TWT Driven by a Large Diameter Annular Electron Beam in a Disk-on-Rod Slow-Wave Structure

ORAL

Abstract

This paper studies the viability of a high-power traveling wave tube (TWT) using a disk-on-rod slow-wave structure (SWS), which admits a large diameter, high current, annular electron beam. The annular electron beam would achieve much higher current than a pencil beam. The cold-tube as well as the hot-tube dispersion relations are analytically studied and compared to numerical simulations. The Pierce gain parameter, $C, $is calculated by two very different methods: the exact formulation of the space-charge wave on the disk-on-rod SWS, and the calculation of the action of the beam on the operating circuit mode. Both methods yield identical results of $C$. The so-called Pierce AC space charge effect parameter, \textit{QC}, is calculated rigorously for the first time for the disk-on-rod SWS TWT. Proof-of-principle experiment is designed based on the combined analytic and simulation studies.

*This work is supported by AFOSR, and by L-3 Communications Electron Devices.

–

Authors

  • P. Wong

    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • D.H. Simon

    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Peng Zhang

    • Nuclear Eng. \& Rad. Sciences Department, University of Michigan
    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    • Univ of Michigan - Ann Arbor
    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Y.Y. Lau

    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • R.M. Gilgenbach

    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • B. Hoff

    • Air Force Research Laboratory