The Development of broadband millimeter-wave and terahertz gyro-TWAs

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.