Characteristics of Klystron Tube

Klystron
A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube (evacuated
electron tube). Klystrons are used as amplifiers at microwave and radio
frequencies to produce both low-power reference signals for
superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power carrier waves
for communications and the driving force for modern particle accelerators.
Klystron amplifiers have the advantage (over the magnetron) of
coherently amplifying a reference signal so its output may be precisely
controlled in amplitude, frequency andphase. Many klystrons have a
waveguide for coupling microwave energy into and out of the device,
although it is also quite common for lower power and lower frequency
klystrons to use coaxial couplings instead. In some cases a coupling probe
is used to couple the microwave energy from a klystron into a separate
external waveguide.
All modern klystrons are amplifiers, since reflex klystrons, which were used as
oscillators
in the past, have been surpassed by alternative technologies.
The pseudo-Greek word klystron comes from the stem form κλυσ- (klys) of a Greek
verb
referring to the action of waves breaking against a shore, and the end of the word
electron.
History
The brothers Russell and Sigurd Varian of Stanford University are
the inventors of the klystron. Their prototype was completed in August 1937.
Upon publication in 1939, [1] news of the klystron immediately influenced the
work of US and UK researchers working on radarequipment. The Varians
went on to found Varian Associates to commercialize the technology (for
example to make small linear accelerators to generate photons for external
beam radiation therapy). In their 1939 paper, they acknowledged the
contribution of A. Arsenjewa-Heil and Oskar Heil (wife and husband) for their
velocity modulation theory in 1935. The work of physicist W.W. Hansen was
instrumental in the development of klystron and was cited by the Varian
brothers in their 1939 paper. His resonator analysis, which dealt with the
problem of accelerating electrons toward a target, could be used just as well
to decelerate electrons (i.e., transfer their kinetic energy to RF energy in a
resonator). During the second World War, Hansen lectured at the MIT
Radiation labs two days a week, commuting to Boston from Sperry
gyroscope company on Long Island. His resonator, called a "hohlraum" by
nuclear physicists and coined "rhumbatron" by the Varian
brothers, is used in 2009 in the National Ignition Facilityinvestigating nuclear
fusion. Hansen died
in 1949 as a result of exposure to beryllium oxide (BeO).
During the second World War, the Axis powers relied mostly on (then
low-powered) klystron technology for their radar system microwave
generation, while the Allies used the far more powerful but frequency-drifting
technology of the cavity magnetron for microwave generation. Klystron
tube technologies for very
high-power applications, such
as synchrotrons and radar systems, have since been developed.
Explanation
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. RF energy is fed into the
input cavity at, or near, its natural frequency to produce a voltage which acts
on the electron beam. The electric field causes the electrons to bunch:
electrons that pass through during an opposing electric field are accelerated
and later electrons are slowed, 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 RF current carried by
the beam will produce an RF magnetic field, and this will in turn excite a
voltage across the gap of subsequent resonant cavities. In the output cavity,
the developed RF energy is coupled out. The spent electron beam, with
reduced energy, is captured in a collector.

Two-cavity klystron amplifier

In the two-chamber klystron, the electron beam is injected into a

resonant cavity. The electron beam, accelerated by a positive potential, is
constrained to travel through a cylindrical drift tube in a straight path by an
axial magnetic field. While passing through the first cavity, the electron
beam is velocity modulated by the weak RF signal. In the moving frame of
the electron beam, the velocity modulation is equivalent to aplasma
oscillation.P la s m a
oscillations are rapid oscillations of the electron density in conducting media such
as plasmas or metals.(The frequency only depends weakly on the
wavelength). So in a quarter of one period of the plasma frequency, the
velocity modulation is converted to density modulation, i.e. bunches of
electrons. As the bunched electrons enter the second chamber they induce
standing waves at the same frequency as the input signal. The signal
induced in the second chamber is much stronger than that in the first.
Two-cavity klystron oscillator
The two-cavity amplifier klystron is readily turned into an oscillator
klystron by providing a feedback loop between the input and output cavities.
Two-cavity oscillator klystrons have the advantage of being among the
lowest-noise microwave sources available, and for that reason have often
been used in the illuminator systems of missile targeting radars. The two-
cavity oscillator klystron normally generates more power than the reflex
klystron—typically watts of output rather than milliwatts. Since there is no
reflector, only one high-voltage supply is necessary to cause the tube to
oscillate, the voltage must be adjusted to a particular value. This is because
the electron beam must produce the bunched electrons in the second cavity
in order to generate output power. Voltage must be adjusted to vary
thevelocity of the electron beam (and thus the frequency) to a suitable level
due to the fixed physical separation between the two cavities. Often several
"modes" of oscillation can be observed in a given klystron.

