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Analysis of the performance degradation for W-band lossy ceramic-loaded gyrotron traveling wave tubes (gyro-TWTs) caused by ionization of the released gas molecules is presented in this paper. The gas is released from the lossy ceramics during high average or continuous wave operation and ionized by colliding with the high-energy gyrating electrons. A potential well will be formed by the diffusion and accumulation of the ionization particles after the collision and then degrade the gyro-TWT performance. This process has been simulated based on a simplified model by introducing an equivalent ionization source combining ions and electrons. With a vacuum of 5.1 × 10 - 5 Pa, the theoretically calculated initial energy and equivalent ionization current are 0.01 eV and 0.5 A, respectively. It leads to a deterioration in the output power stability of the gyro-TWT. The performance degradation including spectrum and field pattern caused by gas ionization is also given and analyzed. One of the primary causes is the quality (pitch factor and velocity spread) degradation of the electron beam. According to the simulation and hot test experiments, the vacuum should be maintained below 2.1 × 10 - 6 Pa for stabilizing the amplified operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the mode excited, evolved, and propagating properties of the lossy dielectric-loaded waveguide (DLW) used in a Ku-band TE11-mode gyrotron traveling wave tube (gyro-TWT). Theoretical calculation and numerical simulation show that different DLW eigenmodes can be excited by the hollow circular waveguide as a single or hybrid-mode. This study clearly reveals the transformation conditions of the single and hybrid-mode, and the mechanism of the resulting specific dispersion, loss, and electromagnetic field distribution. According to the mode excitation principle and its evolution laws, the propagating properties can be accurately controlled by adjusting the dielectric thickness, which can effectively suppress the potential oscillations and improve the electron bunching phase in the gyro-TWT. As a result, the dielectric loading scheme can be optimized by properly arranging the DLWs, thus enhancing the stability and gain of the gyro-TWT. The theory and simulation are verified by the vector network analyzer measurement at Ku-band, and the results show a good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent hot test details and inspiring results of the W-band lossy-dielectric-loaded gyrotron traveling-wave tube (gyro-TWT) developed at the University Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) are reported in this letter. Measurement of the gyro-TWT had achieved a pulse output power over 100 kW with a broad bandwidth of 8.5 GHz (92.0~100.5 GHz). For the first time as we know, the W-band gyro-TWT can stably operate with a 10% duty cycle and the average output power is over 10.3 kW in the frequency range. Excellent stability, pure spectrum and mode patterns are all verified in the hot test experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the need to transmit increasingly massive volumes of data, a more than 3 kW continuous wave (CW) Ka-band sheet beam traveling-wave tube (SB-TWT) is reported for the first time. Working under unsaturated drive, the maximum gain obtained is 29 dB with a sheet beam of 30.9 kV, 0.82 A, and the efficiency exceeds 24% with a single-stage collector depressed to −15 kV. The 1-dB bandwidth reaches 6 GHz from 26 GHz to 32 GHz and the bandwidth with output power greater than 2 kW can even reach 7GHz from 26 GHz to 33 GHz. The realization of 99.8% static transmission as well as over 97% actual CW transmission of sheet beam is verified successfully, which benefits from adopting periodic cusp magnet (PCM) focusing, and thereby total weight is less than 15 kg. The relevant experimental details are introduced in this letter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and microwave measurement of a linearly polarized circular TE11 mode coupler are reported in this article. Based on our earlier designed input coupler with smooth wall, we proposed an improved structure with ridges loading resulting in a bandwidth up to 29.2%. Simulation results show the port reflection S11 less than −10 dB is in 7.9–10.6 GHz. And the split transmission S21 and S31are over −3.4 dB in this frequency range. According to the simulation results, the designed input coupler is fabricated and measured with the vector network analyzer. The measurement results show excellent performance, which is in good agreement with the simulation when the conductor loss is taken into consideration. In addition, an input coupler with a cutoff waveguide is designed to improve the efficiency of single-port transmission and the power utilization. Simulation results show the transmission efficiency of the single port achieves 91%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the development of a dual-state Ku-band gyrotron traveling-wave tube (gyro-TWT) dual-state curved-profile magnetic injection gun (MIG) generating high-quality electron beams, in which the pitch factor is up to 1.2 and 1.35 for the pulse wave (PW) state and the continuous wave (CW) state, separately. A multiobjective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is applied in the profile optimization. Meanwhile, the parametric sensitivity is also discussed in detail. A periodic dielectric-loaded interaction circuit is adopted to suppress oscillations. Furthermore, thermal analyses of the interaction circuit under different duty cycles are also elaborated. The interaction circuit is analyzed in accordance with the proposed nonlinear self-consistent theory and particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. The results of hot experiments show that the dual-state tube obtains the output power of 150/30 kW corresponding to a saturated gain of 40/41 dB and the maximum efficiency of 25%/21% within the bandwidth of 2.0/1.1 GHz for the PW/CW state, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase characteristics of gyrotron traveling-wave tubes (gyro-TWTs) for high-resolution imaging radars have been investigated. Determinant equations of output phase are classified into the cold phase and warm phase in the cases of cold-field and hot-field regions, respectively. The phase–frequency characteristics of cold phase are examined regarding single-mode and multimode operations, respectively. The time stability and the sensitivity to external parameters of warm phase are also investigated. The efficient methods to make the output phase of gyro-TWTs controllable are proposed. The measured output phase of the input coupler and output taper of a Ka-band gyro-TWT is linear with respect to the frequency, without any distortion. Moreover, the warm output phase fluctuation introduced by the RF circuit is less than ±8°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of highly efficient gyrotron traveling-wave tube (gyro-TWT) with a nonuniform dielectric-loaded interaction circuit. The high-quality electron beam has been generated by curved-profile magnetron injection gun (MIG). With regard to the profile optimization, simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) and genetic algorithm (GA) are applied. An electron beam with a pitch factor of 1.6 and low-axial velocity spread of 0.9182% have been obtained. The parametric sensitivity is discussed in detail. A nonuniform dielectric-loaded circuit has been employed to suppress both global oscillations and local oscillations. Different thicknesses of dielectric materials have been manufactured and measured, demonstrating the circuit loss of oscillation modes that are enough for stable operation. The interaction circuit is analyzed under the guidance of nonlinear self-consistent theory and particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. The tube achieves a saturated peak output power of 36.24 kW at 93 GHz, corresponding to a saturated gain of 54 dB and a maximum efficiency of 45.3% within a 3-dB saturated bandwidth of 5 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately measure the performance of dielectric loaded circuits for gyrotron traveling wave tubes, a novel topological structure to generate the TE21○ or TE01○ (superscript represents circular waveguide) mode is proposed and verified in this paper. The topology is constituted by an overmoded TE10□ to TE20□ (superscript represents rectangular waveguide) mode converter with multiple matching steps and a taper from TE20□ to TE21○ or TE01○ mode. This topology allows the TE21○ or TE01○ mode to be excited by changing the taper dimensions. Simulation results reveal that the TE21○ and TE01○ mode converters, respectively, have a 1-dB bandwidth of 12.8 and 9.3 GHz with an excellent performance. Converters for the back-to-back millimeter-wave measurements were fabricated with computerized numerical control and wire cutting techniques. Vector network analyzer measurements are in good agreement with the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]