Solid-state Amplifier Research Articles

On forced RF generation of CW magnetrons for accelerators

CW magnetrons, initially developed for industrial RF heaters, were suggested to power RF cavities of superconducting accelerators due to their higher efficiency and lower cost than traditionally used klystrons, IOTs or solid-state amplifiers. RF amplifiers driven by a master oscillator serve as coherent RF sources. CW magnetrons are regenerative RF generators with a huge regenerative gain. This causes regenerative instability with a quite large noise when a magnetron operates with the anode voltage above the threshold of self-excitation. Traditionally, an injection locking by a small signal is used for stabilization of magnetrons. In this case CW magnetrons with the injection-locked oscillations generate a high level of noise. This may preclude use of standard CW magnetrons in this operating mode in the Superconducting RF (SRF) accelerators. In this article we described a method developed for forced RF generation of CW magnetrons when the magnetron startup is provided by the injected forcing signal and the regenerative noise is suppressed. The method is most suitable for powering high Q-factor cavities.

An MTCA-based LLRF prototype system of LINAC in Hefei Advanced light facility

The linear accelerator (LINAC) system currently under construction at the Hefei Advanced Light Facility (HALF) employs acceleration tubes to accelerate the electron beam to 2.2 GeV. The RF field within the acceleration tube is controlled by an MTCA.4-based low-level radio frequency (LLRF) prototype system to meet stringent phase stability requirements. This paper introduces the structure of the LLRF system, encompassing both its hardware and software components. The LLRF system uses the non-IQ-sampling method to suppress odd harmonics through digital filters, achieving a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of approximately 73 dB. Given that the power sources of most acceleration tubes operate in a saturated state, the radio-frequency (RF) control algorithm within the software is based on a separate amplitude open-loop and phase close-loop to maintain stable phase control during amplitude disturbances. The design of the RF control logic, including digital filters, the REF phase tracking method, the close-loop feedback controller, and the output pulse mode control algorithm, is detailed. Offline pulse-to-pulse test results demonstrate that it achieves a phase stability of 0.0176° rms with a solid-state amplifier, meeting the facility's requirements.

Carrier-envelope phase-stabilized ultrashort pulses from a gas-filled multi-pass cell

Few-cycle laser pulses at a high repetition rate with a stable carrier-envelope phase are required for next-generation attosecond time-resolved spectroscopies. One way to generate these pulses is the nonlinear compression of laser pulses via gas-filled hollow-core fibers. Recently, an alternative approach based on multi-pass cells (MPCs) has been shown to be very efficient for post-compression of turn-key, industrial-grade, high average power Yb-doped solid-state laser amplifiers. However, to expand the system for exploring strong-field laser applications, its carrier-envelope phase stability needs to be demonstrated in the compressed pulses. In this Letter, we present the generation of carrier-envelope phase-stabilized 40 fs pulses with 380 μJ energy at 50 kHz by compressing the output of a Yb:KGW amplifier in a gas-filled MPC. Comparable short-term carrier-envelope phase errors of 412 and 435 mrad root mean square were observed from the amplifier and MPC, respectively, indicating that the phase stability of the amplified pulses is well-maintained during pulse compression in the MPC.

Dual Frequency Enhancement of the Supernanogan Multi-Charged Ion Source at TRIUMF ISAC Facility

In 2008, a Supernanogan ECR ion source from PANTECHNIK was introduced in addition to an in-house developed microwave ion source and a surface ion source to complement the TRIUMF Offline Ion Source (OLIS) facility to provide highly charged ions to ISAC experiments. Originally, it employed a 400 W Travelling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) for RF heating, but less than 50 W was enough to produce all the multi-charged beams required by the experiments. A 50 W solid-state amplifier was added for redundancy purposes, but we found a significant improvement when both were switched on at the same time. When properly optimized for the dual frequency, less than ten times the total power is needed to produce a similar charge state distribution with more current than the single frequency. The beam stability and the ability to extract higher charged ions also improved with the dual frequency enhancement. The simulation studies, operational experience, and results are discussed in this paper.

Design and development of efficient and compact 20 kW 325MHz solid-state amplifier for superconducting accelerator applications.

