 kV. It uses one-dimensional three-fold beam cross-sectional area compression meets the specific requirement of a beam to be formed of height 30 µm and width 600 µm at the beam–waist position with over 100 A/cm2 uniform current density and 0.068 π-mm-mrad emittance, typically, for 0.5 THz devices. A novel beam focusing electrode (BFE) provided with extended-corner rectangular-aperture geometry alleviating the commonly encountered sheet-beam formation problem with a gun that uses a conventional BFE, as well as it reduced beam emittance more than 50%. The practicability of the design was tested by the high-voltage, the thermal and structural analyses. Work has been initiated to test the performance of special high current scandate cathode using anode-aperture mapping.

An approach to the enhancement of terahertz radiation from a grating waveguide by two-stream instability (TSI) is presented in this paper. The grating waveguide composed of a planar metallic grating and an opposite plate is driven by two electron beams with a velocity separation. The dispersion equation is derived with the linearized fluid theory and solved numerically. Also, the numerical results show that a considerable enhancement of growth rate is possible at an optimized velocity separation. With the help of 2-D particle-in-cell simulations, the improvement of radiation performance induced by the TSI is demonstrated.

Properties of traveling wave-beam interaction in a centered dielectric-rod loaded, arbitrarily-shaped helical groove slow-wave structure (SWS) are investigated for a thin annular electron beam. The “hot” dispersion equation is obtained by means of the self-consistent field theory, and the small signal analysis is carried out including the effects of the dielectric-rod parameters and the groove shapes. The numerical results show that the bandwidth of the helical groove TWT is expanded by loading dielectric-rod, however, the small-signal gain is reduced; and when the groove shape changes from the swallow-tail shape to the triangle shape, the working frequency increases , while the peak gain decreases.

The field-emission characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as uniformity and brightness, were improved by electrical treatment using nonstationary electric fields between the cathode of screen-printed CNT emitters and the anode of a phosphor-coated indium-tin-oxide glass substrate in diode configuration. Dead or weak emission spots, where almost no emission of electrons was observed, started to emit electrons by applying an alternating-current voltage to the cathode electrode and a constant voltage to the anode electrode. The nonstationary electrical treatment was more effective than the direct-current (dc) and the square-pulsed electrical treatments for the emission uniformity and brightness. It was found that the nonstationary electrical treatment not only activated CNT emitters but also suppressed abnormally high emission spots without the drawbacks of electrical breakdown. Consequently, more than 1.8 and 1.3 times improvements of emission uniformity and brightness, respectively, were obtained after the treatment, when compared with the dc electrical treatment for the same amount of emission currents and the same duration of the treatments. Therefore, the method can be effectively applied to field-emission devices based on CNTs for the enhancement of emission properties.

The effect of dissipative loss in the grating surface on a Smith–Purcell free-electron laser is investigated with the help of a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation model supposes an open grating driven by a continuous electron beam. With present parameters, simulation results show that such a device can oscillate on absolute instability, Bragg condition and convective instability when ignoring the surface loss. The growth rate is found to be dependent of beam energy, and it decreases when the surface loss is involved. It is shown that surface loss impacts a lot on the Bragg region. Comparisons of simulation results with the latest theory are reported.

The field emission from the edge of vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (rGO) film was examined experimentally. High current (I > 5 mA) and high emission current density (J > 100 A/cm2) was obtained using diode configuration. The thermal runaway of sharp protrusions on emission edge are considered to be source for the destructive vacuum breakdowns due to high local emission current. A remarkable field emission stability was achieved using processed field induced evaporation, by removing the protrusions and recovering the totally field emission attributed I-V characteristics.

Terahertz vacuum sources with high power are in immediate need for several applications like medical, security, communication, etc. The power and performance of these devices mainly depends on cathode. As structure become smaller, it is very much difficult to obtain high power at terahertz frequency, using conventional low current density thermionic cathodes. As a result development of non-conventional field emission cathode is in progress, which may produce a very high current density with comparatively high current and can help in terahertz research and application. In this work our main aim is to develop and analyze high current density (>103A/cm2) sheet beam film cathode using reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-nano particle composite.

Based on either a SOI wafer or a bulk-silicon wafer, we discuss silicon photonic devices and integrations for chip-level optical interconnects. We present the low-voltage silicon PICs on a SOI wafer, where Si modulators and Ge-on-Si photodetectors are monolithically-integrated for intra-chip or inter-chip interconnects over 40 Gb/s. For future chip-level integration, the 50 Gb/s small-sized depletion-type MZ modulator with the vertically-dipped PN-depletion-junction (VDJ) is also presented. We report vertical-illumination-type Ge photodetectors on bulk-silicon wafers, with high performances up to 50 Gb/s. We present the bulk-silicon platform for practical implementation of chip-level interconnects, and the performance of the photonic transceiver silicon chip.

