Development of 5.0 kW, Ku-band traveling-wave tube for communication systems

This paper describes a 5.0 kW, Ku-band coupled cavity traveling-wave tube developed for communication ground terminal applications. This high power tube, designated the 870H, was developed by Hughes Aircraft EDD under an internally sponsored program. The 870H features integral solenoid focusing, mod anode electron gun, liquid cooling, and depressed collector. This tube provides 5.0 kW of flat saturated power output over the 14.0 to 14.5 GHz bandwidth and provides the low distortion characteristics required for communication systems. Gain variations will be less than 1 dB peak-to-peak across the entire 500 MHz band. This performance is achieved through the use of special circuit design techniques and an external equalizer.