3rd Unit Microwave Tubes PDF
3rd Unit Microwave Tubes PDF
3rd Unit Microwave Tubes PDF
* Transmission media
* Wave guide theory and modes
• Excitation of modes in WGs through probe and loop
coupling
* Cavity Resonators
* Vacuum Tube fundamentals
Here, there are m half wavelength loops along x, n half wavelength loops
along y, and p half wavelength loops along d. It is possible for just one only of
the loop numbers m, n, and p to take the value zero.
The spacings of the walls are d along z, b along y, and a along x. We see
there are many modes of a rectangular cavity. d
a
b
Magnetron CFA
Reflex
Klystron
Coupled Cavity
TWT
the beam must be carefully guided up through the drift tube until
it reaches it's final resting place. This is usually done with
electromagnetic coils. Magnet supply voltages are commonly in
the 200 Volt range.
As the lens of the eye has no cooling blood flow, it is particularly prone to
overheating when exposed to microwave radiation. This heating can in turn
lead to a higher incidence of cataracts in later life. A microwave oven with
a warped door or poor microwave sealing can be hazardous.
The traveling wave tube (TWT) is an electron tube used for amplification at
microwave frequencies – generally identified as frequencies between 500
MHz and 300 GHz or to wavelengths measured from 30 cm to 1 mm.
The TWT is not a new device. Its remarkable capabilities and some of its
potential applications have been known for nearly 60 years.
It was invented during the latter part of World War II by an Austrian refugee,
Dr. Rudolf Kompfner, while working on microwave tubes for the British
Admiralty.
For helix TWTs, bandwidths may be as high as two octaves or more and
power levels of tens to hundreds of watts
At the same time that the cylindrical electron beam is moving along the length
of the tube axis, the RF signal to be amplified is fed into the slow-wave structure
consisting, in this case, of a coiled wire called a helix.
The RF energy travels along the helix wire at the velocity of light. However,
because of the helical path, the energy progresses along the axial length of the
tube at a considerably lower axial velocity, determined primarily by the pitch and
diameter
August 29, of the helix
2017 39
Specific Applications and TWT Design Trade-Offs
Method to be used for varying the beam current, including the method
used for turning the TWT on and off as well as any modulation required
during TWT operation;
August 29, 2017 40
contd…
• Operating life requirements;
• Environmental conditions under which the
TWT will operate (ambient pressure,
ambient temperature, shock and vibration
levels, etc.);
• Type of cooling available;
• Size and weight limitations;
• Cost.
• A CFA has lower gain and bandwidth than other microwave amplifier tubes
(such as klystrons or traveling wave tubes); but it is more efficient and
capable of much higher output power.
• Peak output powers of many megawatts and average power levels of tens
of kilowatts can be achieved, with efficiency ratings in excess of 70 percent
• The electric and magnetic fields in a CFA are perpendicular to each other
("crossed fields"). This is the same type of field interaction used in a
magnetron; as a result, the two devices share many characteristics (such as
high peak power and efficiency) and they have similar physical
appearances. However, a magnetron is an oscillator and a CFA is an
amplifier; a CFA's RF circuit (or slow-wave structure) is similar to that in a
coupled-cavity TWT.
TWT
CFA
Fragile Robust
Short-lived Long-lived
Unreliable Reliable
Inefficient Efficient