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In this article, a 1-THz traveling-wave tube (TWT) based on flat-roofed sine waveguide (SWG) slow wave structure (SWS) has been studied theoretically and experimentally, and parts of the component have been fabricated. First, the flat-roofed SWG SWS has been optimized for working at 1 THz, the normalized phase velocity is around 0.287, and the interaction impedance is over $3.5~\Omega $ in the frequency range of 1.02–1.04 THz. Meanwhile, the performance of the designed TWT has been simulated, whose saturated output power is 720 mW and the corresponding gain is 28.57 dB. What is more, to decrease the transmission loss of the high-frequency structure, the input and output structures have been designed and a transition structure that transforms the waveguide to standard rectangular waveguide has been proposed. The simulation results show that the reflection coefficient of the novel proposed transmission system is less than −20 dB, and the insertion losses of the transition structure with the input and output waveguides are 2.45 and 1.68 dB, respectively. Finally, the designed SWS has been fabricated by deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and tested; ${S}_{{11}}$ is generally less than −10 dB in the frequency range of 1020–1040 GHz.

The $W$ -band flat-roofed sine waveguide (SWG) slow wave circuit was designed and processed in this article. Considering the limitations on present practical fabrication level, sensitivity analysis was performed on the potential influencing factors for the performance of the flat-roofed SWG slow wave structure (SWS). As indicated by the calculation results, the gap between the SWSs and the side-wall strips could have a significant impact on the dispersion, interaction impedance, and the transmission of the entire slow wave circuit. Based on the theoretical analysis, two types of $W$ -band flat-roofed SWG slow wave circuits were fabricated and tested. The side-wall strips of the two circuits are processed with/without rounded corner. The circuit without rounded corner may cause a large gap and severe reflection. In comparison, the other one with rounded corners can make the parts fit tighter, thus minimizing the potential gap. The test results demonstrate that the $W$ -band flat-roofed SWG traveling-wave tube (TWT) possesses a voltage standing wave ratio less than 1.8, which is basically consistent with the simulation results.

In this article, a potentially pseudoperiodic slow wave structure (SWS) for a broadband, high-power, helix traveling-wave tube (TWT) is studied. The structure considered here suppresses the back-wave oscillations caused by a large working current. These oscillations do not have conventional uniform pitch distributions in the radial dimension; rather, the two configurations studied in this article are a uniform pitch gradient and a conical helix. Through a reasonable design and a large number of calculations, the entire tube consists of four tapered, pitch-varying SWSs. In addition, to achieve an 8–18-GHz broadband, high-power output, a double-ridged waveguide window output coupler is designed, fabricated, and tested. The 3-D electromagnetic simulation software CST STUDIO SUITE is used to verify the performance of the tube. The simulation results show that the potentially pseudoperiodic SWS can adequately suppress the backward-wave oscillations, and the tube is capable of achieving an output power of over 6 kW, even with a very wide bandwidth of 8–18 GHz. Additionally, the electronic efficiency varies from 21.5% to 25.8%. The maximum output power is 7.45 kW, corresponding to an electronic efficiency of 25.8% at 14 GHz.

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.

A phase shift that is caused by the machining errors of independent circuits would greatly affect the efficiency of the power combination in traditional multi-beam structures. In this paper, to reduce the influence of the phase shift and improve the output power, a multi-beam shunted coupling sine waveguide slow wave structure (MBSC-SWG-SWS) has been proposed, and a multi-beam overmoded flat-roofed SWG traveling wave tube (TWT) based on the MBSC-SWG-SWS was designed and analyzed. A TE10-TE30 mode convertor was designed as the input/output coupler in this TWT. The results of the 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation with CST software show that more than a 50 W output power can be produced at 342 GHz, and the 3 dB bandwidth is about 13 GHz. Furthermore, the comparison between the single-beam sine waveguide (SWG) TWT and the multi-beam overmoded SWG TWT indicates that the saturated output power of the multi-beam overmoded SWG TWT is three times more than that of the single beam SWG TWT.

This paper explores the thermal characteristics of a helix traveling wave tube (TWT) in the Ka-band (26.5-40 GHz) based on rectangular semi-metallic rods formed by welding boron nitride and copper. The results reveal that the maximum temperature of the helix during TWT operation for this supporting rod structure is 339.2°C. A comparison of the thermal characteristics about this structure with those of a conventional dielectric rod shows that the helix temperature of the former is about 40°C lower than that of the latter during operating conditions.