The frequency multiplication of a two-stage tapered gyrotron traveling wave tube amplifier is experimentally verified in low-voltage and low-current operation. By modulating an axis-encircling electron beam at the fundamental harmonic cyclotron frequency in the input stage, a frequency-tripled signal induced by the third-harmonic component of the modulated beam current is chosen to be extracted from the output stage. Both interaction stages are linearly tapered to improve stability and bandwidth. The third-harmonic frequency multiplication is predicted theoretically and investigated using a self-consistent large-signal theory and a particle-in-cell code simulation, which estimate a pure third-harmonic generation and a power-scaling law. In the experiment, X-band drive signals from 10.6-12 GHz are multiplied by a factor of three to produce Ka-band output frequencies from 31.8-36 GHz, showing reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions for a 30-kV, 160-mA axis-encircling electron beam.

We investigated the foundations for high-frequency vacuum electron devices experimentally, with emphasis on deep etch X-ray lithography: lithographie, galvanoformung, abformung (LIGA) to fabricate a miniaturized interaction circuit and a photonic crystal (PC) resonator to excite a stable high-order mode. The successful operation of a LIGA-fabricated folded-waveguide traveling-wave tube was reported. From such physical considerations as Debye length and photonic band gap, we proposed a reflex klystron adopting a cold cathode and a PC resonator.

In e-beam projection lithography (EPL) systems, the relativistic focus condition was derived and compared with the nonrelativistic focus condition to investigate the effect of a large acceleration field related to the initial energy and emission angle of an electron emitted from a cathode. The difference in confusion disk between the relativistic and nonrelativistic limits was 180 nm when 1 eV was used as the initial energy of the electron. The variation in the initial energy of the electron was more sensitive to change the confusion disk than the acceleration field. In this comparison, the focusing parameters are used as follows: axial magnetic field, 0.5 T, distance between the mask layer and the workpiece, 2 mm and emission angle of the electron, 30°.

Folded waveguide traveling-wave tubes (FW TWT) are among the most promising candidates for powerful compact amplifiers and oscillators in millimeter and submillimeter wave bands. In this paper, the nonstationary behavior of a FW TWT oscillator with delayed feedback is investigated. Starting conditions of the oscillations are derived analytically. Results of numerical simulation of single-frequency, self-modulation (multifrequency) and chaotic generation regimes are presented. Mode competition phenomena, multistability and hysteresis are discussed.

Low-voltage operation of millimeter-wave folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (TWT) was investigated using a 12 kV linear electron beam. Backward wave oscillation operated at second space harmonic was observed with output power of 20 W, linear tunability of 6% within 0.01 dB/MHz, and voltage-frequency stability of 0.56 MHz/V. The measured frequency and output power are in a good agreement with the predicted values using a particle-in-cell (PIC) code. In addition, backward-wave interaction at second-space harmonic as an amplifier was observed with a measured linear gain of 15 dB and a bandwidth of 0.3%. For forward wave interaction, a linear gain of 25 dB, bandwidth of 17%, and efficiency of 7% were predicted for fundamental space harmonic using a PIC code. Improvement in efficiency was predicted for the forward-wave amplifier where it was operated as an oscillator employing a delayed feedback. Output power was increased by 10 dB in the delayed feedback oscillator comparing with the backward-wave oscillator. The effect of period doubling due to potential fabrication inaccuracies on the stopband was studied experimentally. The folded waveguide TWT fabricated using the Lighographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung (LIGA) process operated at much higher frequencies is discussed.

In order to make millimeter-wave sources practical, improved fabrication methods are required. The use of Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung; German acronym (LIGA) to fabricate a coupled-cavity traveling-wave tube (TWT) is presented. The proposed circuit design will focus on two-step LIGA fabrication and dual in-line ladder structure with a rectangular beam tunnel. The fabrication sequence of two-step LIGA is illustrated and the advantages and tradeoff of this approach are described. Three electromagnetic codes-HFSS, GdfidL, and MAGIC3D-are employed to analyze the circuit characteristics in cold and hot test simulations. Finally, the results from small and large signal analyses are presented to verify the validity of the circuit design.

