Pre-development of a C-band klystron intended for synthetic aperture radar in space application

A C-band klystron has been developed at Leonardo company, based on an European Space Agency (ESA) contract, targeting a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments that are essential for Earth Observation application. The paper presents the design features of the klystron, with particular emphasis on the main critical parameters (RF performances and potential multipaction issues). The development has been concluded with an elegant breadboard (EBB) fully representative of the klystron design. The test results on these models are presented; they demonstrate the capability of the design to meet the target requirements. The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.