Development of a 75-watt 60-GHz traveling-wave tube for intersatellite communications

This program covers the initial design and development of a 75 watt, 60 GHz traveling-wave tube for intersatellite communications. The objective frequency band was 59 to 64 GHz, with a minimum tube gain of 35 dB. The objective overall efficiency at saturation was 40 percent. The tube, designated the 961H, used a coupled-cavity interaction circuit with periodic permanent magnet beam focusing to minimize the weight. For efficiency enhancement, it incorporated a four-stage depressed collector capable of radiation cooling in space. The electron gun had a low-temperature (type-M) cathode and an isolated anode. Two tubes were built and tested; one feasibility model with a single-stage collector and one experimental model that incorporated the multistage collector.