Development and production of a 704 MHz, 1.5 MW peak power klystron

Communications & Power Industries LLC has designed and manufactured the VKP-8292A, a high peak power, high efficiency, UHF band klystron. The klystron operates at 704.42 MHz, with 1.59 MW peak output power, 78 kW average output power, and a gain of 45 dB. The klystron is designed to operate between 0.3 MW and 1.2 MW in the linear range of the transfer curve. The klystron is over 67% efficient at nominal beam voltage and includes optimization for efficiency at lower beam voltages. Experimental and predicted performance data are compared.