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Fig. 10-Input impedance locus for anllmplitron with matched load, N = 11, k = -4, Zero phase slip, 6 = 0, corresponds to the center of the chart. Increments of 4' in 8 are shown;negative values are shown by solid markings.

limitations discussed restrict the theory to moderate power levels and conditions where the adiabatic approximation is valid. The important differences between the reentrant beam and nonreentrsnt beam types of travelingwave interactions have also been discussed. Extension of this theory is indicated. Specifically, approximations regarding the radial electron drift current

andthenonadiabatic phase relat'ion between the space charge and the rotating wave, however crude, would give further insight into the Amplit'ron operation. For truly quantitative calculations of the self-consistent type, the needed trial field of the iterative process could reasonably be taken from the results of this theory. An idealization of the delay line has been used in the aboveanalysis. The extension to nonidealconditions or to other delay line configurations does not appear to be difficult. Loss, forexample, could be t'reat'edby letting0, assume complex values. The circuit theory could also be modified fornonuniformdelay lines such as circuits with lumped attenuators or severed circuits. It has been shown that the backward-traveling wave in the Amplitron has an importanteffect on its operation. It follows that waves reflected fromthe load (assumed reflectionless in this analysis) also have animportant effect. The analysispresentedhereis easily adapted to account for the "pulling" effects of the load. If, in addition to load reflections, there are input-circuit reflections, another feedback loop (in addition to the stream) exists. 4 platinotron with both reflections is termed a Stabilotroll;' it has applications as an extremely stable oscillator. Thetheorycan be extended to discuss the operating level, frequency,andstability of the Stabilotron using the usual feedback analysis.
XCKNOWLEDQMETT

The author wishes to acknowledge the comment and discussion of W. C. Brown, whose own investigation and ideascontributed to the formulation of the theory presented here.

Low-Noise Klystron Amplifiers*

ROBERT G. ROCKWELL?
Summary-The principles of low-noise guns have been applied klystron gain. A byproduct of this higher current is a wide dynamic toklystron amplifiers with good corroboration of the theory. In range. the past, many people thought that klystrons had inherently high In addition tothe development of the electrical parameters, a noise figures, while others advanced the theory that low-noise guns major effort went into klystron construction techniques somewhat might beused with klystrons as well as with wave tubes.The peculiar to low-noise klystron amplifiers. The data taken show that development to be described here shows that the former impression alignment of the low-noise gunelectrodes with thedrifttube, is not true and verifies that low-noise klystron amplifiers are alignment of the beam with the magnetic field, elimination of the possible. collector's secondary electronsfrom the beam, and cleanliness of Themost obvious difference betweentheguns for low-noise thetubeare of primaryimportance in constructinga low-noise klystron amplifiers andthose typical of low-noise traveling-wave klystron amplifier. tubes is the higher beam current which is required for adequate Several two-cavity, low-noise klystron amplifiers werebuiltfor operationinbothS-band and C-band. The typical low-level gain was 11.5 db, and the saturated power output was 180 mw. Several * L'Ianuscript received by the PGED, February 10, 1959; revised tubes exhibited noise figures below 9 db; the lowest value obtained manuscript received, July 14, 1959. was 6.7. db. t Varian Associates, Palo Alto, Calif.

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429

LNIOST from the beginning of low-noise microwave tubes, it had been assumed that a similar theory applied to traveling-wave tubes,klystrons,and backward-wave been had However, there no experimental verification of thissimilarity for klystrons, and it further appeared possible that higherorder space-charge modes might make klystrons inherently noisy.4 It was apparentfrom earlycalculations that if the noise figure of a klystron could be lowered to values near the theoreticallimitthen considered to be 6-7 db, it would alsoresultinaunique class of tuned radiofrequency receiver having the combination of high gain, high sensitivity, and wide dynamic range. Much of the work which is describedherein is based upon Robinson's a n a l y ~ i s , combined ~ with initial collaborat,ion withthisauthor's colleague, MarcelMuller. Since the theory has been well presented elsewhere, this paper will mainlydescriberesults and the development techniques6 which were used to show that klystron amplifiers do have low-noise capabilities. The most difficult and critical problem anticipated in developing a practical low-noise klystron amplifier was designing a high-perveance gun, which is not characteristic of mostother types of low-noise tubes. It was also necessary to develop new klystron assemblytechniquesbecause of the need for an entirely nonmagnetic tube, which is not necessary for most other klystrons. Several low-noise klystron amplifiers were built which have verified the theory advanced by many workers in the field.
DEFIXITIONS Many of the terms used in this paper may be better understood by referring to Fig. 1. At the top are shown a cathode, three-region a low-noise gun, and a drift space followed by a klystron circuit. It should be noted thatthe distance between the cathodeandtheinput gap is considerably longer than in an ordinary klystron. This added length is necessary for the low-noise behavior. Bloom andPeter7"have shown that a transmission line may be considered as an analog of a n electron beam. The middle of Fig. 1 shows that the characteristic beam impedance is not constant in the region between the

