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Devices of this kind are used as amplifiers and RF signal sources at microwave frequencies (e.g., in radio relay systems and for dielectric heating) and also as oscillators (e.g., in continuous-wave Doppler radar systems). The klystron is a linear beam device; that is, the electron flow is in a straight line focused by an axial magnetic field. The velocities of electrons emitted from the cathode are modulated to produce a density-modulated electron beam. The principle of operation involved here can be explained in terms of a two-cavity klystron amplifier.
The first grid next to the cathode controls the number of electrons in the electron beam and focuses the beam. The voltage between the cathode and the cavity resonators (the buncher and the catcher, which serve as reservoirs of electromagnetic oscillations) is the accelerating potential and is commonly referred to as the beam voltage. This voltage accelerates the DC electron beam to a high velocity before injecting it into the grids of the buncher cavity. The grids of the cavity enable the electrons to pass through, but they confine the magnetic fields within the cavity. The space between the grids is referred to as the interaction space, or gap. When the electrons traverse this space, they are subjected to RF potentials at a frequency determined by the resonant frequency of the buncher cavity and the input-signal frequency. The amplitude of the RF voltage between the grids is determined by the amplitude of the input signal. Electrons traversing the interaction space when the RF potential on grid 3 is positive with respect to grid 2 are accelerated by the field, while those crossing the gap one half-cycle later are decelerated. In this process essentially no energy is taken from the buncher cavity, since the average number of electrons slowed down is equal to the average number of electrons speeded up. The decelerated electrons give up energy to the fields inside the buncher cavity, while those that have been accelerated absorb energy from its fields.
Upon leaving the interaction gap, the electrons enter a region called the drift, or bunching, space, in which the electrons that were speeded up overtake the slower-moving ones. This causes the electrons to bunch and results in the density modulation of the beam, with the electron bunches representing an RF current in the beam. The catcher is located at a point where the bunching is maximum. This cavity is tuned to the same frequency as the input frequency of the buncher cavity. The power output at the catcher is obtained by slowing down the electron bunches. If an alternating field exists at the cavity and grid 4 is positive with respect to grid 5, the electron bunches passing through the grids will be decelerated, and they will deliver energy to the output cavity. In this way the electron bunches induce an RF current on the walls of the catcher cavity identical to the RF current in the beam. At resonance the oscillation in the cavity builds up in proper phase to retard the electron bunches. The power of the RF output is equal to the difference in the kinetic energy of the electrons averaged before and after passing the interaction gap.
The positive electrode, or collector, located beyond the catcher collects the electrons; it is designed to minimize secondary emission. (Such emission occurs because of the impact of electrons that reach the end wall.)
The klystron amplifier described above can be converted into an oscillator by employing feedback from the output cavity to the input cavity in proper phase and of sufficient amplitude to overcome the losses in the system.
The power levels of klystrons are achieved through the use of large beam voltages and currents. In simple terms, the output power P is given by P = efficiency × IE, where I and E are the beam current and voltage and the efficiency is how well the DC power supplied is converted to RF power. For klystrons the efficiency can be as high as 70 percent. By collecting the spent electron beam at a potential significantly below that of the cavities, even higher efficiency can be achieved—as much as another 10 to 15 percent.
Klystrons are used in ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) television transmissions, which operate at power levels of less than 50 kilowatts. For ground-based communications, the range of power levels is from 1 to 20 kilowatts. Pulsed klystrons are primarily used in radar and in scientific and medical linear accelerators. Some applications employ more than two cavities to obtain higher gain and more bandwidth. The power gain of the klystron is dependent on the voltage and current as well as on the number of cavities used. The larger the number of cavities employed, the larger the gain that can be obtained. There is, however, a practical limit imposed by the onset of RF instability.
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