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This article studies and summarizes the operating characteristics of a ${G}$ -band folded waveguide traveling wave tube (TWT) amplifier enhanced by the $\pi $ -mode extended interaction cavities. Compared with conventional ${G}$ -band TWTs, the proposed amplifier can at once obtain a higher gain in a shorter interaction circuit length and ensure a proper operating bandwidth. The key of the design is introducing the $\pi $ -mode multigap resonant cavity with alternating wide and narrow slots, which will improve the working performance of the whole device by shortening the length of the interaction circuit, enhancing its interaction effect, and improving its gain of unit length. In this design, the operation bandwidth is expanded by stagger tuning technique. In addition, the influence of cavity loss is examined so that the optimal performance is achieved. The PIC simulation results show that when the operating voltage is 21 kV and the operating current 80 mA, the maximum average output power of the designed TWT amplifier is 65.78 W at 217.4 GHz, which is corresponding to the maximum gain and efficiency of 37.38 dB and 3.9%, respectively. The gain per unit length is 12.64 dB/cm and the 3-dB bandwidth is 3.5 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enormous concerns focus on the high-power and wide bandwidth traveling-wave tube (TWT) for its outstanding performance. In this article, a shape-optimized staggered double-vane slow-wave structure (SWS) for terahertz (THz) sheet beam TWT is proposed. The shape-optimized staggered double-vane SWS takes the advantages of higher interaction impedance, lower transmission loss, and lower phase velocity than conventional staggered double-vane SWSs. The shape-optimized staggered double-vane SWS with 85 periods is designed, fabricated, and cold tested. The measured transmission loss of the shape-optimized staggered double-vane SWS is less than 0.79 dB/cm in the frequency range of 0.211–0.26 THz, which is in good agreement with the simulation results. Furthermore, the beam–wave interaction analysis of a sheet beam TWT with this SWS is given. The output power is predicted to be >100 W with 3-dB bandwidth of >50 GHz. The results show that the shape-optimized staggered double-vane SWS is a very promising scheme to construct a high-power and wideband THz TWT for future applications such as communication and imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A $Q$ -band traveling-wave tube (TWT) with profiled helix pitches and profiled inner diameters of slow wave structure (SWS) is proposed. The transmission characteristics of the $Q$ -band TWT are simulated by the Computer Simulation Technology (CST). In the operating frequency band (36.5–41.5 GHz), the simulated voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is less than 1.5. In addition, the beam–wave interaction is simulated to predict the performance of the $Q$ -band TWT when the beam voltage and beam current are 8.5 kV and 60 mA, respectively, and the axial focusing magnetic field is 0.4 T. In the operating frequency band, the self-oscillation is well suppressed, and the device efficiency of the $Q$ -band TWT exceeds 63.5%, and the saturated output power and gain exceed 83 W and 45 dB, respectively, especially the device efficiency can reach the maximum of 69.5% at 37 GHz. When it is backed off 6 dB from the saturation, the device efficiency exceeds 40.5%, up to 42.7% at 39 GHz. Preliminary experiments have confirmed the design. These results show that the proposed $Q$ -band TWT has important applications to the next generation wireless communication system with high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The angular log-periodic meander-line traveling wave tube (TWT) is a kind of low voltage, small-sized, high power, low cost, on chip amplifiers, and considered as a key part of the advanced communication systems, the future biomedical applications and the next electronic counter measure (ECM) instruments et al. Here, an angular log-periodic meander-line TWT is presented in this article. The angular log-periodic meander-line slow wave structure (SWS) is supported by two diamond rods. The dispersion and the impedance characteristics are analyzed in detail. In order to reduce the reflection loss, a gradual ridged waveguide is connecting the input–output standard rectangular waveguide to the meander-line SWS. The particle in cell (PIC) simulations show that the output power of the TWT can reach 55 W at 34 GHz with the operation voltage of 1800 V and the beam current of 0.2 A. The SWS is manufactured by a laser machine with Molybdenum sheet. The assembled TWT is tested and the results show that the ${S}_{{11}}$ is less than −10 dB at 30–39 GHz. The ${S}_{{21}}$ mismatch between the simulated and the measurement is discussed at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 0.14 THz angular radial extended interaction oscillator (AREIO) is proposed in this article. The characteristic impedance (${R}/{Q}$), the normalized equivalent conductance (${g}_{e}$), and the starting condition of the cavity are calculated and analyzed. When the metal loss is considered, in order to achieve the starting condition, it is necessary to increase the period