Development of Nano Machining Techniques to Bridge the Terahertz Gap

Research conducted in parallel with the construction of various vacuum electronic devices, including a 220 GHz Sheet Beam Traveling Wave Tube (SBTWT), a 263 GHz SBTWT, and two 346 GHz Backward Wave Oscillators (BWOs), has demonstrated that data garnered from the manufacturing process helps improve the performance, reduce the time to build, and lower the cost of subsequent devices. The data collected from metrology, microscopy, and manufacturing control are also critical to improving future device builds and provide powerful insight into the nature of fabricating high performance vacuum electronics.