Before the invention of transistors, vacuum tubes are used for electronic circuit design.

These tubes are

used for amplification,oscillation,switching and other applications. In many applications such as for VSAT
Earth stations,TV stations and military applications high power is needed which is generated with the
use of microwave tubes.


Klystron

The microwave tube, klystron is basically a vaccum tube designed with cavity resonators to
produce velocity modulation of electron beam for amplification purpose.
As shown in the figure, cathode in a vacuum tube is heated by a filament, this cathode at high
temperature, emits electrons,which are attracted by collector. This causes current to be
established between cathode and collector.
Klystrons are available in wide range of sizes. Small size units produce mwatts of power while
large size units produce thousand watts of power. They are used at UHF as well as 100 GHz
frequency band of operation.
Special variation to the basic klystron tube is called as reflex klystron. It is used as microwave
oscillator. The difference between normal klystron and reflex klystron is that reflex klystron uses
single cavity.
Reflex klystron devices are targetted for low power and are small in sizes. Power ranges from
100mwatt to several watts. Output of reflex klystron can easily be Freq-Modulated with the
addition of AC modulating signal in the series with repeller voltage. Gunn diodes have replaced
this type of klystrons.
(
Klystrons amplify RF signals by converting the kinetic energy in a DC electron beam into radio
frequency power. A beam of electrons is produced by a thermionic cathode (a heated pellet of
low work function material), and accelerated by high-voltage electrodes (typically in the tens of
kilovolts). This beam is then passed through an input cavity resonator. RF energy is fed into the
input cavity at, or near, its resonant frequency, creating standing waves, which produce an
oscillating voltage which acts on the electron beam. The electric field causes the electrons to
"bunch": electrons that pass through when the electric field opposes their motion are slowed,
while electrons which pass through when the electric field is in the same direction are
accelerated, causing the previously continuous electron beam to form bunches at the input
frequency. To reinforce the bunching, a klystron may contain additional "buncher" cavities. The
beam then passes through a "drift" tube in which the faster electrons catch up to the slower ones,
creating the "bunches", then through a "catcher" cavity. In the output "catcher" cavity, each
bunch enters the cavity at the time in the cycle when the electric field opposes the electrons'
motion, decelerating them. Thus the kinetic energy of the electrons is converted to potential
energy of the field, increasing the amplitude of the oscillations. The oscillations excited in the
catcher cavity are coupled out through a coaxial cable or waveguide. The spent electron beam,
with reduced energy, is captured by a collector electrode.
To make an oscillator, the output cavity can be coupled to the input cavity(s) with a coaxial cable
or waveguide. Positive feedback excites spontaneous oscillations at the resonant frequency of the
cavities.
)







In the two-cavity klystron, there are two microwave cavity resonators, the "catcher" and the
"buncher". When used as an amplifier, the weak microwave signal to be amplified is applied to
the buncher cavity through a coaxial cable or waveguide, and the amplified signal is extracted
from the catcher cavity.
At one end of the tube is the hot cathode heated by a filament which produces electrons. The
electrons are attracted and pass through an anode cylinder at a high positive potential; these act
as an electron gun to produce a high velocity stream of electrons. An external electromagnet
winding creates a longitudinal magnetic field along the beam axis which prevents the beam from
spreading.
The beam first passes through the "buncher" cavity resonator, through grids attached to each
side. The buncher grids have an oscillating AC potential across them, produced by standing wave
oscillations within the cavity, excited by the input signal at the cavity's resonant frequency
applied by a coaxial cable or waveguide. The direction of the field between the grids changes
twice per cycle of the input signal. Electrons entering when the entrance grid is negative and the
exit grid is positive encounter an electric field in the same direction as their motion, and are
accelerated by the field. Electrons entering a half-cycle later, when the polarity is opposite,
encounter an electric field which opposes their motion, and are decelerated.
Beyond the buncher grids is a space called the drift space. This space is long enough so that the
accelerated electrons catch up to the retarded electrons, forming "bunches" longitudinally along
the beam axis. It's length is chosen to allow maximum bunching at the resonant frequency, and
may be several feet long.
The electrons then pass through a second cavity, called the "catcher", through a similar pair of
grids on each side of the cavity. The function of the catcher grids is to absorb energy from the
electron beam. The bunches of electrons passing through excite standing waves in the cavity,
which has the same resonant frequency as the buncher cavity. Each bunch of electrons passes
between the grids at a point in the cycle when the exit grid is negative with respect to the
entrance grid, so the electric field in the cavity between the grids opposes the electrons motion.
The electrons thus do work on the electric field, and are decelerated, their kinetic energy is
converted to electric potential energy, increasing the amplitude of the oscillating electric field in
the cavity. Thus the oscillating field in the catcher cavity is an amplified copy of the signal
applied to the buncher cavity. The amplified signal is extracted from the catcher cavity through a
coaxial cable or waveguide.
After passing through the catcher and giving up its energy, the lower energy electron beam is
absorbed by a "collector" electrode.