length (${p}$) to improve $\vert {g}_{e}\vert $. The performance of the AREIO is simulated by particle-in-cell (PIC). The voltage tuning range and the output performance under different angular angles of the cavity are investigated. Under the condition of lossless and the electron beam of 11.5 kV and 1.5 A, the peak output power and interaction efficiency of the AREIO (8°) are 5.46 kW and 31.7%, which have increased by 24.1% and 6.2% in comparison with conventional sheet beam. When considering the metal loss, the optimal angular angle will decrease to 4°. In addition, the cavity is fabricated and tested, and the results of ${S}_{{11}}$ in operating mode are consistent with the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed an oversized coaxial multi-beam relativistic klystron amplifier (OCMB-RKA) with a new input coupler of lesser complexity giving enhanced input microwave power absorption rate for generating high power millimeter-wave radiation in Ka-band. The high-frequency structure of the OCMB-RKA was designed, fabricated, and cold-tested for results that agreed well with the simulated results. Furthermore, using the 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) code, the beam-wave interaction of the OCMB-RKA was simulated, considering two different materials (stainless steel and copper) making the interaction structure. When a 500 kV, 3 kA electron beam, and a focusing magnetic flux intensity of 1 T were adopted in the PIC simulation, a five-cavity OCMB-RKA yielded the output power of 610 MW at 30.525 GHz with the electronic efficiency of 40.7% and the saturated gain of 55.3 dB. Experimentally, the OCMB-RKA demonstrated its capability of generating high power Ka-band radiation typically of 390 MW power with the pulse width of 27 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electron-optical system (EOS) for ${G}$ -band traveling-wave tubes (TWT) is investigated by simulation and verified by experiment. The EOS includes a sheet beam electron gun, a tunable periodic cusped magnetic focusing (TPCMF), and a collector. An elliptical focus electrode (FE) featuring a simple geometry and easy fabrication is utilized to compress the pencil beam into the sheet beam with a cross section of 0.4 mm $\times0.1$ mm. The electron gun with a cylindrical cathode of 0.8 mm diameter generates the sheet beam with voltage of 22 kV and current of 115 mA. Based on the sheet beam electron gun, the TPCMF with easy assembly and compact size is then proposed. The experimental results show that the beam transmission is 92.1% within a beam tunnel (its length 21.2 mm and cross section 0.8 mm $\times0.15$ mm). The EOS is suitable for ${G}$ -band TWT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a simulation method to investigate the noise mechanism of traveling-wave tube (TWT). Based on the nonlinear theory of Lagrangian description, 1-D noise model is established to analyze the shot noise and the velocity noise of the electron beam in the drift space, which clearly shows that the beam noise propagates along the electron beam with standing wave shape. The shot noise and the velocity noise can be periodically converted into each other along electron beam transmission, which is consistent with the prediction of the classical noise theory developed by Pierce and Danielson (1954). Using the nonlinear beam–wave interaction theory, the evolution process of the shot noise and the velocity noise of the electron beam transforming to the electromagnetic wave in TWT is illustrated. The calculated results show that the input position of the slow wave circuit may affect the noise power spectral density (NPSD) of the device. The proposed method can provide more intuitive and simple images to explain the noise mechanism of TWT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an improved model for the beam–wave interaction of sheet beam in traveling wave tubes (TWTs) considering ohmic losses and reflections is presented. The ohmic losses are obtained by field analysis and equivalent method. The space charge magnetic field is derived from the active Helmholtz’s equation. An algorithm to obtain the S-matrix by the equivalent circuit method is presented. The relativistic Boris method is applied to accelerate macroparticles. The exchanged power is computed by the work the electromagnetic field applied to the macroparticles. The theoretical model is applied for validation to a G-band staggered double vane TWT and validated in comparison with CST Particle Studio and simulations without losses and reflections. The convergence of this algorithm is also discussed. The simulation time of the model is substantial faster than 3-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semi-analytic numerical algorithm for general pillbox windows, named the pillbox window mode-matching algorithm (PWMMA), is proposed in this letter. The PWMMA shows quite consistent calculation results with CST Microwave Studio (CST-MWS) within a remarkably reduced time than CST-MWS. Four pillbox windows, each consists of a double-side metalized diamond disk, were fabricated and tested at the frequency bands of 0.21 THz-0.25 THz and 0.32 THz-0.36 THz. The experimental results of the transmission characteristics are consistent well with the calculation