A high-frequency structure that can be used for the G-band high-power traveling wave tube is proposed to analyz and the slow-wave characteristics of the quasi flat-roofed sine waveguide(QFRSWG). The PIC method is used to obtain the interaction characteristics of the sheet electron beam and the electromagnetic wave in this structure. The calculation results show that the traveling wave tube can produce over 110 W output power in the frequency range of 212 GHz-232 GHz, the gain is greater than 33.94 dB and the maximum electronic efficiency is 5.25 %.

A W-band U-shaped microstrip meander-line (MML) slow-wave structure (SWS) for traveling-wave tube (TWT) was designed and simulated in this work. The selection of materials used for the dielectric substrate in the SWS was discussed. Meanwhile, to improve the interaction impedance of the SWS, a new structure named conformal dielectric substrate was proposed. According to particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results, the proposed structure was able to reach an output power of 28.86 W at 96 GHz, with the corresponding maximum gain of 23.8 dB. The 3 dB bandwidth was 7 GHz from 92 GHz to 99 GHz.

Driven by success in areas such as computer vision and natural language processing, attempts have been made in this work to combine deep learning with the large signal of the Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) to assist in predicting the output performance of the tube and advancing the pre-design of TWT. By feeding the trained artificial neural network with several feature parameters, the output power with the tube length can be predicted.

The development of a 340GHz modified sine waveguide vacuum electron amplifier is presented here. Output power from this structure is predicated to exceed 10W with a pencil beam electron gun at 17 kV and 38mA. Design, fabrication and test of slow wave structure (SWS) and pillbox window are discussed respectively. The cold test results show a good agreement with the simulation, which verified the properties of low loss and wide bandwidth of the high frequency system.

A steady-state 1-D code called BWIC is developed. The validation of the code is performed and comprehensive results for a 1-THz staggered double vane TWT are presented in this paper. Results from the BWIC code show good agreement with output power, gain, and drive curve of the CST.

To increase the bandwidth of conventional over-mode traveling wave tubes (TWTs) with single-mode existing (SME) in an operation band, a theory on over-mode TWTs with multi-modes coexisting (MME) in the operation band is presented in this paper. To verify this theory, G-band dual-beam and shunted coupled Hughes-type coupled-cavity TWTs with MME and SME are investigated. The particle-in-cell simulation analysis confirms that, compared with SME TWT, the MME TWT can not only operate stably but also has 2.24 times bandwidth and a large increase in the output power.

The sine waveguide (SWG) is presented as a potential slow-wave structure (SWS) for the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and terahertz (THz) traveling-wave tube (TWT) because of the advantages of wide bandwidth, natural electron beam tunnel, and easy fabrication. In particular, this theoretical study indicates that the transmission loss of the SWG is far less than that of the folded waveguide SWS, which is widely employed in the mm-wave and THz TWT. Here, the flat-roofed SWG slow-wave circuit working in the ${W}$ -band has been machined using nano-computer numerical control technology, which guarantees micron tolerances and surface roughness of tens of nanometers using carbide tooling with 100- ${\mu }\text{m}$ diameter. The cold test results show that the transmission coefficient ${S}_{{{21}}}$ of the entire high-frequency slow-wave circuit is more than −4.1 dB with a total length of 123.84 mm in the frequency range from 90 to 100 GHz, and the transmission loss is less than 0.36 dB/cm.

In order to make the design results of the traveling wave tube (TWT) coincide with the experiments very well, we need to build a bridge between the actual electron situation and the beam-wave interaction. In this paper, considering the actual magnetic field distribution, the macro particle data at the waist position is processed by MATLAB to meet the needs of the interaction calculation model, so as to realize the integrated design of electron gun, magnetic system and interaction calculation using CST studio suite.

In this paper, the high frequency characteristics of Trapezoidal Staggered Grating Slow-wave Structure for 1THz Traveling Wave Tube has been studied. The transmission structure has been simulated, the reflection coefficient is less than -20dB in the frequency of 1015GHz to 1055GHz and the loss of the structure is over 58dB. The PIC simulation shows that the saturation output power is 405mW at the frequency of 1030GHz, and the corresponding gain is 19.08dB.

A new type sine waveguide slow wave structure (SWS) is proposed in this paper considering fabrication feasibility. Unlike the conventional sine waveguide SWS, a round beam tunnel is adopted in this modified structure. The simulation results show that the new structure have the advantages of wide bandwidth and low loss which are important in millimeter-wave and THz TWT. A 3dB bandwidth of 25 GHz and a maximum gain of 27 dB were predicted by PIC simulation for a 40 mm-long slow wave circuit.

