Couplers for extracting RF power from a gyrotron cavity directly into fundamental mode waveguide

• US 5,015,914 A
• Filed: 12/09/1988
• Issued: 05/14/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Varian Associates, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Varian Associates, Inc.
• Inventors: LaRue, Albert D., Ives, Robert L., Jory, Howard R.
• Primary Examiner(s): LaRoche, Eugene R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ham, Seung
• Application Number:
  US07/282,401
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 315/3, 315/4, 315/5, 315/3.6, 315/39.3, 330/4.7, 330/42.43, 333/21 R, 333/228, 372/2, 331/91
• US Class Current: 315/4
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 23/40 to or from the interaction circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 25/025 with an electron stream following a helical path
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/16 for mode selection, e.g. mode suppression or mode promotion; for mode conversion

Abstract

In a gyrotron cavity resonator, generated energy is extracted into a symmetric set of fundamental-mode waveguides by ports disposed to couple energy in phase from the operating electromagnetic mode but in anti-phase with respect to an unwanted mode of lower cutoff frequency than the operating mode, thereby neutralizing coupling to the unwanted mode. A second set of interspersed ports may be disposed to load degenerate, orthogonal modes.

Claims

1. A gyrotron comprising an interaction cavity for supporting a transverse electric field wave in a higher-order mode in a cavity resonator in energy-exchanging relation with an electron beam, means for extracting electromagnetic energy from said cavity into the fundamental modes of a plurality of waveguides, said means comprising at least a pair of coupling apertures in the cavity wall located at positions where the wall currents of said higher-order mode are equal in amplitude and phase, and the wall currents of an unwanted lower-order mode are equal in amplitude and phase, but reversed in direction between said apertures with respect to said wall currents of said higher-order mode.

2. The gyrotron of claim 1 wherein said resonator is an axial cylinder and said pair of coupling apertures are at the same axial position and differ in azimuth by 180 degrees.

3. The gyrotron of claim 2 wherein said high-order mode is a TE_nm mode, and comprising a first set of n pairs of apertures at the same axial position and equally spaced azimuthally where n is the azimuthal mode number of the desired mode.

4. The gyrotron of claim 2 wherein said higher-order mode is a TE_on mode and said lower-order mode is a TE_nm mode and comprising n pairs of apertures at the same axial position and equally spaced azimuthally.

5. The gyrotron of claim 3 further comprising a second set of n pairs of apertures at the same axial position and azimuthally spaced equally from said apertures of said first set.

6. The gyrotron of claim 3 further comprising a second set of n pairs of apertures equally spaced azimuthally and at an axial position removed from said axial position of said first set.

7. The gyrotron of claim 4 further comprising a second set of n pairs of apertures equally spaced azimuthally and at an axial position removed from said first set.

8. The gyrotron of claim 1 wherein said coupling apertures couple wave energy into fundamental-mode waveguides with equal load impedance.

9. The gyrotron of claim 8 further including means for combining the output of at least one pair of said waveguides into one fundamental-mode waveguide.

10. The gyrotron of claim 5 further comprising waveguide means for conducting energy from said second set into waveguides with identical load impedance.

11. The gyrotron of claim 10 wherein said load impedance is such as to provide heavier loading at said second set of apertures than at said first set.

12. The gyrotron of claim 10 wherein said load impedance of said second set is equal to said load impedance of said first set and both sets are connected to useful loads.

13. The gyrotron of claim 12 further including means for combining wave energy from said two sets, said combining means comprising differential phase shifter means for combining said wave energy in phase.