results of the PWMMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel sine groove waveguide slow wave structure (SGW-SWS), originated from the sine waveguide (SW), is proposed for a wideband terahertz (THz) traveling wave tube (TWT). SGW-SWS not only has high interaction impedance in a relatively wide frequency band, but also has a wide beam tunnel. In addition, it can be fabricated using the Nano-Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling techniques. The high-frequency simulation results show that, under the same dispersion, the passband of SGW-SWS is 23 GHz wider than that of SW-SWS, and the average interaction impedance of SGW-SWS is higher than that of SW-SWS in the whole passband. And the transverse dimension of beam tunnel is independent of the dispersion characteristics of SGW-SWS, so the beam current can be further increased by enlarging the size of beam tunnel. Moreover, the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results reveal that the saturated power and electronic efficiency of SGW-TWT in the frequency range of 201–260 GHz are more than 84.9 W and 2.72%, respectively, when the operating voltage is 20.8 kV and the beam current is 150 mA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel dielectric-supported staggered dual-meander-line (DS-SDML) planar slow-wave structure (SWS) is proposed for a traveling wave tube (TWT) working at ${E}$ -band. The proposed staggered arrangement of meander-lines (MLs) leads to a stronger beam–wave interaction and achieves higher output power as compared to the symmetric arrangement. The input–output couplers have been designed by using staggered stepped double ridge waveguide, to connect the standard ${E}$ -band rectangular waveguide and the DS-SDML SWS. An attenuator and pitch tapering have been applied to the proposed SWS to suppress the unwanted frequencies and to improve the output power. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results show that for an 11.8-kV, 200-mA sheet-beam, the output power can reach 283 W at 75 GHz, with a maximum gain and electronic efficiency of 34.5 dB and 11.9%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The miniaturized traveling wave tube (TWT) is a kind of high-efficiency, high-power, long-lifetime power amplifier which is an attractive choice for many applications, such as outer space exploration, phased array radar detection, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication, and on-chip application. In this article, a sheet beam miniaturized TWT with V-shaped meander-line slow wave structure (SWS) supported by two trapezoidal ceramic rods is designed. First, the dispersion characteristics, the impedance characteristics, and the S-parameters of the V-shaped meander-line SWS are analyzed in detail. Then, the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results predict that the TWT can produce 512-W output power driven by a 7.1 kV, 0.3-A sheet beam with a rectangular cross-sectional area of 3.5 mm $\times0.1$ mm. The TWT can cover the whole ${X}$ -band when the operation voltage shift from 7.1 to 9.1 kV. At last, the V-shaped meander-line SWS is manufactured, assembled, and tested. The good agreement between the simulated and the measured ${S} _{\mathbf {11}}$ has been achieved and the mismatch between the simulated and the measured ${S} _{\mathbf {21}}$ has been discussed at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniaturized, high electronic efficiency, S-band metamaterial extended interaction klystron (MEIK) is proposed. The metamaterial-based extended interaction resonant cavities were designed, fabricated, and tested, the assembled and cold-tested results confirm the feasibility of miniaturization in MEIK. Furthermore, the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation predicts that, typically, when the beam voltage and current are 30 kV and 3 A, respectively, the focusing magnetic field is 1000 G, a 3-cavity MEIK yields the output power of 56 kW at 2.453 GHz, with the saturated gain of 47 dB and the electronic efficiency of 62%, and, importantly, with the cavity diameter of its interaction structure being ~1/2 of a conventional extended interaction klystron. As a power amplifier, the emerging MEIK with its miniaturization and high electronic efficiency has potential applications such as in future accelerators and microwave heating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel slow wave structure (SWS), named staggered double corrugated waveguide (SDCW), is proposed for the development of wideband high-power terahertz (THz) traveling wave tubes (TWTs). The SDCW-SWS not only has the wideband characteristic of staggered double grating (SDG) but also has the high interaction impedance characteristic of symmetrical double grating. In addition, its tunnel width is independent of the lower cutoff frequency and can be further increased. Numerical Eigen mode calculations show that, under the same dispersion, the passband of SDCW-SWS is increased by more than 10 GHz compared with SDG-SWS, and the average interaction impedance at 195 GHz is increased by about 62%. A particle-in-cell simulation analysis confirms that the average output power, saturated gain, and electron efficiency of SDCW-TWT at 195 GHz are ~110 W, ~20.34 dB, and ~5.46%, respectively, when the operating voltage is 20 kV and the beam current is 100 mA. Therefore, SDCW is a promising slow wave circuit of wideband high-power THz traveling wave amplifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel modified angular log-periodic folded waveguide slow wave structure (MALPFW-SWS) is proposed for high-gain traveling wave tubes (TWTs). Each unit of the MALPFW-SWS has different dispersion characteristics and thus it has the ability to suppress oscillations in TWTs. The dispersion equation of the MALPFW-SWS is derived and a Ka-band MALPFW-SWS is designed according to the dispersion equation for verification. The particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation indicated that the output signal is steady even the gain of the designed MALPFW-TWT reaches 40 dB. The frequency spectrum of the output signal also proved that the MALPFW-SWS can suppress oscillations. The cold test experiment results show that the transmission characteristics of the fabricated MALPFW-SWS are good and are in good agreement with the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traveling wave tube (TWT) is an attractive solution for wideband and high-power sources or amplifiers in the terahertz (THz) band. In this article, a novel slow-wave structure (SWS) for TWT, named double tunnel sine waveguide (DTSW), which is based on sine waveguide (SW), is proposed. The following key technologies are adopted: 1) the rectangular holes, at which the operating mode is cutoff, are alternately opened on the sine-shaped ridges to form two electron beam tunnels and 2) the lower surface of rectangular holes is flush with the top of sine-shaped ridges. Compared with the SW-SWS, DTSW-SWS has the wider operating band and higher interaction impedance under the condition that the phase velocity of the two SWSs is at the same level. In addition, DTSW-SWS is simple in structure and easy to fabricate. The particle-in-cell simulation results reveal that DTSW-TWT has an output power of more than 202 W in the frequency range of 202–255 GHz with the maximum power of ~405 W and electron efficiency of ~9.8% at 215 GHz, under the operating voltage of 23 kV and beam current of 180 mA. Therefore, the DTSW should be considered as a promising SWS for the high-power and wideband THz traveling wave amplifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large signal beam-wave interaction model for the analysis of folded waveguide traveling wave-tube (FWG TWT) is proposed. The slow-wave structure is modeled as a sequence of coupled resonant cavities. The electron beam is treated as a current source that can induce electromagnetic waves in the cavity. The beam-wave interacting process is modeled as an active matrix. Compared with the other models only calculating the in-band characteristic of FWG TWT, our model can provide characteristic analysis in both in-band and near cutoff regions, and thus broaden operating bandwidth and suppress oscillation. As verification, two FWG TWT examples were designed by using our model. Its performances predicted by our code agree well with that obtained by the experiment and particle-in-cell software, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel slow wave structure (SWS), called double tunnel staggered grating (DTSG), which originates from the double staggered grating (DSG) and folded waveguide (FW), is proposed to develop a dual-beam traveling wave tube (TWT) with high power and electron efficiency in Terahertz (THz) band. Using two key techniques: (1) the rectangular holes are opened in the grating-ridges, and the operating mode is cut-off at holes; (2) specific grating-height, the DTSG-SWS possesses the wide operating band as DSG-SWS, high interaction impedance as the rectangular grating (RG) SWS, and good transmission characteristics as FW-SWS. In addition, it is not only suitable for the dual-beam TWT, but also is simple and easy of fabrication as DSG-SWS. The particle-in-cell simulation analysis confirms that the saturated power and electron efficiency of TWT using DTSG-SWS have been significantly improved compared with the TWT using DSG-SWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel helical groove rectangular waveguide slow wave structure (HGRW-SWS) which evolves from the double staggered grating waveguide (DSGW) SWS is put forward to develop the high-gain and high electron efficiency terahertz (THz) traveling wave tube (TWT). The major advantages of the HGRW SWS are the higher interaction impedance, lower ohmic loss, and lower phase velocity especially in higher frequency band compared with the DSGW SWS. The gain and electron efficiency of TWT using HGRW-SWS have been significantly improved, respectively, compared with the TWT using DSGW-SWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel system of input and output couplers, excited in azimuthal symmetric and stable mode of operation, for an oversized coaxial relativistic klystron amplifier (OCRKA) at Ka-band. A mode converter is introduced in the output coaxial waveguide to provide a tunnel for the input waveguide and fix the inner and outer conductors of the OCRKA. After characterizing the proposed input and output couplers, the high-frequency structure of the OCRKA is designed and then optimized by