The development of broadband millimeter-wave and terahertz gyro-TWA

He, W. and Zhang, L. and Donaldson, C. R. and Yin, H. and Ronald, K. and Cross, A. W. and Phelps, A. D. R. (2020) The development of broadband millimeter-wave and terahertz gyro-TWA. Terahertz Science & Technology, 13 (3). pp. 90-110. ISSN 1941-7411

[thumbnail of He-etal-TST-2020-The-development-of-broadband-millimeter-wave-and-terahertz-gyro-TWAs]
Preview
 Text. Filename: He_etal_TST_2020_The_development_of_broadband_millimeter_wave_and_terahertz_gyro_TWAs.pdf
Final Published Version
License: All rights reserved
Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

The gyrotron travelling wave tube amplifiers (gyro-TWAs) presented in this paper can operate with high efficiency (30%), huge powers and wide bandwidths at high frequencies that no other amplifier can provide. In principle, this is a technology that can be scaled to >1 THz and operate with 20% bandwidths. Resonant coupling of two dispersive waveguide modes in a helically corrugated interaction region (HCIR) can give rise to a non-dispersive eigenwave over a wide frequency band. The synchronism between the ideal wave and an electron cyclotron mode, either fundamental or harmonic, of a large orbit electron beam contributes to the broadband amplification. An electron beam of 55 keV, 1.5 A with a velocity pitch angle of ~1 generated by a thermionic cusp gun is used in our 100 GHz gyro-TWA experiment, which achieves an unsaturated output power of 3.4 kW and gain of 36–38 dB. The design and experimental results of the many components making the gyro-TWA will be presented individually and then the whole system will be introduced. The amplification of a swept signal by the W-band gyro-TWA is demonstrated showing its capabilities in the field of telecommunications. Furthermore, the design studies of a cusp electron gun in the triode configuration and the realization of a 3-fold HCIR operating at 372 GHz will also be displayed.

ORCID iDs

He, W., Zhang, L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6317-0395, Donaldson, C. R. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6627-2461, Yin, H. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6635-9759, Ronald, K. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8585-0746, Cross, A. W. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7672-1283 and Phelps, A. D. R. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1100-1012;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)