A W-band gyrotron traveling wave amplifier

Abstract

A gyrotron traveling wave amplifier (gyro-TWA) with a cusp electron gun and a helically corrugated waveguide operating in the W-band is presented. When driven by an electron beam of energy 40 keV and current 1.5 A, the amplifier is simulated to output 5-10 kW (CW) with a 3 dB frequency bandwidth of 90-100 GHz and saturated gain of 40 dB. Linear analysis, numerical simulation and experimental results will be presented. Introduction:The Gyro-devices are high power coherent microwave sources that excel at high frequencies (up to the terahertz range). The Gyro-devices are suited to high frequency operation due to the fast-wave cyclotron resonance maser instability. Due to these attractive properties there are a number of application for such devices including high resolution RADAR, plasma diagnostics, communications and cloud imaging. Recently Gyro-devices in the form of both a gyro-TWA and gyrotron backward wave oscillator (gyro-BWO) [1] operating in the W-band have been developed at the University of Strathclyde. The design, simulation and experimental results of the gyro-TWA are presented.