Computer Simulation Technology. The simulated frequency and loaded quality factor of the input, output, and idler cavities are validated against measurement. Also, the beam–wave interaction of the OCRKA using the proposed input and output couplers is simulated by particle-in-cell software, the average saturated output power of 880 MW of the OCRKA at Ka-band, with 29.3% electronic efficiency and 58-dB saturated gain are obtained. Moreover, no pulse shortening of the output power waveform is observed during the simulation time of 100 ns, which indicates that the proposed input and output couplers can suppress the higher order mode self-oscillation in the Ka-band OCRKA studied here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper puts forward a novel dual-beam overmoded folded waveguide (FW) slow-wave structure (SWS), which is loaded with photonic crystals. In this novel structure, the two electron beams pass through the small gaps between the photonic crystal structures and the FW; the dimension of the FW is twice larger than that of the fundamental mode structure. The novel dual-beam photonic crystal overmoded FW traveling-wave tube (TWT) is proposed on the basis of the SWS. And, a mode converter is introduced to achieve the connection between the SWS and the input/output structure, and the mode transformation. At the operating voltage of 21.2 kV and the operating current of 320 mA, the proposed TWT can generate 128 W of output power at 220 GHz, and its 3-dB bandwidth is 7 GHz, ranging from 216 to 223 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed an all-metal metamaterial slow-wave structure (MSWS) that consists of a circular waveguide periodically loaded with complementary electric split-ring resonators (CeSRRs). We set up an equivalent circuit theoretical model of MSWS and analyzed its high-frequency characteristics. Also, based on the surface current distribution on the CeSRR obtained by using the eigenmode solver in the CST Microwave Studio, a method of calculating the resonant frequency of the CeSRR was proposed. Furthermore, an MSWS with RF coupling port was designed, simulated, fabricated, and experimentally characterized. The dispersion characteristics of MSWS obtained by interpreting the experimental transmission characteristics agreed well with those predicted by theory as well as simulation. Based on the results of simulation and experiment, a concept of “resonance-coupling” was proposed for the passband of MSWS for frequencies below the cutoff frequency of an empty circular waveguide. The role of the slot-line in the CeSRR in influencing the performance of MSWS was also analyzed. The proposed MSWS has wide potential applications in vacuum electron devices, such as backward-wave oscillator and extended interaction klystron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a 3-D fast time-domain nonlinear algorithm (FTDNA-3-D) based on particle-in-cell method for the beam–wave interaction of the sheet beam slow wave structure (SWS) is presented. Calculation equations of the circuit electric field and the space charge electric field are given. Calculation approaches of the energy exchange and the particle mover are displayed. A simplified coupling impedance simulation approach for sheet beam SWS is indicated. The FTDNA-3-D takes the transverse electric field and the focusing magnetic field into consideration. The FTDNA-3-D could reach a high simulation speed. This novel algorithm gives a faster accurate choice for the design of sheet beam traveling-wave tube (TWT). It could be used to enhance the design efficiency of sheet beam TWT. A Ka-band staggered double vane TWT is used to verify the FTDNA-3-D. Simulation results of output power and gain versus frequency from FTDNA-3-D are compared with results from CST particle studio. The results of FTDNA-3-D are in accord with CST particle studio well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-harmonic traveling-wave tube (HHTWT) is designed, developed, and tested in this paper. This device is configured as a multiplier–amplifier with Q-band input signals and its third harmonic, i.e., D-band output power. The tested result demonstrates that 280 mW at 133.5 GHz is obtained as a result of 200 mW at 44.5-GHz input signal. The simulation and experiment validate that the high-harmonic radiation can be generated and amplified in the HHTWT. The approach described in this paper could find application in exploring high power, wideband tunable terahertz source. This paper is expanded from a conference paper on IVEC 2017. The detail design produce and tested result are added in this paper. The explanation of the simulation and tested results is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angle log-periodic meander line microstrip radial sheet beam traveling-wave tube is one kind of novel minimized vacuum device with low beam voltage. To generate and focus the radial sheet electron beam, a novel radial divergent sheet beam electron optical system, including the tractable radial sheet electron beam gun and miniaturized and feasible radial small tunable periodic cusped magnetic focusing system, is proposed in this paper. The fan-shaped radial sheet beam is emitted from the cylindrical surface cathode, compressed in axial direction, and confined