Abstract

Background: A W-band Sheet Electron Beam (SEB) Traveling-Wave Tube (TWT) based on Three-Slot Staggered-Ladder (TSTL) Coupled-Cavity Slow-Wave Structure (CC-SWS) is proposed in this paper.

Methods: The high-frequency characteristics of TSTL CC-SWS are analyzed in detail. Well-matched input/output couplers that solve the problem of energy coupling between the SWS and the external circuit are designed. In addition, a Small Tunable Periodic Cusped Magnet (STPCM) system is used to focus the SEB, which is predicted to exhibit 100% beam transmission efficiency.

Finally, the beam-wave interaction was studied with CST particle studio.

Results: The results show that the SEB TWT can produce output power over 1.27kW within the bandwidth ranging from 90GHz to 99.5GHz, and the maximum output power is 2.8kW at 96.5GHz, corresponding to the maximum electronic efficiency of 11%.

Keywords: W-band, traveling-wave tube, sheet electron beam, three-slot staggered-ladder, slow-wave structure, small tunable periodic cusped magnet.

Graphical Abstract