Improvements in a 20-kW Phase-Locked Magnetron by Anode Voltage Ripple Suppression

Abstract

Microwave devices based on high-power magnetrons are currently used widely and there is a strong demand for phase-controlled magnetrons. In this work, the performance of a 20-kW $S$ -band continuous-wave magnetron with varied anode voltage ripple is studied. The anode voltage ripple is introduced to an equivalent model of the magnetron to evaluate the system’s performance theoretically. The effects of the anode voltage ripple and the injection parameters on the magnetron’s output are thus analyzed numerically. Furthermore, experiments are performed while the anode voltage ripple is varied from 4.2% to 0.6% using a shunt capacitance-adjustable ripple filter module. A nearly tripled locking bandwidth is observed under a constant injection ratio at 0.1 with decreasing ripple. The ripple-suppressed system pulls its sideband energy to the locking frequency and thus achieves a spectral intensity increment of 0.9 dB, phase noise reduction of 13 dB at an offset of 100 kHz, and phase jitter convergence from ±1.8° to ±0.9°. The experimental features validate the results obtained from the theoretical analyses. The results of this investigation also provide guidance for future industrial applications of phase-locked magnetron arrays.