Improvement of the output power in TWTs by harmonic injection

The possibility of improving the fundamental output power of a traveling wave tube (TWT) using second harmonic injection is presented in this paper with theoretical, numerical, and experimental approaches. A calculus of the energy extracted from an electron beam subjected to a bi-harmonic field is presented in the low-gain regime, and it shows how the shape of the field can increase the fundamental extracted power. The phase difference between the fundamental and harmonic waves appears to be a key parameter for harmonic injection. The large signal code TUBH from Thales Electron Devices is used to simulate a TWT where both the fundamental and harmonic waves travel with the same velocity and the same growth rate. Harmonic injection simulations show that the fundamental output power is optimized when the total energy extracted from the beam is maximized, and the fundamental wave is favored to the detriment of the harmonic wave. A three-dimensional version of the code, called MVTRAD, is used to simulate an industrial TWT manufactured at Thales. Experimental measurements on this TWT completed this paper, showing a significant increase of fundamental output power with harmonic injection with up to 86% of additional power at 5 GHz.