In this paper, the method of directly exporting the particle data from the CST interaction results to the collector is used to effectively improve the accuracy of the collector design. A three-stage depressed collector for 220GHz extended interaction klystron was designed with an efficiency of 90% and a reflow rate of zero.

This paper describs a fan-shaped metal loaded helix traveling wave tube working at Ka–band. It has the gain of 37.3-48.7dB, electronic efficiency of 15.18%-19.42% and output power is greater than 286W when it works at a voltage of 9KV and a current of 210mA. The simulation results of VSWR for its coaxial energy coupler are below 1.35, and the test results of it is below 2.1 at the working frequency range.

In order to predict the saturation output power of traveling wave tubes rapidly, analytical expression has been worked out. This theory is verified by comparison with two of large signal theory.

The high frequency characteristics and beam wave interaction characteristics of a Ka-band (26-40GHz) helix traveling wave tube (TWT) with rectangular semi-metallic rod are presented. The design results show that the TWT has the gain of more than 42dB, the output power of more than 220W and the electronic efficiency of more than 19% in the working bandwidth. Now the high frequency structure of the TWT are manufactured, the preparation for the transmission test is in progress.

This paper introduces a high-stability electron optical system for millimeter wave traveling wave tubes. Firstly, a circular electronic injection Pierce electron gun is designed. The electron channel radius is 0.2mm, the current is 90mA. Then the immersed flow method was used to design a ppm focusing system with a magnetic field period of 7.3 mm and a peak value of 4900 Gauss. The stability of the immersed flow electron gun is compared with the gun under a conventional ppm magnetic field in consideration of thermal deformation and assembly errors.

A W-band multi-beam traveling-wave tube (TWT) based on sine slow-wave structure is designed. The cold bandwidths of the fundamental and higher-order modes in the slow-wave circuit are analyzed using HFSS software. Through reasonable structural design, the fundamental mode and low-order mode are suppressed. The beam-wave interaction capability of the multi-beam TWT is analyzed based on the high-order mode transmission design. At the voltage of 11.7 kV, the current density of the sheet electron beam is 96 A/cm2 which can be produced by the non-convergent electron gun, and the output power is over 150 W in the operating frequency 90 GHz-100 GHz.

A 0.67THz sheet electron beam traveling-wave tube based upon sine waveguide slow-wave structure is studied. In this paper, the high frequency characteristics and transmission characteristics are calculated by a 3-D high frequency simulation software. The beam-wave interaction is also simulated. From the simulation results, the peak output power is 1.7W ranging from 0.65THz to 0.69THz with synchronous voltage of 17kV, operation current of 10mA and input power of 3.2mW.

To increase the output power of microstrip line traveling-wave tubes, a staggered rings microstrip line (SRML) slow-wave structure (SWS) based on a U-shaped mender line (U-shaped ML) SWS and a ring-shaped microstrip line (RML) SWS has been proposed in this paper. Compared with U-shaped ML SWS and RML SWS, SRML SWS has a wider transverse width, which means SRML SWS has a larger area for beam–wave interaction. The simulation results show that SRML SWS has a wider bandwidth than U-shaped ML SWS and a lower phase velocity than RML SWS. Input/output couplers, which consist of microstrip probes and transition sections, have been designed to transmit signals from a rectangular waveguide to the SWS; the simulation results present that the designed input/output structure has good transmission characteristics. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results indicate that the SRML TWT has a maximum output of 322 W at 32.5 GHz under a beam voltage of 9.7 kV and a beam current of 380 mA, and the corresponding electronic efficiency is around 8.74%. The output power is over 100 W in the frequency range of 27 GHz to 38 GHz.

A novel slow-wave structure (SWS) called ridge-loaded folded rectangular groove waveguide has been proposed for developing the wideband high-power terahertz (THz) traveling-wave tube (TWT). A new kind of attenuator suitable for this kind of SWS has also been proposed, which can successfully suppress the self-excited oscillations and keep the harmonics to a very low level. An input and output waveguide transition structure which is appropriate for this new kind of SWS is put forward. It can be found from the simulation results that the ridge-loaded SWS can enhance the electric field intensity in the electron beam tunnel so that the average interaction impedance of this ridge-loaded folded rectangular groove waveguide SWS at 0.34 THz is 30.1% higher than that of the folded rectangular groove waveguide SWS. Moreover, the particle-in-cell simulation results reveal that with the sheet electron beam parameters of 27 kV and the 250 mA, the average output power, the gain, and the electronic efficiency of the ridge-loaded folded rectangular groove waveguide TWT at the frequency of 0.34 THz can reach 39 W, 26.99 dB, and 0.59%, respectively. Therefore, the ridge-loaded folded rectangular groove waveguide SWS should be considered as a promising slow-wave circuit for high-power wideband THz radiation source.

