Linear Analysis of Folded Double-Ridged Waveguide Slow-Wave Structure for Millimeter Wave Traveling Wave Tube

A novel slow-wave structure （SWS）, the folded double-ridged waveguide structure, is presented and its linear gain properties are investigated. The perturbed dispersion equation is derived and the small signal growth rate is caleulated for dimensions of the ridge-loaded region and the parameters of the electron beam. The novel structure has potential applications in the production of high power and broad band radiation. For a cold beam, the linear theory predicts a gain of 1.1-1.27dB/period and a 3-dB small-signal gain bandwidth of 30% in W-band. A comparison between the folded double-ridged waveguide SWS and folded waveguide SWS （FWSWS） shows that with the same physical parameters, the novel SWS has an advantage over the FWSWS on the bandwidth and electron efficiency.

Investigation of a wideband folded double-ridged waveguide slow-wave system

The folded double-ridged waveguide structure is presented and its properties used for wide-band traveling-wave tube are investigated. Expressions of dispersion characteristics, normalized phase velocity and interaction impedance of this structure are derived and numerically calculated. The calculated results using our theory agree well with those obtained by using the 3D electromagnetic simulation software HFSS. Influences of the ridge-loaded area and broad-wall dimensions on the high frequency characteristics of the novel slow-wave structure are discussed. It is shown that the folded double-ridged waveguide structure has a much wider relative passband than the folded waveguide slow-wave structure and a relative passband of 67% could be obtained, indicating that this structure can operate in broad-band frequency ranges of beam-wave interaction. The small signal gain property is investigated for ensuring the improvement of bandwidth. Meanwhile, with comparable dispersion characteristics, the transverse section dimension of this novel structure is much smaller than that of conventional one, which indicates an available way to reduce the weight of traveling-wave tube.

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.

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.

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.

An open-styled dielectric-lined azimuthally periodic circular waveguide for a millimeter wave traveling-wave tube

An open-styled dielectric-lined azimuthMly periodic circular waveguide （ODLAP-CW） for a millimeter-wave traveling-wave tube （TWT） is proposed, which is a modified form of a dielectric-lined azimuthally periodic circular waveguide （DLAP-CW）. The slow-wave characteristics of the open-styled DLAP-CW are studied by using the spatial harmonics method, which includes normalized phase velocity and interaction impedance. The complicated dispersion equations are numerically solved with MATLAB and the results are in good agreement with the simulation results obtained from HFSS. The influence of structural parameters on the RF properties is investigated based on our theory. The numerical results show that the optimal thickness of the metal rod can increase the interaction impedance, with the dielectric constant held fixed. Finally, the slow-wave characteristics and transmission properties of an open-styled structure are compared with those of the DLAP-CW. The results validate that the mode competition is eliminated in the improved structure with only a slight influence on the dispersion characteristics, which may significantly improve the stability of an open-styled DLAP-CW-based TWT, and the interaction efficiency is also improved.

High-Order Interpolation Algorithms for Charge Conservation in Particle-in-Cell Simulations

High-order interpolation algorithms for charge conservation in Particle-inCell(PIC)simulations are presented.The methods are valid for the case that a particle trajectory is a zigzag line.The second-order and third-order algorithms which can be applied to any even-order and odd-order are discussed in this paper,respectively.Several test simulations are performed to demonstrate their validity in two-dimensional PIC code.Compared with the simulation results of one-order,high-order algorithms have advantages in computation precision and enlarging the grid scales which reduces the CPU time.

Nonlinear investigation of beam-wave interaction in double-groove loaded folded-waveguide traveling-wave tube

A W-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) with double-groove loaded folded waveguide structure (FWSWS) has been designed and numerically modelled. The nonlinear performance of such a TWT is investigated by a particle-in-cell code MAGIC3D. Simulation results indicate this TWT produces a saturated electromagnetic power of 170.2 W at 90 GHz, corresponding to 36.9 dB gain and 69.6 mm interaction distance. A comparison between the novel folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (FWTWT) and the conventional one is also carried out to verify the effect of groove loading on the large-signal performance of TWT. Within the same working conditions, the double groove-loaded FWTWT could obtain higher saturated output power and gain in a shorter interaction length. The maximum of output power and gain of this novel TWT is 58.6% and 10% higher than those of the conventional FWTWT, while the 3-dB bandwidth of TWT is reduced to 4 GHz. With the additional advantage of ease of fabrication based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies, the double-groove loaded FWSWS is suitable for a millimeter-wave TWT with high power capacity and gain.