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Design and performance of high efficiency power conversion system for use with WJ-274 traveling wave tube compatible with extraterrestrial environments - spaceborne communications
Harmonic filter, electron gun, performance tests, and design of traveling wave tube amplifier for space communications
Designs were formulated for four CW, millimeter wavelength traveling-wave tubes having high efficiency and long life. Three of these tubes, in the 42 to 44 GHz frequency region, develop power outputs of 100 to 300 watts with overall efficiencies of typically 45 percent. Another tube, which covers the frequency range of 84 to 86 GHz, provides a power output of 200 watts at 25 percent efficiency. The cathode current density in each design was 1A/sq cm. Each tube includes: metal-ceramic construction, periodic permanent magnet focusing, a two step velocity taper, an electron beam refocusing section, and a radiation cooled three-stage depressed collector. The electrical and mechanical design for each tube type is discussed in detail. The results of thermal and mechanical analyses are presented.
A computational procedure for the design of traveling-wave-tube(TWT)/refocuser/multistage depressed collector (MDC) systems was used to design a short, permanent-magnet refocusing system and a highly efficient MDC for a medium-power, dual-mode, 4.8- to 9.6-GHz TWT. The computations were carried out with advanced, multidimensional computer programs which model the electron beam and follow the trajectories of representative charges from the radiofrequency (RF) input of the TWT, through the slow-wave structure and refocusing section, to their points of impact in the depressed collector. Secondary emission losses in the MDC were treated semiquantitatively by injecting representative secondary-electron-emission current into the MDA analysis at the point of impact of each primary beam. A comparison of computed and measured TWT and MDC performance showed very good agreement. The electrodes of the MDC were fabricated from a particluar form of isptropic graphite that was selected for its low secondary electron yield, ease of machinability, and vacuum properties.
The three-dimensional, electromagnetic circuit analysis code, Micro-SOS, can be used to reduce expensive and time consuming experimental 'cold-testing' of traveling-wave tube (TWT) circuits. The frequency-phase dispersion and beam interaction impedance characteristics of a ferruleless coupled-cavity traveling-wave tube slow-wave circuit were simulated using the code. Computer results agree closely with experimental data. Variations in the cavity geometry dimensions of period length and gap-to-period ratio were modeled. These variations can be used in velocity taper designs to reduce the radiofrequency (RF) phase velocity in synchronism with the decelerating electron beam. Such circuit designs can result in enhanced TWT power and efficiency.
The multiple channel input signal to a soft limiter amplifier as a traveling wave tube is represented as a finite, linear sum of Gaussian functions in the frequency domain. Linear regression is used to fit the channel shapes to a least squares residual error. Distortions in output signal, namely intermodulation products, are produced by the nonlinear gain characteristic of the amplifier and constitute the principal noise analyzed in this study. The signal to noise ratios are calculated for various input powers from saturation to 10 dB below saturation for two specific distributions of channels. A criterion for the truncation of the series expansion of the nonlinear transfer characteristic is given. It is found that he signal to noise ratios are very sensitive to the coefficients used in this expansion. Improper or incorrect truncation of the series leads to ambiguous results in the signal to noise ratios.
The design and performance of the first traveling-wave tube (TWT) to be built with a phase-adjusted taper (PAT) is discussed. By adjusting the phase of the electron bunch with respect to the RF wave for strong electron bunch formation at the beginning of the taper and strong power conversion at the end, the PAT achieves a high efficiency of power conversion from the electron beam to the RF wave. A PAT incorporated into the output section of a baseline 29-30 GHz ferruleless coupled-cavity TWT experimentally increased the peak RF power from 420 to 1000 W and the peak RF interaction efficiency from 9.6 to 22.6 percent.
In structure of improved coupled-cavity traveling-wave tube amplifier, lengths of cavities chosen according to computer-generated, nonlinear taper to increase efficiency of conversion of power from electron beam to microwave. Design calls for "phase-adjusted taper," calculated so phase of electron bunches with respect to phase of microwave changes gradually from value conducive to formation of strong bunches to value conducive to strong transfer of power to microwave at output of taper. Phase-adjusted taper significantly increases power capability of microwave transmission, enabling satellite-communication systems to have higher data-transmission rates.
RF input/output coupler characteristics for the TunneLadder traveling-wave tube have been calculated using the three-dimensional computer code, MAFIA and compared to experimental data with good agreement. Theory behind coupling of the TunneLadder interaction circuit to input and output waveguides is presented and VSWR data is calculated for variations on principal coupler dimensions to provide insight into manufacturing tolerances necessary for acceptable performance. Accuracy of results using MAFIA demonstrates how experimental hardware testing of three-dimensional coupler designs can be reduced.
