A traveling wave tube for 92–95 GHz band wireless applications

The Horizon 2020 TWEETHER project is proposing for the first time a millimeter wave traveling wave tube (TWT) as enabling device for a new generation of high data rate wireless networks for point to multipoint. The W-band is an unused portion of the spectrum comprised in the range 92-95 GHz that offers multigigabit data rate. The distribution of the signal over a wide area and the strong atmospheric attenuation, in case of rain, require a high transmission power, estimated in tens of Watt, to assure adequate transmission range. This power level is not available from the solid state technology at millimeter wave frequencies. A TWT, as enabling device, has been designed and is presently in fabrication phase to provide 40 W saturated output power in the W-band. High performance, low cost and long lifetime TWT are the main constraints to satisfy the wireless market needs.