Fig. 1-Schematic

of low-noise klystron amplifier.

cathode and the last anode of the gun. The characteristic impedance W is related to the total beam current I , in amperes; dc voltage V , in volts; reduced radian plasma frequency as; and radian signal frequency w by

Thus, a region of low beam voltage corresponds to a transmission line of low characteristic impedance, and a region of highvoltagecorresponds to atransmission line of high characteristic impedance. Thedriftspace voltage andthecavityvoltagearethesame, so that beyond the last anode the characteristic impedance of the beam is constant, except for the effects of the surrounding mall on w,/w, the plasma frequency reduction factor. Branch' has shown that a helix reduces the infinite beam plasma frequency w, by a slightly smaller amount than does adrifttube of the samediameter,pointing out that the principal cause of plasma frequency reduction 1 D. A. Watkins, ['Noise Reduction in Beam Type Amplifiers," is the finite diameter of the beam. Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.; 1951. Sinceasection of beamislikea sectj.on of line,by 2 F. X. H. Robinson, "Microwave shot noise in electron beams analogy the beam may actlike a n impedance transformer. and the minimum noise factor of traveling-wave tubes and klystrons," J . Brit. IRE, vol. 14, pp. 79-86; February, 1954. usual conditions of a M. R. Currie andD. C. Forster, "Low noise tunable pre- It can also be shown that under amplifiers for microwave receivers," PROC. IRE, vol. 46, pp. 570-579, operation, a diode is essentially a n exponential impedance March, 1958. noise figure, R. W . Peter, "Problems of producing low-noise electron beams," transformer. The gun,then,forminimum Proc. Syrnp. of Modern Advances in Microwave Technique, vol. 14, acts as a section of nonuniform transmission line which pp. 159-173; November 8-10, 1954. exponentiallytransformsthe existingimpedance of the 6 Robinson, op. cit. 6 R. G. Rockwell, 'Development of the First Low-Noise beam at the virtual cathode to the required impedance Klystron Amplifiers," presented a t Electron Devices Meeting, of the beam at the input cavity gap. Washington, D. C., October 30-31, 1958. S. Bloom and R. Fy., Peter, "Transmission-line analog of a
~~

modulated electronbeam, RCA Rev., vol. 15, pp. 95-112; March, 1954. 8 S. Bloom and R. W . Peter, "A minimum noise figure for the traveling-wave tube," RCA Rev., vol. 15, pp. 252-267; June, 1954.

9 G. M. Branch, "Reduction of plasma frequencyin electron beams by helices anddrifttubes," PROC. IRE, vol. 43, p. 1018; August, 1955.

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The bottom of Fig. 1 shows an estimate of noise currents. The solid line is the over-all noise current wave,which is the sum of the uncorrelated noise currents excited at the potential minimum by the shot-noise full fluctuations in the current and the Rack fluctuations in the electron velocity. A minimum of over-all noise current is believed to occur near the second anode, and the drift space is made longenough to place the nextminimum at the input cavity gap. The ratio of the available output noise power to KTAfG is the noise figure of the tube, where K = Boltzmann's constant = 1.374 X joules/"K, T = theambienttemperaturein "K, Af = thebandwidthin cycles per second, and G = thegain of the tube. The analysis by Robinson cited above showed that the minimum noise figure F of a klystron or a traveling-wave tube was (2)

HELIX ENTRANC CONDITIONS

Fig. 2-Portion

of transmission line chart for low-noise tube design.

F 2!6 db when T o ,the cathode temperature, is 1200"11,

and T is 290K

TRAKSMISSION LINE CHART

Fig. 2 is a portion of a special transmission line chart for low-noise tubes whichallowsa straightforward design procedure t o be used. This portion was derived from a chart used for designing low-noise traveling-wave tubes,1 for whicha grid of anodeexitconditionswas computed for w D a / w up to values of unity.

