Theoretical research on the performance of a practical helix travelling wave tube

On the basis of a rigorous field theory, two different physical models of attenuator and sever have been proposed. One is named High attenuation （HATT） model in which both attenuator and sever are considered as a unified attenuator, but the sever is regarded as an area of very high loss; the other is called Sever and attenuator （SATT） model in which the sever is modelled as a drift area in which the electric and magnetic fields both vanish. A complex function is derived and potential sinking effect is also considered. Thus, a set of more practical self-consistent equations of nonlinear beam-wave interaction is formulated. Simulations are carried out under the conditions of the two different physical models, and the simulation results are compared with the experimental data. The results show that in the case of single signal drive, the unknown second harmonic should be included for predicting the saturated output power. It is also evident that the SATT model and the HATT model predict the same physical nature, whereas the results predicted by the HATT model are much closer to the experimental data than those obtained from the SATT model. Therefore, these results provide a strong theoretical basis for designing broadband and high gain helix travelling wave tubes.

Analysis of the axial electric field in a plasma-loaded- helix travelling wave tube

A helix type slow wave structure filled with plasma is immersed in a strong longitudinal magnetic field. Taking into account the effect of the plasma and the dielectric, the system is separated radially into three regions. By means of the sheath model and Maxwell equation, the distribution of the electromagnetic field is established. Using the boundary conditions of each region, the dispersion relation of the slow wave structure is derived. The trend of change for the radial profile of the axial electric field is analysed respectively in different plasma densities, plasma column radius and dielectric constant by numerical computation. Some useful results are obtained on the basis of the discussion.

AN INNER-FEEDBACK-STYLE TRAVELING-WAVE TUBE OSCILLATOR

A new concept of inner-feedback-style traveling wave tube oscillator, which is based on a traveling-wave tube having a partial reflector located at near the junction between the slow-wave structure and the output coupler and a mechanical tuner connected to the input coupler, is proposed. Simulations by CHIPIC code show that the inner-feedback-style traveling wave tube oscillator having 100W of power, about 10% of electron efficiency and a tunable band of 73.35-73.91 GHz may be achieved. Compared with Backward Wave Oscillators (BWOs), the new devices have similar ability for tuning, and have much higher electron efficiency, suggesting much more potential as a Terahertz source.

A three-dimensional time-dependent theory for helix traveling wave tubes in beam-wave interaction

This paper presents a three-dimensional time-dependent nonlinear theory of helix traveling wave tubes for beam- wave interaction. The radio frequency electromagnetic fields are represented as the superposition of azimuthally sym- metric waves in a vacuum sheath helix. Coupling impedance is introduced to the electromagnetic field equations＇ stimulating sources, which makes the theory easier and more flexible to realize. The space charge fields are calculated by electron beam space-charge waves expressed as the superposition solutions of Helmholtz equations. The focusing forces due to either a solenoidal field or a periodic permanent magnetic field is also included. The dynamical equations of electrons are Lorentz equations associating with electromagnetic fields, focusing fields and space-charge fields. The numerically simulated results of a tube are presented.

Nonlinear time-dependent simulation of helix traveling wave tubes

A one-dimensional nonlinear time-dependent theory for helix traveling wave tubes is studied. A generalized electromagnetic field is applied to the expression of the radio frequency field. To simulate the variations of the high frequency structure, such as the pitch taper and the effect of harmonics, the spatial average over a wavelength is substituted by a time average over a wave period in the equation of the radio frequency field. Under this assumption, the space charge field of the electron beam can be treated by a space charge wave model along with the space charge coefficient. The effects of the radio frequency and the space charge fields on the electrons are presented by the equations of the electron energy and the electron phase. The time-dependent simulation is compared with the frequency-domain simulation for a helix TWT, which validates the availability of this theory.

DESIGN OF HIGH VOLTAGE POWER CONVERTER FOR TRAVELING WAVE TUBE AMPLIFIER

Traveling Wave Tubes(TWTs) are widely used in the radar and communications system as RF power amplifiers. A highly sophisticated power supply is required by TWT. In order to meet the severe requirements of Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier(TWTA), a novel two-stage topology high voltage converter for TWTA is proposed.The converter is based on Zero-Voltage Switching and Zero-Current Switching(ZVS/ZCS) resonant techniques. The high voltage converter operation principles are investigated and major features of the converter are discussed. The power switching mode of ZVS/ZCS is obtained. The experimental results show that the converter has good soft switching characteristics. Compared to the conventional hard switched Pulse Width Modulation(PWM) techniques, the high efficiency and low ripple of the converter for TWTA are realized. The efficiency of High Voltage Electronic Power Conditioners(HV-EPC) over 93.5% under the condition of 38~46 V input voltage and 260~300 W input power. The switching frequency of first-stage(preregulator) of HV-EPC is 89 k Hz and the switching frequency of second-stage(postregulator) is 44.5 k Hz. The highest output voltage of the HV-EPC is helix voltage which is about –6.8 kV. It is especially suitable for TWTA utilized in space satellite applications due to its high switching frequency and high power density.

Accurate analysis of arbitrarily-shaped helical groove waveguide

This paper presents a theory on accurately analysing the dispersion relation and the interaction impedance of electromagnetic waves propagating through a helical groove waveguide with arbitrary groove shape, in which the complex groove profile is synthesized by a series of rectangular steps. By introducing the influence of high-order evanescent modes on the connection of any two neighbouring steps by an equivalent susceptance under a modified admittance matching condition, the assumption of the neglecting discontinuity capacitance in previously published analysis is avoided, and the accurate dispersion equation is obtained by means of a combination of field-matching method and admittancematching technique. The validity of this theory is proved by comparison between the measurements and the numerical calculations for two kinds of helical groove waveguides with different groove shapes.

Study on dispersion characteristics of terahertz waves in helical waveguides

Corresponding to the atmospheric transmission windows of the electromagnetic spectrum in the low terahertz range,the mode coupling and dispersion characteristics of two helically corrugated waveguides(HCW)in the frequency ranges of 90 GHz-100 GHz and 260 GHz-265 GHz are studied.Through analytic calculations and numerical simulations,dispersion curves and structural parameters of the two frequency ranges waveguides are obtained.A novel method was proposed to obtain the dispersion of the HCW from the eigenwave solution using a periodic boundary condition.The HCW in a frequency range of 90 GHz-100 GHz was fabricated and its dispersion performance was measured.By comparing the measured results with the theoretical and the simulated results,the validity of the analytical and simulation method is verified.Limited to our machining capability,the dispersion of the 260 GHz-265 GHz HCW was only simulated and calculated and it was found that the results agree well with each other.

Dispersion Equation of the Coaxial-Radial Line

An all-metal slow-wave structure, coaxial-radial line, which is suitable for application in broadband high power traveling wave tube (TWT) and relativistic TWT as a RF system is introduced. Making use of the field matching method and variational method together with the orthogonality of the Bessel function and the Floquet Theroem for the periodic system, the dispersion characteristic expression is derived. This equation is more rigorous than that of precious reports.

Graded-index ridge surface plasmon polaritons waveguide

We propose and analyze a long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton （SPP） waveguide based on graded-index ridge over server millimeter distances. Then the influence of the dielectric thickness and the ridge refractive index on propagation length and mode width is discussed and simulated with the finite ele- ment raethod. The result shows that the SPP can propagate as long as 3.42 mm, as well as the mode width keeping as 1.64μm, a better one compared with the fixed refractive index. Considering its nanoscale dimension and outstanding performance, the structure is easily realized when connected with electrodes.