Design and development of a 2-18 GHz MPM TWT

Summary form only given. Northrop Grumman Corporation, ESSS-DSD, is actively developing a 2-18 GHz, 125 W CW wideband microwave power module (WB-MPM) for use in decoy, remote transmitter, and other applications. The basic design philosophy of the WB-MPM is to incorporate a two-and-one-half octave, 3-18 GHz, 125 CW W vacuum power booster traveling wave tube (TWT), with a solid-state harmonic injection circuit and signal conditioner integrated within the MPM architecture, in order to meet the full performance objective of 125 W of fundamental power in excess of 3 octaves of bandwidth. The work described concentrates primarily on the design and development of the 3-18 GHz vacuum power booster TWT. This TWT development effort builds on the success of the Northrop Grumman 4.5-18 GHz, 125 W CW ultrbBand MPM TWT. Bandwidth extension to 3 GHz will be realized through circuit design modifications and optimization for low-end fundamental power. A number of TWT design codes, including the CHRISTINE and GATOR codes, are being utilized in this effort. Additionally, optimizer routines for power-bandwidth performance have been incorporated in the 1-D CHRISTINE code for circuit design optimization. A comparison of the performance predicted by these routines with actual measured performance will be provided.