The grid is simultaneously a plot of values of p,l and 17 a t the output of a space-charge limited diode region as calculated by the Llewellyn-Peterson equations," where:

p,

propagation constant
=

= w,/uo.

5.93 X lo5 V;'' meters per second. I = distance along beam in meters. 7 = noise current standing-wave ratio = Ima./Imin. I,,, = maximum value of over-all noise current. Imin = minimum value of over-all noise current.
uo = dc beam velocity

The anode exit point on the grid, for VA-815-13, was a t w,Jw = 1.2and M = 40, giving an anode-exitingup, = radian plasma frequency at the potential minimum, noise-standing-wave ratio of six. The low-noise gun r = beam radius in inches. then transformed the characteristic beam impedance, represented bytracingfromthe grid aroundthechart It turns out that low-noise klystron amplifiers, because in the direction of increasing @,I and appropriately of the relatively increased current which is used in order adjusting the noise-standing-wave ratio 7. to achieve sufficient gain,resultin w P a / o being above For traveling-wave tubes, there is a line labeled fj unity. Hence, Fig. 2 shows the extension of the grid which represents the helix entrance conditions for minifor w P a / w up to 3.6, vs M from 1 t o 200, where M is mum noise figure. For a klystron, the line which represents essentially the first anode voltage, VI. Specifically, the input cavity entrance conditions for minimum noise figure is 0 = 0 from r = 1 to infinity. Since a t resonance the characteristic impedance of the input cavity is real, it follows that 0 = 0, and it is seen from the chart that Rut T = 7. The magnitude of the normalized beam admittance is specified by T and the angle by 8. e As the beammoves throughthe regionbetweenthe 10KT, = first anode and the input cavity, the corresponding point for T , = 1170K; hence 144 = VI when T , = 9OO"C, on the chart follows some calculable path from the grid theapproximatecathodetemperature of the low-noise to the correct point on the 0 = zero line. For identical klystron amplifiers. input and output cavities, the point at which one wishes to enter for minimum noise figure is determined from the where
- N

10 L. D. Buchmiller, R. W. DeGrasse, and G. Wade, "Design and Calculation Procedures for Low-Noise Traveling-Wave Tubes," Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., Tech. Rept. 308-2; April 22, 1957.

11 F. B. Llewellyn and L. C.Peterson, "Vacuum-tube networks," PROC. IRE, vol. 32, pp. 144-166; March, 1944.

lifiers

1969 Klystron

Low-Noise

Rockwell:
of which
(6)

431 distance]. This means that a certain phase delay expressed in reduced plasma frequency radians is necessary afterthelastanode of the low-noise gun t o position theminimum of the noise-standing-wave attheinput gap. It is possible t o adjust both the noise-atanding-wave ratioandthespatialphasebyvaryingthepotentials of the electrongun. It mightbementionedhere that decreasing the potentialon any anode moves the minimum of the noise-standing-wave towards the cathode, and vice versa.Calculationsusingthechartindicated that the drift space should be 2-1/2 inches. Earlier calculations using the Llewellyn-Petersonequations, going fromone diode region of t'he gun to another, and then on to the input gap; also predicted the drift space t o be 2-1/2 inches. Therefore, this .was the length of the drift space first built for the S-band, losv-noise klystron amplifiers.

klystron'selectronicgain G,, thesquareroot should equal the noise-standing-wave ratio.

q , =

G,'/2.

Gain calculations were made using Zitelli's treatise on thesubject for gridless gaps." The equivalent circuit employed is shown inFig. 3. R S h= l/Gah is the shunt impedance of the cavity as determined from the experimental values of R,,/Q and unloaded Q. The beam loading impedance, Rb = is for a beam traversing a knifeedge gap in a n infinite magnetic field and not filling the drift tube. Curves of this function are plotted by Zitelli.

Fig. 3--Equivalent circuit of output cavity.

MECHANICAL DESIGN
Assembled Low-Noise Klystron Fig 4 shows a cross-sectional view of an. S-band, lomnoise klystron amplifier. The low-noise gun wasjigged and bolted to a copper support cone for alignment. Thesupport cone had beenmachined to align witha mating conical hole which was aligned withthedrift tube hole throughthecavities.Thetwocavities were made quasi-doubly re-entrant t o attain some increase in shunt resistance, Rsh,and yet not put the input gap too far away from the end of the drift space. The Rah/Q was 180 and the Qo was 3600.
/"""'"" smnrc
,LII*I*O

The matched load is R L ,where

(7)
From this, a convenient formula for the gain cavity klystron amplifier can be derived,

G of a two-

where ea = gap-gap distance in reduced plasma frequency radians. For maximum gain
6, = 90'

or

- a

x,
4

".%%.,,,,,

(9)

R,

= the beam coupling coefficient. = Vo/Io.