Applications
Klystrons can produce far higher microwave power outputs than solid state microwave devices
such as Gunn diodes. In modern systems, they are used from UHF (hundreds of MHz) up
through hundreds of gigahertz (as in the Extended Interaction Klystrons in the CloudSat
satellite). Klystrons can be found at work in radar, satellite and wideband high-power
communication (very common in television broadcasting and EHF satellite terminals), medicine
(radiation oncology), and high-energy physics (particle accelerators and experimental reactors).
At SLAC, for example, klystrons are routinely employed which have outputs in the range of 50
megawatts (pulse) and 50 kilowatts (time-averaged) at 2856 MHz. The Arecibo Planetary Radar
uses two klystrons that provide a total power output of 1 megawatt (continuous) at 2380 MHz.
[10]

Popular Science's "Best of What's New 2007"
[11][12]
described a company, Global Resource
Corporation, currently defunct, using a klystron to convert the hydrocarbons in everyday
materials, automotive waste, coal, oil shale, and oil sands into natural gas and diesel fuel.
[13]






Wavegides

A waveguide is a structure that guides waves, such as electromagnetic waves or sound waves. There are
different types of waveguides for each type of wave. The original and most common
[1]
meaning is a
hollow conductive metal pipe used to carry high frequency radio waves, particularly microwaves.

Principle of operation


Example of waveguides and a diplexer in an air traffic control radar
Waves propagate in all directions in open space as spherical waves. The power of the wave falls
with the distance R from the source as the square of the distance(inverse square law). A
waveguide confines the wave to propagate in one dimension, so that, under ideal conditions, the
wave loses no power while propagating. The conductors generally used in waveguides have
small skin depth and hence large surface resistance. Due to total reflection at the walls, waves are
confined to the interior of a waveguide. The propagation inside the waveguide, hence, can be
described approximately as a "zigzag" between the walls. This description is exact for
electromagnetic waves in a hollow metal tube with a rectangular or circular cross-section.

A propagation mode in a waveguide is one solution of the wave equations, or, in other words, the form
of the wave.
[5]
Due to the constraints of the boundary conditions, there are only limited frequencies and
forms for the wave function which can propagate in the waveguide. The lowest frequency in which a
certain mode can propagate is the cutoff frequency (In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff
frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at
which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced (attenuated or reflected) rather than
passing through. ) of that mode. The mode with the lowest cutoff frequency is the basic mode of the
waveguide, and its cutoff frequency is the waveguide cutoff frequency.

Waveguide Cutoff Frequency
- waveguide cutoff frequency is an essential parameter for any waveguide - it
does not propagate signals below this frequency. It is easy to understand an
calculate with our equations.

The cutoff frequency is the frequency below which the waveguide will not operate.
Accordingly it is essential that any signals required to pass through the waveguide do not extend
close to or below the cutoff frequency.
The waveguide cutoff frequency is therefore one of the major specifications associated with any
waveguide product.

