This review discusses the present state-of-the-art of passive high-power microwave components for applications in microwave systems for RF plasma generation and heating, plasma diagnostics, plasma and microwave materials processing, spectroscopy, communication, radar ranging and imaging, and for drivers of next generation high-field-gradient electron-positron linear colliders. The paper reports on high-power components for overmoded high-power transmission systems such as smooth-wall waveguides, HE/sub 11/ hybrid mode waveguides and quasi-optical TEM/sub 00/ beam waveguides. These include various types of mode converters, polarizers, cross-section tapers, bends, mode selective filters, pulse compressors, DC-breaks, directional couplers, beam combiners and dividers, vacuum windows, and instruments for mode analysis. Problems of ohmic attenuation and unwanted conversion to parasitic modes are discussed in detail and rules for alignment requirements are given. In the case of waveguide transmission, this review mainly concentrates on circular waveguide components but also deals with rectangular waveguide.

Passive high-power microwave components

A technological breakthrough is embodied in the successful demonstration of an extended interaction klystron (EIK) amplifier, which has produced over 7.5 kW of peak output power at W-band (94 GHz). An efficiency of ${\sim}{17\%}$ has been achieved with a depressed collector. The EIK is driven by a 20-kV, 4-A sheet beam in a permanent magnet solenoid, with 99% beam current transmission from gun to collector. Key features that contribute to the success of this device are: 1) tight beam focusing and correspondingly narrow beam tunnel, which are made possible by the solenoidal focusing and which provide high interaction impedance and high gain per unit length and 2) the incorporation of design elements to stabilize the inherently over-moded circuit. Measured performance agrees well with 3-D particle-in-cell simulations.

Demonstration of a Multikilowatt, Solenoidally Focused Sheet Beam Amplifier at 94 GHz

The achievements resulting from the application of advanced pulsed power to the generation of high power microwaves (HPM) have included the generation of multi-gigawatt pulses of RF energy. The power achievable is orders of magnitude greater than conventional microwave sources can generate. However, the introduction of the HPM technology into logical applications has been limited to date due to the phenomenon of pulse shortening in which the RF pulse terminates before the pulse power source used to produce it. Conventional microwave tubes can generate a few to 10 MW of power with pulsewidths of many microseconds when required. High power microwave sources can produce gigawatts of power, but only for relatively short pulsewidths, typically tens to hundreds of nanoseconds. An international effort during the past few years has generated important new discoveries toward the elimination of pulse shortening. Some of the new techniques have the potential for helping the conventional tube industry as well as being practical for high power microwave sources. This paper reviews the pulse shortening problem, its causes, and the worldwide scope and direction of research conducted to date to resolve it. The paper also discusses the potential remedies for the problem and recommends a course of research to further progress on the issue.

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Evolution of pulse shortening research in narrow band, high power microwave sources

The feasibility of future electron-positron colliders operating at energies >1 TeV will depend on both operating efficiency and cost of the microwave amplifiers that can be developed to drive the collider. To zeroth order, the required number of amplifiers depends inversely on the parameter A=P/sub p/T/sub p///spl lambda//sup 2/, where /spl lambda/ is the wavelength, and P/sub p/ and T/sub p/ are, respectively, the power and duration of the amplifier output pulses. Thus, one goal of amplifier research is to maximize A while keeping other parameter values within bounds so as not to excessively increase the cost of either the individual amplifier system or the collider structure (e.g., amplifier voltage V/spl lsim/500 kV, wavelength /spl lambda//spl gsim/1 cm). Operating within these bounds, gyro-amplifiers have demonstrated values of A=11/spl times/10/sup 4/ W s/m/sup 2/, which compares favorably with the best values of A achieved by klystrons. The gyro-amplifier program which led to this accomplishment is reviewed. Some 20 different gyro-amplifier configurations have been examined on our 450 kV gyro-amplifier test facility during the past several years. These tubes fall into five major categories: first-, second-, and third-harmonic gyroklystrons, as well as first- and second-harmonic gyrotwystrons. Peak powers in excess of 30 MW with pulse duration of 0.8 /spl mu/s have been achieved at 19.76 GHz in the TE/sub 02/ mode via a two-cavity second-harmonic gyroklystron with a first-harmonic drive cavity. The peak efficiency and gain were 28% and 27 dB, respectively. At present, there is ongoing construction of a new three-cavity second-harmonic coaxial gyroklystron, driven by a 500-kV 720-A beam, which is predicted to have an output power well above 100 MW at 17.136 GHz with an intrinsic efficiency in excess of 40%. With the use of a depressed collector, achievable overall amplifier efficiency, which is of very great importance in the collider application, could be in the range of 50-65%.

