20.2: Testing of the omniguide traveling-wave tube

We have designed, fabricated and tested with low power a novel W-band TWT based on a slow-wave cylindrically-symmetric PBG dielectric structure, or an “omniguide”. PBG TWT structures have great potential for very large bandwidth and linear dispersion. A gain experiment is under way at Los Alamos with the structure being driven by a 2 A, 110 kV electron beam. In this presentation we will report the design of the omniguide TWT structure, theoretical computations of the gain and the results of S-parameters measurements. We will also describe the electron beam test stand setup and report first results from the gain measurement experiment.