A staggered double-vane slow-wave structure with double sheet electron beams for 340 GHz traveling wave tube

ABSTRACT

An improved slow-wave structure (SWS) for a 340 GHz traveling wave tube (TWT) is proposed. The dispersion curve and transmission characteristics of SWS have been calculated and analyzed. The transmission and reflection of the RF structure are S₂₁ > −7 dB and S₁₁ < −16 dB, respectively. Two sheet electron beams with identical physical parameters are used to control the operation of a TWT. In addition, the output power, gain, and bandwidth of the TWT were studied using three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation method. A uniform constant magnetic field with the magnetic field density of 0.2 T is used to focus the sheet electron beam. The results of the PIC simulations show that the TWT achieves the maximum output power of 12 W and the 3 dB bandwidth of 25 GHz (328–353 GHz) at the input power of 10 mW. At 340 GHz, the output power of 12 W and the gain of 30.8 dB are obtained.

KEYWORDS:

• Terahertz
• sheet electron beam
• staggered double-vane slow-wave structure
• traveling wave tube

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 61501166].

Notes on contributors

Jun Yang

Jun Yang received the B.S. degree from Anhui University, Hefei, China, and the Ph.D degree from University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. His main research interests include active and passive THz devices and metamaterials.

Ke Cai

Ke Cai received B.S. degree from Hefei University of Technology, China, in 2016. He is currently a graduate student with the Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology. His current research interests include vacuum electronic devices and slow wave structure.

Guangsheng Deng

Guangsheng Deng received B.S. degree, and Ph.D degrees from Hefei University of Technology, China, in 2004 and 2014, respectively. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei,China. His main research interests include terahertz and optical devices.

Zhiping Yin

Zhiping Yin received his B.S. degree and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Currently, he is an associate professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. His research interests include microwave and terahertz device, phased-array antenna and microwave imaging radar.

Jiufu Ruan

Jiufu Ruan received B.S.degree, and Ph.D degree from Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2006 and 2010, repectively. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. His main research interestes including microwave and terahetz devices.

Fei Cai

Fei Cai received B.S. degree from Hefei University of Technology, China. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. His main research interests include 2D material devices and terahertz.

Yong Fang

Yong Fang received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Hefei University of Technology, China, in 2003, 2007 and 2017, respectively. Currently, He is an Assistant Professor associate professor at Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. His research interests include photoelectric information technology and electromagnetic field technology.