Design of the Radio Frequency Section of a Ka-Band Multiple Beam Ladder-Type Extended Interaction Klystron

Abstract

Ka-band frequencies are becoming increasingly popular due to their application potential in high-data-rate wireless communications relevant to 5G applications, satellite link establishment, etc. High-power amplifiers in this frequency band, offering several tens of watts of output RF power, are one of the main enabling components of these communication systems. This article reports the design studies and analysis of the radio frequency (RF) section of a multiple beam-extended interaction klystron (MB-EIK). The proposed multiple beam RF section with a ladder-type EIK structure offers several crucial features, such as a low-voltage operation, moderate operational bandwidth, and high output power. Starting from the design of the intermediate cavities, the input and output sections and the overall RF section are presented. The proposed RF section supports the operation at 28.5 GHz center frequency with about a 500 MHz 3 dB bandwidth employing four electron beams with a 4 kV DC accelerating field.