Since half the output power is lost in the output cavity,

Y

and thus from ( l ) , ( 6 ) , (8), and (lo),

17=----

Fig. 4-VA-815

klystron, cross-sectional view.

The design for high R r h suggested the use of a smalldiameter drift tube. Since it is hard to machine a long, Thus, it is seen that the parameters affecting the gain small diameter drift tube, its diameter was enlarged between the two cavities. This increased the electrical of a klystronpredetermineaparticularstanding-wave ratioforminimum noise figure such that 7 = T > 1 length of the klystron because of the change in the plasma at the input gap. I f our tube had had a gain of 10 db, frequency reduction factor. The copper collector, insulated by a pla,tinum-ceramic it would then have had an electronic gain of 13 db from re-entrant region into gap-to-gap. Since 13 db is a ratio of 20, the value for 7 seal from the copper body, had a whichasteelcylinder withataperedendwasinserted at the input gap is 4.6. I n addition,aparticularspatialphaserelat'ionship x to distort the magnetic field and prevent the collector's electrons from traversing the drift tube.I3 is required [x = (oa/uo)Zd, where la is thedrift space secondary
24

&I2 R,

sin

a,

e,

--sin 4 2

M 2 R,

6,.

(11)

L. T. Zitelli, "Space-Charge Effectsin Gridless Klystrons," Microwave Lab., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., Rept. 149; October, 1951.

la R. W. Peter and J. A. Ruetz, "Influence of secondary electrons on noise factor and stability of traveling-wave tubes," RCA Rev., vol. 14, pp. 441-452; September, 1953.

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Fig. 5 is a photograph of two low-noise klystron amplifiers. The top one shows primarily the collector and its re-entrant region. It also shows the tuning that was used on these tubes. It hadbeen found by cold testing that Q and R S n / Qboth decreasedconsiderably a s a tuning diaphragm was placed closer to the drift tube to increase the tuning range. Since we were primarily interested in low noise, we built fixed-tuned tubes for maximum Q and Rsh/Q, andskipped over the problem of developing a n adequate tuner. The two cavities were pretuned to the same frequency byadjustingthegaps before brazing in the collector and gun. Then, after bakeout, the cavities were trimmed to the same frequency by depressing the side wall of either or both cavities by means of aball bearing and a hammer. The lower picture shows the AL-300 ceramic stem which had seven ceramic-to-copper seals for thegun, plus thelarge 1-1/8 inch diameter seal attaching the ceramic stem to the copper gun housing.

a t ground potential, the input and output waveguide-tocoax adapters were insulated from the rest of the plumbing so that the body current interception could be monitored. Alignment of the tube with the magnetic field proved to be very critical, but withalittlemanipulation of the mounting bracket, the electron beam could be aligned with the magnetic field for realization of minimum noise figure. I n addition, the asymmetrical piece of steel that was placed around the collector appeared to be mandatory, for without it the noise figure was about 20 db. It apparently distorted the magnetic field sufficiently in the collector region t o prevent secondary electrons from going back down the beam and causing increased noise figure. Withoutthis field distorter, thetube could bealigned with the magnetic field to obtain abeamtransmission of 99.5 per cemt. Also shown in this figure is a long appendageleading to a getter using titanium evaporation. It appeared t o be necessary for a low-noise klystron amplifier.

Mounting Bracket
The mountingbracket (Fig. 6) developed by Harold Cardoza consisted of two rugged parallel barsmade of stainless steel. These bars mere held at each end by aluminumplatesand stainlesssteel nuts.Thebarsin turn supported two bakelite clamps which held the tube firmly in place. The longitudinalposition of thetube could be adjusted, however, while in the magnetic field by sliding the clamps on the two parallel bars. The bakelite clamps helped to insulate the tube from ground. Additionally, since the coax cables hooked onto waveguide

of a low-noise gun assembly. The stacked, unbonded-type construction was designed for assembling and jigging in a pressurized, dust-free bench to insure cleanliness, the full impact of which is not clearly understood. Much more care was taken with the low-noise klystrons to obtaina clean tube than is generally done for most microwave tubes. Vacuum firing of all parts mas incorporated into the preassemblyprocedure. Brazing in a dry hydrogen atmosphere, rather than our

Low-Noise Gun Fig. 7 is apicture

Fig. 5-Low-noise

klystron amplifiers, VA-815-4b, and VA-815-Baa

Fig. 6-VA4-815-7 in mounting bracket.

