Design and performance of an electrostatically focused 5-kw X-band traveling-wave tube

A new type of high-power traveling-wave tube employing electrostatic beam focusing was developed and tested. An electrode system permitting the electrostatic focusing of a high-perveance electron beam was evolved and the incorporation of the focusing electrodes in the slow-wave circuit was accomplished without significant deterioration of the original RF characteristic. Feasibility was proven on a narrow-band
X
-band amplifier operated in a continuously pumped vacuum chamber which produced up to 10 kw of peak power. A sealed-off wide-band tube, subsequently, gave 2.5 kw over a 26 per cent bandwidth.