Development of a Miniature Dielectric Traveling-Wave Tube

We propose the prototype development of a novel miniature dielectric traveling-wave tube (DTWT) that will provide short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation for numerous military and civilian applications. The DTWT is based on an efficient interaction between a small-diameter electron beam and the electromagnetic fields of a traveling wave inside a very compact and novel dielectric waveguide. During Phase I we conducted thorough analytical, numerical and computer simulation studies of the proposed amplifier which showed that the DTWT can deliver hundreds of watts of high-frequency radiation with high efficiency and an amazingly broad bandwidth. The efficiency provided by the DTWT should be at least twice as high as that of current state-of-the-art counterparts. The DTWT can replace the current less-efficient helix TWT and will consume half of the power while offering backward compatibility with existing systems (plug-and-play). Based on the outstanding Phase I results obtained, we are now ready to move towards prototype development of the DTWT. We propose the development of a 100-watt, 40%-efficient X-band DTWT during Phase II. Once successfully developed, the DTWT will be the basis for a new generation of millimeter-wave sources capable of producing ultrahigh frequency radiation with high efficiency in a very compact and lightweight package.