A stationary 1-D nonlinear code based on Lagrangian disk model is developed on the basis of a simple set of analytical expressions to study nonlinear dynamics in the helix slow-wave structure used in a traveling wave tube. The loss profiles such as triangular and Gaussian types are modeled as stairsteps and a simple formula is developed to found the loss at a plane for such loss profile. In contrast to the earlier works in nonlinear theory, at present, no numerical method is used at any stage. The method, introduced in this work, is general in nature because it can handle (a) multi-section structure with sever, (b) different loss profiles, namely, center (Gaussian) and tip (triangular: increasing or decreasing), (c) space charge effect on the electrons, (d) backward waves arising due to reflections, etc. Accuracy of the theory and code is verified with comparison of the computed present results with the results from simulation code MAGIC and published elsewhere and found to be in good agreement. The generation and suppression of the harmonic power are studied for a typical structure. It is found that the introduction of resynchronization section of the reduced pitch enhances the fundamental power with the reduction of the second harmonic power. In addition, the method can be used for any helix slow-wave-structure consisting of homogeneous/inhomogeneous dielectric support rods in isotropic/anisotropic overall metallic enclosure, because the axial propagation constant and interaction impedance obtained for any structure and model such as sheath and tape helix approximations or from any simulation codes can be used as the input in the program to make the code more general.

A method to synthesize the parameters of a folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (FWTWT) is derived. For the device designed using this method, cold characteristics such as phase velocity and interaction impedance of virtual TM wave, as well as the growth rate, show reasonable agreement with those obtained by HFSS and MAGIC3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 38: 161–165, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.11003

A novel slow-wave structure (SWS), the coaxial inverted helical groove structure, is presented and those of its properties used for wide-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) are investigated. The first part of the paper concerns the wave properties of this structure in the case of a vacuum. The influence of the geometrical dimensions on dispersion characteristics and interaction impedance are investigated. The theoretical results reveal a very weak dispersion for the fundamental wave in the structure. The negative dispersion can be realized by a suitable selection of the structural parameters. The interaction impedance of the fundamental wave is about 10 /spl Omega/. The interaction impedance of the -1 space harmonic wave is much lower than that of the fundamental wave. Thus, the risk of backward wave oscillation is reduced. The software high frequency structure simulator (HFSS) is also used to calculate the dispersion property of the SWS. The simulation results from HFSS and the theoretical results agree well, which supports the theory. In the second part, a self-consistent linear theory of a coaxial inverted helical groove TWT is presented. The typical small signal gain per period is about 0.5 dB and the 3-dB small-signal gain bandwidth can exceed 25% with a 33-dB gain of tube.

Two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, using MAGIC code, have been performed for wide-band helix traveling-wave tubes (TWTs) in a large-signal regime. Fundamental and second-harmonic power calculated over a 1.5-octave frequency range of 6–18 GHz were compared and found to be in good agreement with those obtained by one-dimensional (1D) nonlinear theory. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 34: 451–454, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10492

Using numerical simulations, a wideband (>1.5 octave) vane loaded helix traveling-wave tube (TWT) was studied, the output section of which is provided with a `positively' phase velocity tapered helix portion, in which the helix pitch is made to linearly increase with distance towards the output end for reasonably high efficiency values. As compared to a device with a conventional 'negatively' phase velocity tapered helix portion, which gives an efficiency hike only in a narrow band of frequency, the positively tapered device provided a wideband efficiency improvement. Also, over the band, it provided a higher efficiency and a lower second harmonic content than a device with a nontapered portion. Factors such as the beginning position of the taper from the input and the amount of taper were considered in the optimum design for improving efficiency and reducing the second harmonic content of the device.

Theoretical simulation of the dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of a semivane loaded negative dispersion helical slow-wave structure, which is a slight variant of a conventional vane-loaded helix of a wide-band traveling-wave tube (TWT), was validated for the nonresonant perturbation measurement. While the experimental and theoretical results agreed well with respect to interaction impedance for both the semivane structure and the structure without vanes, there was disagreement found with respect to the dispersion characteristics of the semivane structure, which was explained quantitatively by the deformation that had taken place in assembling the structure. The output performance of a TWT using the semivane structure fairly agreed with the prediction by an in-house one-dimensional nonlinear Lagrangian code, with respect to saturated output power (/spl sim/50 W), saturated gain (/spl sim/40 dB), and lower-band-edge second harmonic level (/spl sim/-5 dBc), in the operating frequency range of 6-18 GHz, except at the low frequency end of the operating band, where the saturated power was less and the second harmonic level higher than predicted, a finding that may be attributed to the departure of the deformed structure from exhibiting a negative dispersion at the lower band edge.