Reflex klystron
 In the reflex klystron (also known as a 'Sutton' klystron after its
inventor), the electron beam passes through a single resonant cavity. The
electrons are fired into one end of the tube by an electron gun. After passing
through the resonant cavity they are reflected by a negatively charged
reflector electrode for another pass through the cavity, where they are then
collected. The electron beam is velocity modulated when it first passes
through the cavity. The formation of electron bunches takes place in the drift
space between the reflector and the cavity. The voltage on the reflector must
be adjusted so that the bunching is at a maximum as the electron beam re-
enters the resonant cavity, thus ensuring a maximum of energy is
transferred from the electron beam to the RF oscillations in the cavity. The
voltage should always be switched on before providing the input to the reflex
klystron as the whole function of the reflex klystron would be destroyed if the
supply is provided after the input. The reflector voltage may be varied
slightly from the optimum value, which results in some loss of output power,
but also in a variation in frequency. This effect is used to good advantage for
automatic frequency control in receivers, and infrequency modulation for
transmitters. The level of modulation applied for transmission is small
enough that the power output essentially remains constant. At regions far
from the optimum voltage, no oscillations are obtained at all. This tube is
called a reflex klystron because it repels the input supply or performs the
opposite fun There are often several regions of reflector voltage where the
reflex klystron will oscillate; these are referred to as modes. The electronic
tuning range of the reflex klystron is usually referred to as the variation in
frequency between half power points—the points in the oscillating mode
where the power output is half the maximum output in the mode. The
frequency of oscillation is dependent on the reflector voltage, and varying
this provides a crude method of frequency modulating the oscillation
frequency, albeit with accompanying amplitude modulation as well.
Modern semiconductor technology has effectively replaced the reflex klystron in
most
applications.
Multicavity klystron
Large klystrons as used in thestorage ring of the Australian
Synchrotron to maintain the energy of the electron beam. In all modern
klystrons, the number of cavities exceeds two. A larger number of cavities
may be used to increase the gain of the klystron, or to increase the
bandwidth.

Tuning a klystron
Some klystrons have cavities that are tunable. Tuning a klystron is
delicate work which, if not done properly, can cause damage to equipment
or injury to the technician. By adjusting the frequency of individual cavities,
the technician can change the operating frequency, gain, output power, or
bandwidth of the amplifier. The technician must be careful not to exceed the
limits of the graduations, or damage to the klystron can result.
 Manufacturers generally send a card with the unique calibrations for
a klystron's performance characteristics, that lists the graduations to be set
to attain any of a set of listed frequencies. No two klystrons are exactly
identical (even when comparing like part/model number klystrons), and so
every card is specific to the individual unit. Klystrons have serial numbers on
each of them to uniquely identify each unit, and for which manufacturers
may (hopefully) have the performance characteristics in a database. If not,
loss of the calibration card may be an insoluble problem, making the klystron
unusable or perform marginally un-tuned.
Other precautions taken when tuning a klystron include using nonferrous tools.
Some
klystrons
employ
permanent magnets.
If
a
technician
uses ferrous tools,
(
which are ferromagnetic), and comes too close to the intense magnetic fields
that contain the electron beam, such a tool can be pulled into the unit by the
intense magnetic force, smashing fingers, injuring the technician, or
damaging the unit. Special lightweight nonmagnetic (aka diamagnetic) tools
made of berylliumalloy have been used for tuning U.S. Air Force klystrons.
Precautions are routinely taken when transporting klystron devices in
aircraft, as the intense magnetic field can interfere with magnetic navigation
equipment. Special overpacks are designed to help limit this field "in the
field," and thus allow such devices to be transported safely.

Optical klystron
In an optical klystron the cavities are replaced with undulators. Very high voltages
are
needed. The electron gun, the drift tube and the collector are still used.
Floating drift tube klystron
The floating drift tube klystron has a single cylindrical chamber
containing an electrically isolated central tube. Electrically, this is similar to
the two cavity oscillator klystron with a lot of feedback between the two
cavities. Electrons exiting the source cavity are velocity modulated by the
electric field as they travel through the drift tube and emerge at the
destination chamber in

bunches, delivering power to the oscillation in the cavity. This type of

oscillator klystron has an advantage over the two-cavity klystron on which it
is based. It only needs one tuning element to effect changes in frequency.
The drift tube is electrically insulated from the cavity walls, and DC bias is
applied separately. The DC bias on the drift tube may be adjusted to alter
the transit time through it, thus allowing some electronic tuning of the
oscillating frequency. The amount of tuning in this manner is not large and is
normally used for frequency modulation when transmitting.
Collector
After the RF energy has been extracted from the electron beam, the
beam is destroyed in a collector. Some klystrons include depressed
collectors, which recover energy from the beam before collecting the
electrons, increasing efficiency. Multistage depressed collectors enhance
the energy recovery by "sorting" the electrons in energy bins.

Applications
Klystrons produce microwave power far in excess of that developed
by solid state. In modern systems, they are used from UHF (100's 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
c
ommon 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 frequencies nearing 3 GHz Popular Science's
"Best of What's New 2007" included a company Global Resource
Corporation using a klystron to convert the hydrocarbons in
everyday
materials,
automotive
waste, coal, oil
shale,
and oil
sands into natural gas and diesel fuel.