in azimuthal direction by the focusing electrode. Simulation results show that the total emission of the angular radial sheet beam gun is 51.2 mA with the dimensions of 0.26~\text mm \times 8 ° under the voltage of 1.7 kV, and the fan-shaped radial sheet beam can totally pass through the fan-shaped drift tunnel under the magnetic field. The experimental results are good in agreement with the simulation results. The tested angular radial sheet beam transmission efficiency is >90% in an 18.8-mm-length beam tunnel with the fill factor of 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The symmetrical microstrip angular log-periodic meander-line (ALPML) slow-wave structure (SWS), which is suitable for Ka-band low-voltage traveling-wave tubes, is described in this paper. The dispersion characteristics and coupling impendence of this kind of SWS are achieved by simulation. A radial uniform magnetic field of 0.4 T is developed using radially magnetized permanent magnets to focus the radial sheet electron beam. To exploit the potentialities of the symmetrical ALPML SWS, the beam–wave interaction is carried out with a radial convergent and a divergent sheet electron beam. For the radial divergent electron beam with a voltage of 791 V and a current of 0.3 A, an output power over 60 W with an electron efficiency of 26% at 30 GHz is achieved from particle-in-cell simulation. The effects of misalignments and phase mismatches are carried out at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a high-power Ka-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) driven by a sheet electron beam is proposed and demonstrated by means of the simulation and experimental methods. The single grating rectangular waveguide with large width-to-height ratio is used as the slow-wave structure (SWS). An $E$ -plane bend energy coupler is put forward to feed this wide SWS. An irregular transition structure between the input waveguide and the SWS is suggested and designed, which is beneficial to suppress the self-excited oscillation. For a practical electron beam (20 mm $\times \,\, 1$ mm, 150.1 kV, 850 A, and 20-ns), the output power of this single rectangular grating sheet beam TWT is larger than 750 kW from 34.5 to 35.4 GHz. The maximum power is 1.21 MW at 35 GHz, corresponding to a gain of 20.4 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We have theoretically investigated the transport of a sheet electron beam focused by a uniform axial magnetic field in a metamaterial-loaded waveguide. A theoretical model has been proposed to analyze the sheet electron beam transport. In this model, we have used CST simulations to obtain the mean potential on the metamaterial as the boundary condition. According to the boundary condition, the space-charge electric field and the beam curling have been theoretically analyzed. It is found that the beam curling can be greatly reduced by decreasing the spacing between the metamaterial and the sheet electron beam. This model is verified using the CST simulations. This paper can pave the way for developing brand new metamaterial-based vacuum electron devices with a sheet electron beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel small tunable periodic cusped magnet (NSTPCM) system is proposed for the purpose of realizing low voltage, big current sheet electron beam propagation in a long distance in engineering, which is composed of a series of position-fixed magnet blocks in alignment and freely sliding staggered pole pieces. This kind of NSTPCM not only generates higher magnetic field in the axial direction but also realizes more convenient adjustment of magnetic field in the transverse direction. This NSTPCM system has been successfully applied in a Ka-band sheet electron beam staggered double vane traveling wave tube. The tested sheet beam transmission efficiency is $>93$ % in a 112.7-mm-length slow-wave structure under the condition of beam voltage 24.3 kV and beam current 0.8 A. Moreover, the measured output power is $>75$ W in the range from 33 to 37.5 GHz, and the maximum output power is 128 W at 34 GHz. This paper provides the foundation for the development of sheet electron beam vacuum devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To improve the output power and electron efficiency and broaden the operating bandwidth, the three-gap extended output cavity was used in the relativistic klystron to replace the single-gap output cavity. The high-frequency characteristics of the three-gap extended cavity were studied. The electron load conductance was derived and corrected based on the theory of relativity, by which a more accurate relation of electron load conductance versus transmit angle can be obtained. The characteristic impedance is three times bigger than that of the single-gap cavity under the case of the $2\pi $ mode, which can improve the M^{2}(R/Q) and the beam–wave interaction efficiency. The model of sheet beam klystron (SBK) is comprised of three-gap input cavity, two-gap first idler, three-gap second idler cavity, and three-gap output cavity. The 3-D particle-in-cell simulation results show that for a 500 kV, 1 kA, 40.134 GHz, and 20 W input power, the SBK is capable of generating an output power higher than 142 MW with the gain of 68.5 dB, maximum