PASOTRON amplifier experiments

Elmira S. Ponti; Dan M. Goebel; Jon R. Feicht; Joseph Santoru; Robert L. Eisenhart

doi:10.1117/12.218595

8 September 1995 PASOTRON amplifier experiments

Elmira S. Ponti, Dan M. Goebel, Jon R. Feicht, Joseph Santoru, Robert L. Eisenhart

Proceedings Volume 2557, Intense Microwave Pulses III; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.218595
Event: SPIE's 1995 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1995, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Preliminary experimental studies are reported of an L-band amplifier based on Hughes' plasma-assisted, slow-wave oscillator (PASOTRON) technology. The amplifier system utilizes a hollow-cathode-plasma electron-gun, and a plasma-filled slow-wave structure (SWS) to produce >= 100 microsecond(s) ec-long, 50 to 75 kV, 30 to 100-A electron beam pulses that propagate in a plasma channel without the use of any externally applied axial magnetic field. The electron-beam pulse coincides with a 100-microsecond(s) ec-long RF drive signal provided by a 2.6-kW TWT, which is coupled into the amplifier upstream of the SWS. The SWS consists of a ring-bar design which is novel to the PASOTRON family of devices and is used for its short length compared to a helix. Simulations of HP's high frequency structure simulator were used to optimize the ring-bar SWS. Preliminary data are reported showing the new L-band amplifier's gain, power, efficiency, and bandwidth. Methods of eliminating a backward wave oscillation, which was found to limit the performance of the tube, are also presented.

Citation Download Citation

Elmira S. Ponti, Dan M. Goebel, Jon R. Feicht, Joseph Santoru, and Robert L. Eisenhart "PASOTRON amplifier experiments", Proc. SPIE 2557, Intense Microwave Pulses III, (8 September 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.218595

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