An efficient and compact, 20 kW solid-state power amplifier (SSA) at 325MHz has been designed and developed in-house, using single stage combining. It comprises of 24 nos. of 1 kW power amplifier (PA) modules, a 24-way Wilkinson power combiner and divider, and other peripheral systems. The typical gain and conversion efficiency of the PA modules at 1.0 kW output is 21.7 dB and 66.6%, respectively. It is demonstrated that overall power gain and AC to RF efficiency of this SSA at 20 kW is 88.5 dB and 54.8%, respectively, which matches closely with the design estimates. The harmonic content in the RF output is < -40 dBc for all the harmonics. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation are also presented, showing lower bound on combining efficiency with a degree of confidence if magnitude and phase data for 24 inputs are randomly chosen from a normal distribution's pre-defined interval. The salient features of this SSA include power density of 12.7 kW/m3, AC to RF efficiency of 54.8% at 20 kW, and guaranteed output of 20 kW with one failed PA module and 18.1 kW under two failed PA modules condition.

High-power ultra-wideband power-combining technique based on microstrip line and ridge waveguide

ABSTRACT Based on microstrip-line power divider and ridge-waveguide power combiner, a high-power ultra-wideband solid-state power-combining amplifier is designed and fabricated. The Measured results show that the continuous wave output power of the ultra-wideband solid-state power-combining amplifier reaches over 100 W within the frequency range of 6–18 GHz, the maximum output power is nearly 200 W, the power-combining efficiency is approximately 80%, and the power-added efficiency is better than 14%.

Widely Tunable Pulse Duration 100 mJ Single-Mode MOPA System Based on Yb-Doped Tapered Double-Clad Fiber and Nd:YAG Solid-State Amplifiers

We report on a 1064 nm master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system based on pulse-modulated laser diode seed sources combined with fiber preamplifiers and a Yb-doped tapered double-clad fiber (T-DCF) amplifier used as an all-fiber master oscillator and a two-stage side-pumped solid-state power amplifier. The combination of two master oscillators and a single power amplifier allowed us to obtain pulses with a duration ranging from 10 ns to 10 μs with energy up to 137 mJ at 100 Hz. For the first time, we demonstrate a widely tunable pulse duration and a solid-state MOPA system with over 100 mJ energy based on a T-DCF fiber seed laser.

High-Efficiency Industrial 130 kW cw Solid-State RF Amplifier for 1.3 GHz

A new 1.3 GHz solid-state high-power RF amplifier (SSA) has been built for the Lighthouse project in close cooperation between Cryoelectra and RI Research Instruments. The amplifier was developed by Cryoelectra as a scalable compact system with an RF-power density of 40kW/m2. Its industrial design is very reliable and easy to maintain. The SSA delivers a continuous RF output power of more than 130 kW with a wall-plug efficiency of 63% and with very low phase noise. The power is generated by 40 patented RF amplifier modules each containing 8 GaN transistor units. Their outputs are combined by a coaxial 8-way combiner in the center of the module. Each module is connected to the 4x9-way cable-free waveguide combiner network and can be exchanged in the event of fault within minutes thanks to quick connectors. A sophisticated control system continuously monitors the state of all components for reliable machine and personnel protection.Despite all the challenges encountered during development and production, the SSA was built and handed over to the client in the shortest possible time. It passed the acceptance test on site exceptionally well.

Development of solid-state amplifier for accelerator project based on the concept of standardization

Development of solid-state amplifier for accelerator project based on the concept of standardization

Broadband near infrared photoluminescence of Cu2+‐doped corundum (α‐Al2O3)

AbstractCopper‐doped corundum (α‐Al2O3) possesses an intense broadband photoluminescence in the near infrared. This photoluminescence is originated from Cu2+ ions, which substitute for Al3+ ions in corundum lattice. Co‐doping with Ge is necessary to obtain the luminescent material. It seems, that simultaneous introduction of Ge is needed to provide the charge compensation for heterovalent Cu2+ → Al3+ substitution, in such a way that the whole process (Cu2+, Ge4+) → 2Al3+ is charge‐balanced. The broad photoluminescence spectrum matches well with transparency window of silica optical fibers and the quantum yield seems to be satisfactory, so copper‐doped corundum can become demanded as a new active media for solid state lasers and amplifiers. This is the first example of photoluminescence from octahedrally coordinated Cu2+ ion in oxide materials.