Fig. 7-Low-noise

gun assembly.

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commonly used dissociated a,mmonia, appeared to be very beneficial. Much further painstaking work,however, would have to be done to determine which of the cleanlinessproceduresweremerely beneficial and whichwere mandatory. Quartz ring spacers were used between the various molybdenum electrodes. The stainless steel retaining rings at the top and bottom and three long screws, also of stainless steel, held the gun electrodes and the quartz spacersfirmlyinplace.AlthoughnotshowninFig. 7, a copper cylinder was placed between each screwhead and the upper ring to keep the stack tight. Before doing this, the stack became loose a t high bakeout temperatures (5lOOC for a n overnight period), and the cathode alignment slipped asmuchas one-half totwo-thousandths of a n inch. This was sufficient to cause a high-noise figure. A major factor in the electron gun design was the need for close align.ment,necessitatingmoreruggedcathode mounting at the expense of increased heat loss. A compromise was made which allowed the type B impregnated cathode to reach the necessary 1150C and yet maintain alignment through bakeout. Alignment was held to within one-half thousandth compared with five thousandths of a n inch for conventional klystron alignment. The use of three stilts to support the cathode was decided upon asthebest compromise of alignment andthermal insulation. Also, the re-entrance of the stilts in a surrounding three-stilt support maintained the position of the cathode face as the cathode assembly heated up. This was evidenced by very little change in perveance once the cathode was hot enough for space-charge limited emission.

been necessarily optimized as far as obtaining noise reduct'ion is concerned; hence, unless there has been fortuitous design, it appears there is room in this area for improved noise performance. The same gun design was used for boththeS-bandandthelater C-bandtubes. While discussing the gun, it might be well to point out that while careful assembly and processing were used t o assure cleanliness and alignment, no painstaking attention was given to the cathode. Experience with traveling-wave tubeshasindicatedthat dense,smooth oxide coatings must be applied to special types of cathode nickel, followed by very uniform activation, in order to achieve minimum noise. Since this development was aimed more a t a first-order application of the theory to klystrons, thetype Bimpregnatedtungstencathodes mere used directly out of their shipping vials. It was noted, however, that approximately fifty hours of operation were required before the noise figure of any given tu'be reached its minimum value. Thus,it seems thatthereisthe possibility of even lower noise figures if more detailed attention were to be paid to thephysical properties of the cathode. I n practical cathodes, the emission density (degree of activation} may vary from point-to-point.14 Also, the velocity distribution mayvaryfrompoint-to-point.The beam current density, however, is made nearly uniform by the mechanism of space-charge limitation. Thus, these various reasons may account for the delay of fifty hours in reduced noise figure as the activation becomes more uniform .

EXPERIMENTAL DATs
Noise Figure us Gun Parameters Fig. 8 shows the results of a series of 5-band tubes
12

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GUN

Parallel confined flow wasdesigned in an electrolytic tank to occur at about -20 volts on the focus electrode. At zero voltson the focuselectrode, about 70 volts on the first anode were required to obtain two milliamperes of cathode current. This is a perveance of 3.3 micropervs. The reason for not applyinga positive voltage to thefocus electrode was that the type B impregnated cathode was a 0.100-inch diameter tungsten pellet with a 0.040-inch proboscis on the end. Consequently, when a positive focus voltage was applied, current was emit'ted from the full 0.100-inch diameter pellet. This swamped outthe cathodeandfocus electrode currentmeters, so that it was not possible to know how much of the cathode current was being emitted from t'he 0.040-inch cathode face. The spacing of the first anode from the cathode face mas equal to t'he diameter of the cathode proboscis, namely 0.040 inch. From electrolytic tank measurements, this appeared to be a lower limit set by the field penetration from the second anode through the 0.060-inch diameteraperture of the first anodeintothecathode region. The second-anode t o first-anode spacing was 0.096 inch, and the second-anode t o third-anode spacing was 0.122 inch. This made the total length of the lownoise gun 0.258 inch. Kone of these dimensions have

Drift D i s t a n c e ( i n c h e s )

Fig. 8--Noise

figure vs drift space (VA-815 l l a , 9, 8a).

of 5 ~ . 14 W. R. Beam, ' T o k e wave excitation atthecathode DEVICES, ON ELECTRON microwave beam amplifier," IRE TRANS. v01. ED-4, pp. 226-234; July, 1957.

