170W Ka-Band space TWT

In satellite systems, on-board repeaters shall deliver always more RF power. Specifically in Ka-Band applications like HDTV or Internet, the satellite Capacity must be increased to improve the Data Rate Transfer. This Capacity increase leads to a substantial increase of Specified RF Output Power. In order to respond to this demand, Thales Electron Devices (TED), with the support of CNES (French Space Agency), has qualified a conduction cooled TWT (TH4816C) and is currently completing the Qualification of a radiation cooled TWT (TH4816R). These TWTs deliver 170W in Ka frequency band. This paper gives the main technical characteristics of the TH4816 family design and the main performances over the full Ka frequency band from 17.3 to 21.2 GHz.