A new type of partial-dielectric-loaded helical groove slow-wave structure (SWS) for millimetre wave travelling wave tube (TWT) is presented in this paper. The radio-frequency characteristics including the dispersion properties, the longitudinal electric field distribution and the beam-wave coupling impedance of this structure are analysed. The results show that the dispersion of the helical groove circuit is weakened, the phase velocity is reduced and the position of the maximum Ez is moved from the mouth to the inside of the groove after partially filling the dielectric materials in the helical groove SWS. Therefore, the dielectric-loaded helical groove SWS is suitable for a multi-beam TWT with broad band and high gain.

The suppression of TE mode oscillations in a PPM-focused S-band sheet beam klystron amplifier using a method of loading distributed losses is presented. This method allows us to make a reasonable attenuation of unwanted modes relative to the operating TM mode and can be used to improve the stability of beam-wave interaction circuit with high aspect ratio.

Three types of folded waveguide slow-wave structure (SWS) are analyzed and compared for 140GHz traveling wave tube (TWT). The radio frequency characteristics and the large signal beam-wave interaction performances of the three SWS are simulated and compared. The loaded ridge can improve the output power and the tapered ridge can reduce the mismatch between the SWS and the ridge.

Ku-band (14-14.5 GHz) folded waveguide TWT operated at the beam voltage and current of 6 kV and 0.1 A, respectively, has been studied experimentally. The RF circuit is designed by using a linear theory [1] and its predicted gain for a single stage is 20 dB. The cold test of the assembled RF circuit shows a good agreement with the theoretical prediction [2].

The propagation properties of an electron beam whose energy and current are simultaneously premodulated at the cathode are investigated by computer simulation using the two-dimensional (2-D) particle-in-cell code, MAGIC. The simulation is carried out to investigate the influence of the initial energy modulation and the phase difference between current and energy modulation. With appropriate initial energy modulation, the amplitude of the downstream current modulation can be kept as high as the initial modulation level. Appreciable growth of high harmonic components is also observed as the electron beam debunches. The simulation data are compared with results obtained from a nonlinear theory of the current modulation in an electron beam propagating through a drift tube. It is shown that the simulation data agree remarkably well with the analytical theory.

A wideband folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifier has advantages of simpler coupling structures and robust structure over the conventional helix TWT. The phase velocity of waves in folded waveguide is slowed down to the velocity of electron beam. Slow-wave interaction with the electron beam in folded waveguide is studied in a linear fashion. For a cold beam, the linear theory predicts a gain of 2 dB/cm and a bandwidth of 37% at the center frequency of 14 GHz. A closed algebraic dispersion relation for the frequency and the axial phase shift per period is obtained using an equivalent circuit model. Numerical solution calculated from the dispersion relation and three-dimensional electromagnetic code, HFSS simulations predict a mode coalescing in the folded waveguide. And a theoretical phase velocity prediction of the electromagnetic wave in this circuit is verified by HFSS simulations.

We have experimentally demonstrated a low-velocity spread, axis-encircling electron beam using a comparatively simple Pierce-type electron gun and single cusp magnetic field based on a recent theory [Jeon et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 3703 (2002)] developed with the assumption of small orbit gyration before the magnetic cusp, in which every physical property has been analyzed and the possibility of zero percent axial velocity spread was concluded. The velocity ratio and the axial velocity spread were measured to compare the theory with varied operation conditions of the electron gun. These results agree well with our hypothesis.

Millimeter-wave traveling-wave tube (TWT) prevails nowadays as the amplifier for radar, communication and electronic countermeasures. The rectangular waveguide grating is a promising all-metal interaction circuit for the millimeter-wave TWT with advantages of high power capacity, fine heat dissipation, scalability to smaller dimensions for shorter wavelengths, compact structure and robust performance. Compared with the traditional closed structure, the open rectangular waveguide grating (ORWG) has wider bandwidth, lower cut-off frequency, and higher machining precision for higher working frequencies due to the open transverse. It is a potential structure that can work in the millimeter wave and even Terahertz band. The rf characteristics including dispersion and interaction impedance are investigated by both theoretic calculation and software simulation. The influences of the structure parameters are also discussed and compared, and the theoretical results agree well with the simulation results. Based on the study, the ORWG will favor the design of a broadband and high-power millimeter-wave TWT.