A HIGH POWER MICROWAVE AMPLIFIER BASED ON TRANSVERSE MODULATION

A MICROWAVE AMPLIFIER IS PLANNED THAT SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF PEAK POWER OF UP TO SEVERAL HUNDRED MEGAWATTS AT HIGH EFFICIENCY AS WELL AS CONTINUOUS POWER AT LOWER LEVELS. THECONCEPT IS BASED ON TRANSVERSE MICROWAVE MODULATION OF A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRON BEAM COMBINED WITH A BENDING MAGNET TO PRODUCE AXIAL BUNCHING IN AN OUTPUT CAVITY. THE MECHANISM AVOIDS THE DIFFICULTY OF LONGITUDINAL BUNCHING AT RELATIVISTIC VELOCITIES. TO REDUCE THE EFFECT OF SPACE CHARGE, THE BENDING MAGNET IS DESIGNED TO BE FOCUSING IN BOTH TRANSVERSE PLANES, AND THE PATH LENGTH IS KEPT SHORT. THE DEVICE SHOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR FREQUENCIES BELOW APPROXIMATELY 2 GHZ. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I STUDY IS TO PERFORM SUFFICIENT ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANISM TO PROVIDE CREDIBLE ESTIMATES OF THE EFFICIENCY, INCLUDING EFFECTS OF SPACE CHARGE, AND TO PROVIDE MORE DETAILED ESTIMATES OF THE UPPER FREQUENCY LIMIT, POWER CAPABILITY, STABILITY, GAIN, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF PRACTICAL DEVICES.