Design and verification of a backward wave oscillation suppression circuit for the Ka-band gyrotron travelling-wave tube

Backward wave oscillation seriously degrades the stability of gyrotron travelling-wave tubes (gyro-TWTs), especially during high average/continuous wave operation. To solve this problem, a selective mode suppression structure (SMSS) based on the mode coupling principle is proposed and applied in the nonlinear beam-wave interaction region to suppress the parasitic TE11 mode. It is capable of obtaining a high power and improving the tube stability. Simulation results demonstrate that the SMSS can raise the starting current from 10 to 18 A and the starting pitch factor from 1.2 to 1.6. Based on this proposed circuit, a Ka-band TE01 mode gyro-TWT was designed, and the particle-in-cell simulation shows that it can achieve a saturated output power of over 150 kW from 29.7 to 31.7 GHz with a velocity spread of 2.2%. For verification, a SMSS is manufactured and cold tested. The measurement of S-parameters reveals that it can effectively suppress the parasitic TE11 mode.