Gyro-amplifiers as candidate RF drivers for TeV linear colliders

Vacuum electronic devices offer significant potential for increased power and performance at millimeter-wave frequencies. However, new approaches are required to reliably manufacture the miniature electromagnetic circuits used at these high frequencies. In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication, and testing of an innovative meander-line slow-wave structure for a W-band traveling-wave tube (TWT). The unique challenge of metallizing only the top of a high-aspect-ratio serpentine dielectric ridge using conventionally planar microfabrication techniques is overcome using a novel selective masking and metallization process. The procedure is demonstrated by fabricating a W-band meander-line circuit for a 10-W continuous-wave TWT. Cold-test S -parameter measurements are presented.

Microfabrication and Characterization of a Selectively Metallized W-Band Meander-Line TWT Circuit

The Sheet Beam Klystron (SBK) is characterized by a large drift tube, which allows the use of high beam current at a low voltage, resulting in low beam current density, high efficiency and the possibility of PPM focusing. CPI has designed, manufactured and is currently testing an X-Band SBK capable of 5 MW peak, 20 kW average output power This paper discusses the general design, manufacturing and performance to date of CPI's X-Band SBK.

X-Band Sheet Beam Klystron (XSBK)

SLAC is developing sheet beam klystron technology for narrow bandwidth, high peak and average power applications from L-band to W-band. Sheet beam devices are advantageous for several reasons. The primary advantage is the increased surface area in the RF circuit which significantly increases the dissipated heat that can be transferred through the circuit. The reduced charge density in the beam decreases the magnetic field required for beam transport and increases the achievable efficiency compared to a pencil-beam tube with the same beam voltage and current. Finally, both the RF circuit and the magnetic focusing system are simpler and less expensive to fabricate. The combination of features provided by a sheet beam klystron make it an ideal source for linear accelerator and high average power applications

W-band Sheet Beam Klystron Research at SLAC

In future radars and electron-positron colliders projected to be fed with millimeter waves of high power, electromagnetic flows should be canalized with strongly oversized waveguides or mirror lines. To control such flows, wave beam switches, combiners, multiplexers, pulse compressors, particle acceleration structures and other relevant components should be also quasi-optical.

Quasi-optical components for MMW fed radars and particle accelerators

With the development of ever higher energy particle accelerators comes the need for compactness and high gradient, which in turn require very high frequency high power rf sources. Recent development work in W-band accelerating techniques has spurred the development of a high-power W-band source. Axisymmetric sources suffer from fundamental power output limitations (P{sub sat} {approx} {lambda}{sup 2}) brought on by the conflicting requirements of small beam sizes and high beam current. The sheet beam klystron allows for an increase in beam current without substantial increase in the beam current density, allowing for reduced cathode current densities and focusing field strengths. Initial simulations of a 20:1 aspect ratio sheet beam/cavity interaction using the 3 dimensional particle-in-cell code Magic3D have demonstrated a 35% beam-power to RF power extraction efficiency. Calculational work and numerical simulations leading to a prototype W-band sheet beam klystron will be presented, together with preliminary cold test structure studies of a proposed RF cavity geometry.

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W-Band Sheet Beam Klystron Simulation

With the development of ever higher energy particle accelerators comes the need for compactness and high gradient, which in turn require very high frequency high power rf sources. Recent development work in W-band accelerating techniques has spurred the development of a high-power W-band source. Axisymmetric sources suffer from fundamental power output limitations (Psat∼λ2) brought on by the conflicting requirements of small beam sizes and high beam current. The sheet beam klystron allows for an increase in beam current without substantial increase in the beam current density, allowing for reduced cathode current densities and focussing field strengths. Initial simulations of a 20:1 aspect ratio sheet beam/cavity interaction using the 3 dimensional particle-in-cell code Magic3D have demonstrated a 35% beam-power to RF power extraction efficiency. Calculational work and numerical simulations leading to a prototype W-band sheet beam klystron will be presented, together with preliminary cold test structure s...

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G. Caryotakis

Papers

X-Band Sheet Beam Klystron (XSBK)

W-band Sheet Beam Klystron Research at SLAC

Quasi-optical components for MMW fed radars and particle accelerators

W-Band Sheet Beam Klystron Simulation

W-band sheet beam klystron simulation