Simulation and Experiment Study of Modular X-Band Phase-Locking Magnetron

The conventional mutual coupling phase-locking technique uses waveguides to directly connect magnetrons to operate as a whole device. However, this method is not suitable for large-scale phase-locked array applications due to the considerable challenges in achieving the required vacuum level. Thus, the modular magnetron applied to the mutual coupling phase-locking technique was proposed. First, the coupling structure was designed to combine a double-ridged waveguide and a rectangular waveguide for incorporating an RF window. Therefore, a single magnetron could be vacuumed as a modular unit. Subsequently, in simulation, two modular X-band magnetrons connected by a coupling bridge were verified to operate in a phase-locked state with a 0(degrees) phase difference, with a phase-locking efficiency of 97.2%. Second, an experimental scheme capable of characterizing directly the phase difference between magnetrons was proposed. In the experiment, multiple sets of time-domain signal data were randomly sampled when the magnetrons were in a stable operating state. The experimental results were essentially consistent with the expected design phase difference of 0(degrees), as the phase difference between the two magnetrons remained consistently between 3(degrees) and 5(degrees), with the phase-locking efficiency measured at 91.9%.