interaction efficiency of 28.4%, and 3-dB bandwidth of 240 MHz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a wideband 220-GHz sheet-beam traveling-wave tube (TWT) based on staggered double vane slow-wave structure (SWS) is investigated. A novel method of loading the attenuator into the SWS for suppressing backward wave oscillation is proposed. In addition, a novel focusing electrode of the sheet beam gun is carried out in this paper, which is a whole structure but divided into two parts artificially, one is used to compress the electron beam in $X$ -direction and the other is used to compress the electron beam in $Y$ -direction. In addition, a novel anode is redesigned to reduce the defocusing effect caused by the equipotential surfaces. A nonuniform periodically cusped magnet is used for focusing the sheet electron beam, which is predicted to exhibit 100% beam transmission efficiency in a 75-mm length drift tube. The high-frequency characteristics of the SWS and the beam-wave interaction are also studied. The results reveal that the designed TWT is expected to generate over 78.125-W average power at 214 GHz, and the 3-dB bandwidth is 31.5 GHz, ranging from 203 to 234.5 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new kind of radial convergent sheet beam electron optical system, which can be used in low voltage Ka-band radial electron devices, is studied in this paper, including the beam production, transmission, and focus. A novel radial high perveance electron gun is proposed, and its volt-ampere characteristics are obtained by means of simulation. The focusing system using permanent magnet rings is put forward, by which a radial uniform magnetic field can be obtained. With the electron gun and focusing system, a 1600 V, 8 A, and 0.04-mm thickness radial convergent sheet beam was produced, and the simulation result shown that it can pass through a 16-mm \(\times 0.06\) -mm radial channel 100%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is attractive to use sheet beam vacuum devices to generate high frequency, high-power microwave radiation. In this paper, we present the numerical and experimental studies of a high-power Ka-band sheet electron beam backward wave oscillator (BWO), in which the double-grating rectangular waveguide is used as the slow wave structure (SWS) for its thermal and mechanical robustness. The fundamental mode of this kind of SWS is an antisymmetric mode which has an antisymmetric longitudinal field distribution and will nonsynchronously interact with the electron beam on two sides of the electron channel along the vertical direction. We put forward a method to overcome this trouble in this paper. To drive this BWO, a high-power sheet beam is used with a cross section of 30 mm $\times\,$ 1 mm. A thin graphite cathode is used for its superiority in producing a high current, high-quality electron beam. For an experimental electron beam of 141 kV and 1668 A, the output power of over 46.8 MW at 31.68 GHz is obtained, which corresponds to a beam–wave interaction efficiency of 19.9%. Compared with the conventional hollow beam BWO and the single-grating rectangular waveguide sheet beam BWO, the double-grating sheet beam BWOs efficiency is higher, which indicates that the double-grating sheet beam device is promising for producing millimeter wave radiation with high power and high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel slow wave structure (SWS) named angular log-periodic meander-line is proposed for a radial traveling wave tube (TWT). In this paper, a 30 log-periods microstrip angular log-periodic meander-line SWS is studied. The dispersion of this kind of SWS is weak, which shows that it can work in a wide operating bandwidth. The more important advantage is that the operating voltage is much lower than that of the conventional TWT at the same operating frequency and the geometrical dimension is also much smaller than that of the conventional TWT. The beam–wave interaction of the angular log-periodic meander-line TWT is calculated using the particle-in-cell method. When the operating voltage is 1624 V, this kind of TWT can give 156.5-W output power at 35 GHz, the gain is 21.9 dB, and the electron efficiency is \sim17.7\%. With this kind of TWT as mentioned, the concept of radial integrated angular log-periodic meander-line TWT is proposed, which can provide a new way to obtain higher output power. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The sheet beam vacuum electron device is an attractive choice for generating high-power high-frequency microwave radiation. A millimeter-wave sheet beam backward wave oscillator (BWO) is presented in this paper. The rectangular waveguide grating structure is used as its slow wave structure. The BWO is driven by a sheet beam with a cross-sectional area of 30 mm \times 1 mm which is generated by a thin cathode. For a beam voltage of 167 kV and a beam current of 1.4 kA, the output power is 40 MW at 36.6 GHz. The beam–wave interaction efficiency is about 17%, which is higher than that of conventional hollow beam BWO. It is clear from the results presented in this paper that the sheet beam device is promising for producing high-efficiency high-power millimeter-wave radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]