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built t o ascertain the proper drift space between the gun and the input cavity. As may be recalled, the calculations predicted a drift space of 2-l/2 inches for a n S-band tube.This figureshows thatthebestdrift spacewas three inches. This was true regardless of the focusvoltageused.Sincemanymore than one tube of each drift space should be built to obtain statistical data and thus not suffer frommisleadingsampling, the noisefigurecharacteristicshown is notintended to be an accurate presentation. I n lieu of many tubes and in deference to a time limitation, it wasdecided t o make

the last tube with a drift space of three inches, the apparently optimum length. Figs. 9-12 deal with this tube which had a three-inch drift space. The various parameters on the low-noise klystron amplifier were held fixed except those which are specifically noted as being varied. A well known manual method, not dependent on the receiver noise figure, was used t o obtain accurate noise figure measurements. Fig. 9 shows the noise figure vs the filament voltage. At 9.5volts ( T , = 980C) the noise figurewaslowest, namely 6.7 db, which gave some credence to the use of three inches for the drift space. Below 9.5volts,when the beambecame temperaturelimited,the noise figure rose verydrastically t o a t least 22 db. The firstanode voltage was varied to keep thebeamcurrent a t two milliamperes. Above 9.5 volts, the noise figure rose slightly

6
~

Fig. 9-Noise

figure vs filament voltage (VA-815-13).

4
85

95

105

115

125

135

145

lis

165

Second Anode Voltage (volts)

Fig. 11-Noise

figure vs second anode voltage (VA-815-13).

22

20

18

Second bode voltage 120 volts Cavity Voltage 1400 volts

- -

16

4 B

14

L
s

12

10

150

180

240 210

Fig. 10-Noise

figure and first anode voltage (VA-815-13).

vs .focus voltage

270 300 330 Third Anode Voltage ( v o l t s )

360

390

420

Fig. 12-Noise

figure vs third anode voltage (VA-815-13).

1969

Low-Noise

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Klystron AmpliJiers

435

in about the ratio of cathode temperatures at the two range of about 100 db."j In Fig. 13, for a cathode current of two milliamperes, it can be seen that the tube saturated heater voltages, as predicted by (2). a t 180milliwatts.Thisisadynamicrange of 118 db I n Fig.10are shown the noise figure andthefirst above the minimum output level due to noise alone. anode voltage vs the focus voltage. The first anode voltage was adjusted to maintain the beam current Gain, Noise Figure, and Cavity Voltage a t two milliamperes, and hence the perveance in the Tube gain was about 10 db in the linear gain region, cathode first anode region varied from 1.31 to 5.65 micropervs. It canbe seen that the noise figure went but it could have been made considerably greater with the use of morecavities.Furthermore,with the beam u p a t a slow rate for more negative focus voltages than the designed -20 volts for parallel flow. But with less current turned off, a low-noise klystron amplifier provides negative focus voltage, corresponding to an initially essentially complete isolation between input and output. This high attenuationmightbefoundvery useful in divergingbeam off thecathode edge, andalsotothe lowest velocity in the cathode-first anode region, the certain systems, such as duplexers. The S-band tubes had a bandwidth of 1.1 mc centered noise figure wentdownabout 3 db. It would appear, a t a frequency of 2576 mc. Most of our C-band low-noise if one were to extrapolate to positive focus voltages, of about that the noise figure would go downevenmore, since klystron amplifiers were tuned to a frequency this curve is not approaching the zero voltage line per- 5700 me. It isfelt that thesetwotubetypesestablish the feasibility of designing low-noise klystron amplifiers pendicularly. We didnotapplypositivefocusvoltage a t other microwave frequencies. Although the C-band because of thecathode,as explainedpreviously.Most low-noise traveling-wave tubes and backward-wave ampli- tubes' minimum noise figure was 9.7 db, it is felt that the fiers, which have the order of 4-db noise figure, use drift space used was not optimum. The next curve, Fig. 14, shows the gain vs the cavity positive voltage on their focus electrodes." Consequently, we feel that low-noise klystrons would not be any exception voltage. It appeared that a quarter reduced space-charge wavelength occurred nearly a t 1700 volts with a cathode to this mode of operation expounded by Currie and current of two milliamperes. Over the 500-volt range Forster, since the noise figure isdeterminedprimarily bythegun region andnotbythe microwavecircuit. shown, however, there was less than 1 db change in gain. The next curve, Fig. 11, shows the noise figure vs the Data were also taken of gainvs focus voltage while maintaining the beam current constant. The data showed second anode volt'age. I n three-region guns for other low-noise beam-type microwave amplifiers, this particular that the gain was not a function of the focus conditions. The next curve, Fig. 15, shows the noise figure vs the voltagehasalsoexertedastrongcontrolonthe noise allso determines figure. The second anode is a t the voltage plane where cavity voltage. Since the cavity voltage influences the position of the first minimum of the noise standing wave was esti- thedriftspacepotential,it the minimum of the noise standing wave. The minimum mated to be (Fig. l), and this voltage is quite influential on the noise figure of a low-noise klystron amplifier as was best placed for obtaining a low-noise figure when the well. With a change of second anode voltage of only cavity voltage was 1400 volts. The gain vs cavity voltage A10 volts, the noise figure increased 1 db. curve showed that the maximum gain occurred a t 1700 Fig. 12 shows the noise figure vs the third anode volts, and that at 1400 volts there would. beonly 1 d b voltage. This electrode, although it does have an influence less gain, while going from 1700 volts down to 1400 volts on the noise figure, does not exert nearly as much in- lowers the noise figure 4 db.Consequently,onewould fluence as the second anode because the beam's velocity obviouslychoose 1400 ratherthan 1700 for thecavity is higher. Still, it is an important electrode for fine control voltage, since there is more to be gained :in reduction of gain. in Eiy changing the of the noise figure. With as much as 100 volts change on the noise figure than there is to be lost drift tube diameter and/or the spacing between the third anode, the noise figure increased only 1 db. input and output cavities, it would be possible to obtain the maximum gain a t 1400 volts. Dynamic Range The reason there was interest in developing low-noise klystron amplifiers, besides verifying the theory, was that there appeared to be something to be gained in the matter of dynamic range as compared with other microwave electron devices. Dynamic range is defined as the range of variation of power outputfromthatdueto noise alone uptothesaturation level. Traveling-wave tubes and backward-wave amplifiers have a dynamic range of approximately 80 db. Recently it has been reported that parametric amplifiers have a dynamic
16

