Thesis

A w-band quasi-optical mode converter and gyro-BWO experiment

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2013
Thesis identifier
  • T13999
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 200991054
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • High power coherent microwave sources at shorter wavelengths (mm and sub-mm) are in great demand, especially in the fields of plasma physics, remote sensing and imaging and for electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Gyro-devices are by their nature particularly suited to this type of application due to the fast-wave cyclotron resonance maser instability, which is capable of producing high power radiation at frequencies that prove challenging for other sources. A W-band gyro-device based on a cusp electron beam source with a helically corrugated interaction region is currently under development to provide a continuously tuneable source over the range between 90 GHz to 100 GHz with a CW power output of ~10 kW. The work presented herein encompasses the design, construction and measurement of a prototype output launcher for this gyro-device. A corrugated mode converting horn was designed to act as a quasi-optical mode converter that converts the fundamental operating mode within the gyro-TWA (TE11) to a hybrid mode, which is closely coupled to the fundamental free space Gaussian mode (TEM00). This free space mode allows the possibility for the inclusion of an energy recovery system that can recover a percentage of the energy from the spent electron beam and is predicted to increase overall efficiency by up to 40%. For this scheme the electron beam must be decoupled from the radiation, which can pass through the collector system and vacuum window unperturbed while the electrons are collected at the energy recovery system. This type of corrugated mode converting horn was chosen due to the advantages of a greater bandwidth and the capability to provide a source that is continuously tuneable over this bandwidth. The results of the design and integration of this corrugated mode converting horn with the gyro-device are presented. The prototype operates over a continuously tuneable bandwidth of 90 to 100 GHz with a return loss better than -35 dB and a Gaussian coupling efficiency of 97.8%. The far field radiation pattern shows a highly symmetrical structure with 99.9% of the power radiated within a cone with a half angle of less than 19° and a cross-polar level less than -40 dB.
Resource Type
DOI
Date Created
  • 2013
Former identifier
  • 1219287
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