Depressed Collector Design The microwave traveling wave tube (TWT) is used widely for space communications and high-power airborne transmitting sources. One of the most important features in designing a TWT is overall efficiency. Yet, overall TWT efficiency is strongly dependent on the efficiency of the electron beam collector, particularly for high values of collector efficiency. For these reasons, the NASA Glenn Research Center developed an optimization algorithm based on simulated annealing to quickly design highly efficient multistage depressed collectors (MDC's). Simulated annealing is a strategy for solving highly nonlinear combinatorial optimization problems. Its major advantage over other methods is its ability to avoid becoming trapped in local minima. Simulated annealing is based on an analogy to statistical thermodynamics, specifically the physical process of annealing: heating a material to a temperature that permits many atomic rearrangements and then cooling it carefully and slowly, until it freezes into a strong, minimum-energy crystalline structure. This minimum energy crystal corresponds to the optimal solution of a mathematical optimization problem. The TWT used as a baseline for optimization was the 32-GHz, 10-W, helical TWT developed for the Cassini mission to Saturn. The method of collector analysis and design used was a 2-1/2-dimensional computational procedure that employs two types of codes, a large signal analysis code and an electron trajectory code. The large signal analysis code produces the spatial, energetic, and temporal distributions of the spent beam entering the MDC. An electron trajectory code uses the resultant data to perform the actual collector analysis. The MDC was optimized for maximum MDC efficiency and minimum final kinetic energy of all collected electrons (to reduce heat transfer). The preceding figure shows the geometric and electrical configuration of an optimized collector with an efficiency of 93.8 percent. The results show the improvement in collector efficiency from 89.7 to 93.8 percent, resulting in an increase of three overall efficiency points. In addition, the time to design a highly efficient MDC was reduced from a month to a few days. All work was done in-house at Glenn for the High Rate Data Delivery Program. Future plans include optimizing the MDC and TWT interaction circuit in tandem to further improve overall TWT efficiency.
The three-dimensional, electromagnetic circuit analysis code, Micro-SOS, can be used to reduce expensive time-consuming experimental 'cold-testing' of traveling-wave tube (TWT) circuits. The frequency-phase dispersion characteristics and beam interaction impedance of a TunneLadder traveling-wave tube slow-wave structure were simulated using the code. When reasonable dimensional adjustments are made, computer results agree closely with experimental data. Modifications to the circuit geometry that would make the TunneLadder TWT easier to fabricate for higher frequency operation are explored.
Tests of phase deviation from linearity were made on two 914H coupled-cavity traveling wave tubes (TWT). One tube had a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of 2.4 and the other 1.4. The data showed that phase deviation is primarily a function of the amplitude and shape of the output VSWR. It was predicted that the low-VSWR tube would give a better system performance than the tube with a high VSWR. This prediction was confirmed by the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) system tests performed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. A possible improvement in the construction and stability of coupled-cavity TWT's is discussed.
Design and operating characteristics of 100 watt, 50 percent efficient, S-band traveling wave tube for space communication and telemetry applications
A design has been made of a 100 watt traveling-wave tube amplifier for use in space communication applications. The features of very high overall efficiency and heat rejection of waste heat at low thermal densities were predominant in the design concept. The design concept was proven by building a series of tubes, operating at efficiencies up to 50%. These tubes utilized heat pipe cooling and heat distribution such that 150 watts of waste heat was rejected at a density of less than 1.5 watts per square inch. A power supply to convert a 28 volt primary line of the needs of the TWT was built and operated at 85% efficiency.
The phenomenal growth of commercial communications has created a great demand for traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifiers. Although the helix slow-wave circuit remains the mainstay of the TWT industry because of its exceptionally wide bandwidth, until recently it has been impossible to accurately analyze a helical TWT using its exact dimensions because of the complexity of its geometrical structure. For the first time, an accurate three-dimensional helical model was developed that allows accurate prediction of TWT cold-test characteristics including operating frequency, interaction impedance, and attenuation. This computational model, which was developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center, allows TWT designers to obtain a more accurate value of interaction impedance than is possible using experimental methods. Obtaining helical slow-wave circuit interaction impedance is an important part of the design process for a TWT because it is related to the gain and efficiency of the tube. This impedance cannot be measured directly; thus, conventional methods involve perturbing a helical circuit with a cylindrical dielectric rod placed on the central axis of the circuit and obtaining the difference in resonant frequency between the perturbed and unperturbed circuits. A mathematical relationship has been derived between this frequency difference and the interaction impedance (ref. 1). However, because of the complex configuration of the helical circuit, deriving this relationship involves several approximations. In addition, this experimental procedure is time-consuming and expensive, but until recently it was widely accepted as the most accurate means of determining interaction impedance. The advent of an accurate three-dimensional helical circuit model (ref. 2) made it possible for Lewis researchers to fully investigate standard approximations made in deriving the relationship between measured perturbation data and interaction impedance. The most prominent approximations made in the analysis were addressed and fully investigated for their accuracy by using the three-dimensional electromagnetic simulation code MAFIA (Solution of Maxwell's Equations by the Finite Integration Algorithm) (refs. 3 and 4). We found that several approximations introduced significant error (ref. 5).
Development of 35-watt, S band, traveling wave tube amplifier for Saturn 5 instrument unit
An analytical and experimental program to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a high efficiency coupled cavity traveling wave tube with periodic permanent magnetic focusing operating at 12.06 GHz, with 1 to 2 kilowatts CW power is described. Such a tube would ultimately be used for broadcasting power transmission from a satellite. The electron gun was designed to be demountable with a replaceable cathode, and the tube to be operable in a bakeable vacuum chamber with its collector replaced by a collector. Therefore, the high efficiency design was concerned with the slow wave structure only, utilizing velocity resynchronization. A special adapter was designed which incorporated an electromagnet refocusing section and a collector baseplate to facilitate testing the collector. CW output power of 1000 watts yielding 21.5% electronic efficiency was demonstrated, with a minimum output power of 525 watts across the specified 160 MHz bandwidth.
A new space-qualified, high-power, high-efficiency, K-band traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA) will provide high-rate, high-capacity, direct-to-Earth communications for science data and video gathered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) during its mission. Several technological advances were responsible for the successful demonstration of the K-band TWTA.