INHERENT KOISINESS
Except for literature dealing specifically with low-noise tubes, other sources too numerous to cite specifically, but which deal more with the use of klystrons in radar systems, haveindicatedthatklystron amplifiers areinherently noisy. I n these references, it has been statedthat a klystron is notsatisfactory as a tunedradio-frequency amplifier of weak signals. It is also implied that a traveling16 H. Heffner and K. Kotzebue, "Experimental characteristics of a microwave parametric amplifier usingasemiconductor diode," PROC. IRE, vol. 46, p. 1301; June, 1958.

Currie and Forster, op. cit.

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Fig. 13-Power

output va power input (VA-815-4).

I
I

6.

I
4

ill00

1500

1600 2000 1900 1800 1700 cav1ry Voltage ( " o l r a )

2100

2200

800

1000

1200

1400

CBVity Voltage

1600 1800 (volts)

2000

2200

Fig. 14-Gain

vs cavity voltage (VA-815-4b).

Fig. 15-Noise

figure vs cavity voltage (VA-815-13).

wave tube is much superior. Actually, it is in the specific case of a tuned radio-frequency preamplifier that a lownoise klystron amplifier appears to be, atthe least, comparablewithatraveling-wavetube. In the use of traveling-wave tubes in certain practical their inherently large bandwidth limits the maximum attainable receiver sensitivity. This is because the traveling-wave tube also generates noise power over this same broadband. I n such cases high-&, narrow-band filters placed preceding and following the traveling-wave tube would improve its sensitivity.This would result, in principle, in a low-noise klystron amplifier.
17

It was plausible, however, that klystrons were inherently noisy." Since a n electron beam is capable of simultaneouslypropagatingmore than one space-charge mode, and becausea low-noise klystronamplifierrequiresabeam filling a large proportion of the drift tube, seemed it reasonable to expecttroublefromhigher-ordermodes.Thus, although the minimum of the noise-standing-wave for the firstorderspace-chargemodemightbepositioned atthegap,it mas possible that noise-standing-waves caused by higher order space-charge modes would fill in this minimum and a lorn-noise tube would not be achieved. This was not the case, however.
18 R. G. Roclrwell, "Are klystron amplifiers inherently noisy?" 1958 W E S C O N CONVENTION RECORD, pt. 3, pp. 55-59.