An innovative complementary electric split-ring resonator metamaterial (MTM) structure applied as the slow-wave circuit for a cascade backward-wave oscillator (CBWO) operating in C-band is studied in this paper. The idea of a drift tube in a multiresonant cavity extended interaction klystron is borrowed to design a novel backward-wave oscillator (BWO). The construction of this device features two BWOs separated by a short cutoff waveguide for permitting the flow of the electron beam and stopping the electromagnetic wave. The high-frequency characteristics are analyzed and optimized by using a high-frequency structure simulator and computer simulation technology (CST). Meanwhile, the S-parameter retrieval approach is used to retrieve the effective permittivity and permeability. In addition, the CST code is adopted to investigate the performance of the MTM-based CBWO. The particle-in-cell simulation results show that the novel CBWO is capable of achieving over 51.77% electronic efficiency from 4.8344 to 4.8687 GHz. Meanwhile, the maximum electronic efficiency can reach 82.44%, corresponding to a peak output power of 14.51 MW at 4.8466 GHz. These results indicate that the MTM-based CBWO proposed in this paper has the characteristic of miniaturization, manufacturability, and high electronic efficiency.

The transport of sheet electron beam (SEB) is of critical importance for the success of a number of high-power millimeter wave and terahertz vacuum devices. In this paper, the condition to achieve the SEB's stable transport in uniform longitudinal magnetic field is studied. Based on this stability condition, a new approach, named sheet electron beam matching focusing magnetic (SEB-MFM) field, which consists of a longitudinal component and a tiny transverse component, is presented. The SEB-MFM field can be generated by adding extra transversely magnetized magnets to the conventional uniform magnetic (UM) system. For demonstrating the effect of the SEB-MFM field, the simulation work of the SEB-MFM field and conventional UM field is carried out for an electron optical system employing a SEB. The simulation results show that the SEB-MFM field effectively eliminates the instabilities, such as distortion and deformation, arising from the longitudinal magnetic field. In addition, comparing with conventional UM field, the SEB-MFM can achieve the stable and long-distance transport of a SEB with a pretty low magnetic field strength. Finally, a new magnetic system generating SEB-MFM field is designed, fabricated, and measured.

In this paper, a novel method, named PM-E, to focus the sheet electron beam (SEB) is proposed. This new method consists of a periodic magnetic field and an electrostatic field, which are used to control the thickness and width of the SEB, respectively. The PM-E system utilizes this electrostatic field to replace the unreliable By,off, which is a tiny transverse magnetic field in the PCM that confines the SEB’s width. Moreover, the horizontal focusing force of the PM-E system is more uniform than that of the conventional PCM, and the transition distance of the former is shorter than that of the latter. In addition, the simulation results demonstrate the ability of the PM-E system to resist the influence of the assembly error. Furthermore, in the PM-E system, the electric field can be conveniently changed to correct the deflection of the SEB’s trajectory and to improve the quality of the SEB.

A new concept of oscillator based on a folded waveguide slow-wave structure (FWG SWS) is studied. The resonant cavity of the oscillator is formed by a section of FWG SWS, a length-adjustable waveguide, and a waveguide loaded by multilayer dielectric. The beam is synchronized with the forward wave on the SWS. If an FWG traveling-wave amplifier (TWA) is driven by this oscillator, there is a possibility that the amplifier and the oscillator share the same design and the same art of manufacturing and power supplier. A forward-wave oscillator based on a design of a TWA in 2-mm band is calculated by both a 1-D nonlinear code and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. From both the code and the simulation results, when the oscillator is 30-pitch long, the operation voltage 22000 V and the start current is 3 mA at 138 GHz. When the oscillator is 22-pitch long, operation current 15 mA, and operation voltage 22400 V, simulation result shows that the output power is 58.32 W, and the efficiency is 17.26% at 133.2GHz. When both the voltage and length of the length-adjustable waveguide are tuned, the oscillator can operate within all the first dispersion band of the SWS. If only voltage is tuned, the oscillator can oscillate at several discrete frequencies.

In this paper, a way to match the second symmetric mode of double-grid slow wave structure designed for a practical 1-THz terahertz backward wave oscillator is presented. Simulation results show that the return loss is less than -15 dB, and the insertion loss is about -4 dB in the 50-GHz operating bandwidth.