Preliminary Analysis of a Folded Waveguide Slow-Wave Structure for 160GHz Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier

This paper presents the preliminary analysis of a folded waveguide (FWG) slow wave structure (SWS) for 160GHz traveling wave-tube amplifier. Traveling wave-tube amplifiers operational in the D band of the millimeter wave frequencies are the apt candidates for their application in the point-to-point backhaul communication of 5G and above networks, and in the inter-satellite communication in space. The dispersion analysis of the unit cell of the FWG SWS presented in this paper effectively describes the dependence of the critical design parameters, namely the operational frequency range, bandwidth, and phase velocity on the dimensional variables. An operational bandwidth of 20GHz ranging from 155GHz-175GHz has been successfully obtained with a RF phase velocity of 0.244 times velocity of light in this paper.