Currie and Forster, op. cit.

1959

Variation Cross-Sectional Velocity Beam Chang, et al.:

437
so that apositivevoltage could be used on the focus electrode, a noise figure could be realized even below the 6.7 db that has been quoted. Certain other factors would have to be very carefully watched, namely, alignment and cleanliness. The two-cavitytubeshadgains of 11.5 db with a dynamic range of 118 db.Futuremulticavity, low-noise klystron amplifiers could be developed to yield increased gain. Thus, it can be seen that a new type of microwave receiver tube has evolved, which now makes possible tuned radio-frequency receivers for presentday radar or radioastronomy,havingthe combination of high sensitivity, high gain, and wide dynamic range.

Because of the greater current required, higher a perveancegun was needed, and this brought about the possibility of lens effects and beam aberrations increasing the noise figure. Also, the higher current density necessitated a higher cathode temperature and henceahigher noise figure. Although it has been felt by some that for traveling-wave tubes, high-beam currentand low-noise performanceare i n c ~ m p a t i b l e , such ~ is not necessarily the case for low-noise klystron amplifiers. CONCLUSION The theory of low-noise klystrons, as indicated by Robinson and others, has been verified. The theory states that the noise figure is determined mostly by the low-noise gunandnotbythe microwave circuit, and i t isfeltthishas been amply demonstrated. The effect of the varioustubeparameters on the noise figure has been shown, and the similarity to other beam-type amplifiers indicates that higher-order space-charge modes donot increase the noise figure significantly;hence, it can be said that klystrons are not inherently noisy. Severalklystronshavehad noise figures of less than 9 db, and it is felt that by adjusting the cathode design
19 F. B. Fank and F. M. Schumacher, Development and operation of broadband low-noise traveling-wave tubes for X- and C-bands, 1957 JTESCON CONVENTION RECORD, pt. 3, pp. 150-155.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Early theoretical collaboration was done with M. Mullerand extensive mathematicalcomputations were made by A. Wehlau. Fabrication was materially enhanced bythe skill of D. Snow and T. Fiedor.Experimental data were obtained under greatdifficulties by H. Cardoza, and his invaluable interest is especially appreciated. The workon the S-bandtubes wassupported bythe Air ForceCambridgeResearchCenter. The Bureau of Ships supported the work on the C-band tubes. We aregratefulthatbothorganizationsrecently removed security classifications fromtheseprojects. The type B impregnated cathodes were supplied gratuitously by 0. Koppius of Semicon Associates.

The Effect of Beam Cross-Sectional Velocity Variation

on Backward-Wave-Oscillator Current*
N. C. CHANG,t A. W. SHAWS
Summary-Low-voltage helix-type backward-wave oscillators require a starting current that rises to infinity towardthe low-frequency end of the tuning range. The effect has been attributed to the raising of the space-charge parameter QC by the dc space-charge-induced velocity spread. H.R. Johnson has calculated the velocity-spread effect on starting current qualitatively, but the predicted nonoscillation frequency is generally muchlowerthan the observed in an one. As a further analysis, space-chargewavepropagation electron beam having an actual cross-sectional variation of dc velocity is investigated. It is shown that the RF current modulation in the slow space-charge wave is concentrated in the region of the slowest-moving electrons. In a helix-type backward-wave oscillator
received by the PGED, March 24, 1959; revised in manuscript received, July 20, 1959. This work was supported part by the United States Air Force. t Sylvania Microwave ComponentsLabs., Mountain View, Calif. $ Electronics Res. Lab., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 0 Electronics Res. Lab., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. Formerly consultant, Sylvania Electric Products, Inc., Mountain View, Calif.
AND

D. A. WATKINSi

using a hollow beam, theslower electrons arefartherawayfrom the RF circuit, so that the effective impedance for the slow spacecharge wave may be considerably reduced. The use of an impedance reduction factor therefore provides better agreement between theory and experiment with regard to the starting-current phenomenon.Theoreticalandexperiment results of t:he investigation are presented.

INTRODUCTION
N low-voltage helix-typebackward-wave oscillators, the starting current rises to infinity toward the low-frequency end of the tuning - range. Below a certain frequency, oscillation cannot be started no matter how much current is used. Johnson hasattributed this phenomenon to the raising of the effective spaceL

* Manuscript

H. R. Johnson, Backward-wave oscillators, PROC.IRE, vol. 43, pp. 684-697; June, 1955.