MM wave magnetron modulator developments

The author describes two recent developments in the production of integrated modulator/power-supply packages for operation with mm-wave magnetrons. The first unit described is for a ranging radar application and is a full-solid-state line-type modulator designed to operate a 35 GHz 60 kW peak output power magnetron at pulse repetition frequencies (PRF) of up to 8000 p.p.s., with a fixed RF pulse width of 50 ns. The second unit has evolved from a study for a complete electronic package to operate a recently developed 95 GHz 3 kW peak magnetron. The package has to operate over a wide range of pulse widths from 10 ns to 500 ns with PRF and duty cycle limits of 50000 p.p.s. and 0.001, respectively. For both units the design philosophy is discussed, and the techniques used in the realization of both electrical and mechanical designs are described