Third-harmonic frequency multiplication of a two-stage tapered gyrotron TWT amplifier

The frequency multiplication of a two-stage tapered gyrotron traveling wave tube amplifier is experimentally verified in low-voltage and low-current operation. By modulating an axis-encircling electron beam at the fundamental harmonic cyclotron frequency in the input stage, a frequency-tripled signal induced by the third-harmonic component of the modulated beam current is chosen to be extracted from the output stage. Both interaction stages are linearly tapered to improve stability and bandwidth. The third-harmonic frequency multiplication is predicted theoretically and investigated using a self-consistent large-signal theory and a particle-in-cell code simulation, which estimate a pure third-harmonic generation and a power-scaling law. In the experiment, X-band drive signals from 10.6-12 GHz are multiplied by a factor of three to produce Ka-band output frequencies from 31.8-36 GHz, showing reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions for a 30-kV, 160-mA axis-encircling electron beam.