Yanyu Wei

W-Band 1-kW Staggered Double-Vane Traveling-Wave Tube

A design study for a W-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) using a staggered double-vane slow-wave structure combined with a sheet electron beam shows that an output power of over 1 kW should be possible. Numerical eigenmode calculations indicated that the structure has a strong longitudinal component of electric field for interaction with the electron beam. A novel input and output coupler was proposed that can produce good input and output matches. Finally, a TWT model with moderate dimensions was established. The particle-in-cell simulation results revealed that the tube can be expected to produce over 1 kW of peak power in the range from 90 to 95 GHz, assuming an RF input signal with a peak power of 0.15 W and a beam power of 10.3 kW. The corresponding conversion efficiency values vary from 9.87% to 12.15%, and the maximum gain is 39.2 dB at 93 GHz.

A Novel V-Shaped Microstrip Meander-Line Slow-Wave Structure for W-band MMPM

In this paper, a novel V-shaped microstrip meander-line slow-wave structure (SWS) is proposed for use in a low-voltage high-efficiency wide-bandwidth miniature millimeter-wave traveling-wave tube (TWT). The electromagnetic characteristics and the interaction between the sheet electron beam and slow wave in this SWS are obtained by utilizing the CST Microwave Studio and Particle Studio codes, respectively. From our calculations, it is predicted that, at a beam voltage of 3.7 kV and a beam current of 100 mA, an output power greater than 30 W can be obtained ranging from 75 to 100 GHz, and this V-shaped microstrip meander-line TWT will be helpful for a W-band millimeter-wave power module.

A watt-class 1-THz backward-wave oscillator based on sine waveguide

A novel backward wave oscillator was proposed by utilizing a concise sine waveguide slow-wave structure combined with sheet electron beam to operate at terahertz frequency band. First, the design method was described, and the dispersion curve and interaction impedance of the sine waveguide were calculated, then the device oscillation frequency and operating voltage were determined. Next, the circuit transmission losses were learned over the tunable frequency range. Finally, the particle-in-cell simulation method was applied to predict its signal generation performance. The investigation results show that, the backward wave oscillator can produce over 1.9 -W peak power output at the central operating frequency of 1-THz under 27-kV operating voltage and 5-mA beam current. And the interaction efficiency at 1-THz is more than 1.4% with a circuit length of 7.2-mm. It, therefore, will be considered as a promising watt-class terahertz radiation source.

Sine Waveguide for 0.22-THz Traveling-Wave Tube

A novel slow-wave structure called sine waveguide has been proposed to develop a wideband high-power terahertz radiation source. The sine waveguide evolves from a rectangular waveguide oscillating with sinusoid along its longitudinal direction. This letter reports the electromagnetic characteristics of the sine waveguide and its effective surface plasmon amplification mechanism. From our calculation, this circuit structure possesses low ohmic losses and reflection and can be applied to produce terahertz waves ranging from 0.2 to 0.25 THz with several hundreds of watts. Moreover, the maximum gain and interaction efficiency may reach 37.7 dB and 9.6%, respectively.

High-Power Millimeter-Wave BWO Driven by Sheet Electron Beam

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 × 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.

Dispersion Characteristics of a Rectangular Helix Slow-Wave Structure

A special type of helical slow-wave structure encompassing a rectangular geometry is investigated in this paper, and the slow-wave characteristics are studied taking into account the anisotropically conducting helix. By using the electromagnetic integral equations at the boundaries, the dispersion equation and the interaction impedance of transverse antisymmetric modes in this structure are derived. Moreover, the obtained complex dispersion equation is numerically calculated. The calculation results by our theory agree well with the results obtained by the 3-D EM simulation software HFSS. The numerical results reveal that the phase velocity decreases and interaction impedance increases at higher frequencies by flattening (increasing the aspect ratio of) the rectangular helix structure. In addition, a comparison of slow-wave characteristics of this structure with a conventional round helix is made.

A Rectangular Groove-Loaded Folded Waveguide for Millimeter-Wave Traveling-Wave Tubes

A folded waveguide (FW) is a promising slow-wave structure (SWS) for millimeter-wave traveling-wave tubes (TWTs) with the advantages of high power and considerable bandwidth. A novel rectangular groove-loaded FW SWS is analyzed for the purpose of gaining higher power with a smaller size compared with the normal circuit. The high-frequency characteristics, including dispersion properties and interaction impedance, are investigated by numerical simulation, and the nonlinear large-signal performance of such a TWT is also analyzed by a 3-D particle-in-cell code MAGIC3D. Compared with a normal circuit, larger gain and electronic efficiency together with notably higher output power at a Ka-band are predicted by the simulation. Meanwhile, the novel circuit is also much shorter than the normal circuit with good performance at the working frequencies. It, therefore, will favor the miniaturized design of a high-power millimeter-wave TWT.

Investigation of a Ridge-Loaded Folded-Waveguide Slow-Wave System for the Millimeter-Wave Traveling-Wave Tube

In this paper, a ridge-loaded folded-waveguide slow-wave structure (SWS) for millimeter-wave traveling-wave tube (TWT) is presented. The theory of high-frequency characteristics, which includes: 1) the dispersion properties; and 2) the beam-wave interaction impedance of this structure, is analyzed. The theoretical results agree well with those obtained by the 3-D electromagnetic simulation software HFSS. The relationships of the dispersion characteristics and the interaction impedance versus ridge dimensions are numerically calculated and discussed. It is indicated from the investigation that the ridge loading can decrease the phase velocity and the relative bandwidth; however, the interaction impedance increases noticeably. A ridge-loaded folded-waveguide SWS with proper ridge dimensions may be applied for higher gain and electron efficiency in millimeter-wave regimes.

Symmetric Double V-Shaped Microstrip Meander-Line Slow-Wave Structure for W-Band Traveling-Wave Tube

A design study for a low-voltage, high-efficiency, and wide-bandwidth W-band traveling-wave tube using a symmetric double V-shaped microstrip meander-line slow-wave structure combined with a sheet electron beam is described in this paper. The electromagnetic characteristics including the dispersion characteristics, interaction impedance, and transmission characteristics of this structure are presented, and the beam-wave interaction is calculated using particle-in-cell algorithms. Our study shows that, when the design voltage and current of the sheet electron beam are set to 4570 V and 100 mA, respectively, this miniature millimeter-wave power amplifier is capable of delivering several tens of watts output power, and the peak output power is about 110 W with a corresponding gain of 31.4 dB and an averaged electronic efficiency of 12% at 94 GHz.

A 140-GHz Two-Beam Overmoded Folded-Waveguide Traveling-Wave Tube

A folded-waveguide (FW) traveling-wave tube (TWT) with two electron beams, which operates at the higher order mode, is simulated. Operating with two electron beams means that a larger beam current can be used for a higher output power. Meanwhile, the electric field density of the fundamental mode is not the strongest at the center of the beam channel, so the competition of the fundamental mode is significantly suppressed. A four-section two-beam FWTWT at 140 GHz is designed to get 100 W of average power. From the simulation results, we can see that this kind of tube is unstable if the gain per section is over 11 dB, because both fundamental and band-edge modes are strongly excited. Then, another way for a stable FWTWT operation with two electron beams by loading with dielectric is also presented in this paper. The results presented here can provide a new way to obtain high power radiation at the terahertz frequency.