Waveguide cutoff frequency basics
Waveguides will only carry or propagate signals above a certain frequency, known as the cut-off
frequency. Below this the waveguide is not able to carry the signals. The cut-off frequency of the
waveguide depends upon its dimensions. In view of the mechanical constraints this means that
waveguides are only used for microwave frequencies. Although it is theoretically possible to
build waveguides for lower frequencies the size would not make them viable to contain within
normal dimensions and their cost would be prohibitive.
As a very rough guide to the dimensions required for a waveguide, the width of a waveguide
needs to be of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the signal being carried. As a
result, there is a number of standard sizes used for waveguides as detailed in another page of this
tutorial. Also other forms of waveguide may be specifically designed to operate on a given band
of frequencies

What is waveguide cutoff frequency? - the concept
Although the exact mechanics for the cutoff frequency of a waveguide vary according to whether
it is rectangular, circular, etc, a good visualisation can be gained from the example of a
rectangular waveguide. This is also the most widely used form.
Signals can progress along a waveguide using a number of modes. However the dominant mode
is the one that has the lowest cutoff frequency. For a rectangular waveguide, this is the TE10
mode.
The TE means transverse electric and indicates that the electric field is transverse to the direction
of propagation.

TE modes for a rectangular waveguide
The diagram shows the electric field across the cross section of the waveguide. The lowest
frequency that can be propagated by a mode equates to that were the wave can "fit into" the
waveguide.
As seen by the diagram, it is possible for a number of modes to be active and this can cause
significant problems and issues. All the modes propagate in slightly different ways and therefore
if a number of modes are active, signal issues occur.
It is therefore best to select the waveguide dimensions so that, for a given input signal, only the
energy of the dominant mode can be transmitted by the waveguide. For example: for a given
frequency, the width of a rectangular guide may be too large: this would cause the TE20 mode to
propagate.
As a result, for low aspect ratio rectangular waveguides the TE20 mode is the next higher order
mode and it is harmonically related to the cutoff frequency of the TE10 mode. This relationship
and attenuation and propagation characteristics that determine the normal operating frequency
range of rectangular waveguide.

Rectangular waveguide cutoff frequency
Although waveguides can support many modes of transmission, the one that is used, virtually
exclusively is the TE10 mode. If this assumption is made, then the calculation for the lower
cutoff point becomes very simple:

Where:
fc = rectangular waveguide cutoff frequency in Hz
c = speed of light within the waveguide in metres per second
a = the large internal dimension of the waveguide in metres
It is worth noting that the cutoff frequency is independent of the other dimension of the
waveguide. This is because the major dimension governs the lowest frequency at which the
waveguide can propagate a signal.

Circular waveguide cutoff frequency
the equation for a circular waveguide is a little more complicated (but not a lot).

Where:
fc = circular waveguide cutoff frequency in Hz
c = speed of light within the waveguide in metres per second
a = the internal radius for the circular waveguide in metres

Although it is possible to provide more generic waveguide cutoff frequency formulae, these ones
are simple, easy to use and accommodate, by far the majority of calculations needed.






Resonator


Cavity resonators
Main article: Microwave cavity
A cavity resonator is a hollow closed conductor such as a metal box or a cavity within a metal
block, containing electromagnetic waves (radio waves) reflecting back and forth between the
cavity's walls. When a source of radio waves at one of the cavity's resonant frequencies is
applied, the oppositely-moving waves form standing waves, and the cavity stores
electromagnetic energy.
Since the cavity's lowest resonant frequency, the fundamental frequency, is that at which the
width of the cavity is equal to a half-wavelength (/2), cavity resonators are only used at
microwave frequencies and above, where wavelengths are short enough that the cavity is
conveniently small in size.
Due to the low resistance of their conductive walls, cavity resonators have very high Q factors;
that is their bandwidth, the range of frequencies around the resonant frequency at which they will
resonate, is very narrow. Thus they can act as narrow bandpass filters. Cavity resonators are
widely used as the frequency determining element in microwave oscillators. Their resonant
frequency can be tuned by moving one of the walls of the cavity in or out, changing its size.