Dielectric-Supported Staggered Dual Meander-Line Slow Wave Structure for an E-Band TWT

In this article, a novel dielectric-supported staggered dual-meander-line (DS-SDML) planar slow-wave structure (SWS) is proposed for a traveling wave tube (TWT) working at
${E}$
-band. The proposed staggered arrangement of meander-lines (MLs) leads to a stronger beam–wave interaction and achieves higher output power as compared to the symmetric arrangement. The input–output couplers have been designed by using staggered stepped double ridge waveguide, to connect the standard
${E}$
-band rectangular waveguide and the DS-SDML SWS. An attenuator and pitch tapering have been applied to the proposed SWS to suppress the unwanted frequencies and to improve the output power. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results show that for an 11.8-kV, 200-mA sheet-beam, the output power can reach 283 W at 75 GHz, with a maximum gain and electronic efficiency of 34.5 dB and 11.9%, respectively.