BATTERY-POWERED HANDHELD AND RUGGED MILLIMETERWAVE SOURCE AND THE APPLICATION

THERE IS A NEED FOR SMALL, COMPACT, AND RUGGED SOURCES THAT OPERATE IN THE 0.7-2MM WAVELENGTH REGION. SUCH A SOURCE WOULD BE SOLID STATE BUT THE OVERALL SYSTEM WILL MOSTLIKELY NOT BE SO COMPACT IF THE WIDEBAND FREQUENCY TUNABILITY IS DESIRED. THE CONCEPTUAL SOLID-STATE (IN-AS) GYROTRON IS WIDE-BAND BUT OPERATED WITH A CRYOGENIC SYSTEM WHICH IS MOSTLIKELY BULKY. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF A NOVEL MM-WAVE SOURCE WHICH SATISFIES ALL THOSE FEATURES REQUIRED. THE NEW CONCEPT SOURCE IS CALLED ORBITRON MASER. UNLIKE TO CLASSICAL MASERS, IT OPERATES WITHOUT A CRYOGENIC SYSTEM AND, IF THE PROPOSAL IS SUCCESSFUL, WITH ONLY A SMALL POWER SUPPLY OR BATTERY. OUTPUT POWER AND WAVELENGTH REQUIREMENTS 0.1 MW AND 0.7MM ARE NO PROBLEM; THE ORBITRON HAS READILY PRODUCED UP TO 50W OVER THE REGION 0.3MM. THE OSCILLATOR IS AS SMALL AS A BEER CAN AND RUGGED CONSTRUCTION. DESPITE THE COMPLICATED PHYSICS TAKING PLACE FOR THE RADIATION EMISSION, THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION ARE EXTREMELY SIMPLE; THERE NEED NO LASER BEAMS (NEEDED FOR LASER BACKWARD WAVE OSCILLATOR), NO EXTERNAL ELECTRON BEAM AND/OR MAGNETS (NEEDED FOR GYROTRONS AND FREE-ELECTRON LASERS AS WELL AS MOST OF CLASSICAL SOURCES). THIS PROPOSAL EVALUATES THE ORBITRON MASER SOURCE IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATES: FROM MAGNETRON TO ADVANCED CONCEPT SOURCES. THIS PROPOSAL THEN CONCENTRATE THE PHASE I EFFORT ONTO THE CHARACTERIZATION AND PERFORMANCE TEST OF THE ORBITRON SOURCE THROUGH INSTRUMENTATION OF A RADAR SYSTEM. THE PROPOSAL STUDIES THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A COMPACT MILLIMETERWAVE RADAR (HERE CALLED MIDAR) EMPLOYING THE NOVEL OSCILLATION SOURCE. THE WORK INCLUDES THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SYSTEM IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE SOURCE PERFORMANCE IN AN APPLICATION SYSTEM, THE INNOVATIVE INSTRUMENTATION AND ELECTRONICS COMPATIBLE TO THE COMPACT SOURCE, AND THE FABRICATION OF PROTOTYPE SOURCE AND MIDAR.