Computer model of the transponder for the analysis of phase distortions of the signal

The article discusses issues related to the development of a computer model of an on-board relay complex with linear signal retransmission for the analysis of phase distortion of the signal. It is very important to know the phase distortion (foray) when determining the coordinates of the radio source by the phase method using a virtual antenna array in satellite communication systems. The literature review given in the article showed that it was not possible to conduct these studies on existing computer models. Based on the classical version of the block diagram of the on-board relay complex, a computer model was developed in the MATLAB R 2016b (Simulink) environment. The model includes a receiving device, an input and output multiplexer and power amplifiers. Mathematical models of Saleh and Gorbanni amplifiers implemented on traveling wave lamps and solid-state amplifiers, respectively, were taken as nonlinear amplifiers. Multiplexers are implemented in the form of bandpass filters connected in parallel. The hybrid divider and ferrite circulators were not included in the model. In the model, it is possible to investigate the dependence of the phase distortion of the signal on the characteristics of the structural blocks of the on-board relay complex. The computer model also provides for the possibility of studying the effect of noise on phase distortion.

Highlights of recent SPIDER results and improvements

Three years of experiments on SPIDER allowed characterization of the main features of the source plasma and of the negative ion beam, in the original design configuration. For the large dimensions of the source chamber, and of the extraction area, the investigation of the single-beamlet currents and of the source plasma uniformity had to be carried out to extend the knowledge gained in smaller prototype sources. The configuration of the multiple RF drivers and filter field topologies were found to cause a peculiar behavior in the plasma confinement in the drivers, creating left-right asymmetries which were also visible in the extracted negative ion currents, even after the early implementation of a new scheme of plasma-grid current send and return busbars that greatly improved performance at high filter fields. The plasma properties in the driver and expansion region as well as the positive ion energy at the extraction region were studied in different experimental conditions, and interpreted also with the support of numerical models, suggesting that an improved plasma confinement could contribute to the increase of the plasma density, and to a certain extent to a lowering of the plasma potential profile; both effects shall contribute to increase the presence of cold negative ions for the formation of low-divergence beamlets. Early results related to unwanted RF discharges on the back of the plasma source and the gas conductance of the beam source suggested the reduction of the vessel pressure as mitigation, leading to the definition of a new pumping system. The difficulties related to the simultaneous operation, stable control and high-power operation of multiple RF self-oscillating vacuum tube based RF generators were an unambiguous obstruction to the experimentation, calling for the implementation of RF solid-state amplifiers. The initial tests related to caesium management, the non-uniform plasma properties at different locations across the plasma grid, and the challenges in the measurement of the current and divergence of the accelerated beamlet, unambiguously resulted in the need of new diagnostic systems to investigate with better resolution the spatial uniformities. This contribution summarises how the main experimental findings in the previous experimental campaigns are driving modifications to the SPIDER experiment, during the present shut down, in view of future operations.

Novel Magic-T Integrated With Rectangular Waveguide-to-Microstrip Line Transition

A magic-T integrated with transition is presented in this letter. The transition from rectangular waveguide to microstrip line meets Faraday’s law, and the function of balance ports is realized by placing a pair of probes in reverse directions. The isolation between the sum port and the difference port of the magic-T is 30 dB, the isolation of the balance ports is 22 dB, the insertion loss (IL) is less than 0.6 dB, and the frequency is between 7.7 and 9.0 GHz. Implemented with multilayer boards only, the waveguide magic-T is more suitable for solid-state amplifiers and increases potentials in miniaturization of antenna array system.

Design and Fabrication of E-Band Traveling Wave Tube for High Data Rate Wireless Links

<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{E}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band (71–76 and 81–86 GHz) is widely used for wireless point to point (PtP) links with a few gigabit/second data rate. <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{E}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band front ends are powered by solid-state amplifiers with about 1-W output power per module. This level of output power limits range and spectral efficiency in rain condition and has to be compensated by high gain antennas or backup low-frequency links with reduced capacity. The availability of tens of watts of transmission power would allows higher spectral efficiency and long range, and the use of lower gain antennas for multibeam and area coverage. Millimeter wave traveling wave tubes (TWTs) are gaining interest due to their higher power, more than one order of magnitude, in comparison with solid-state devices. Helix TWTs, typically built at microwaves, are very arduous to fabricate due to the extremely small diameter of a helix at <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{E}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band. This article reports the design and fabrication of the first ever <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{E}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band TWT based on a full metal slow wave structure (SWS), the double corrugated waveguide (DCW). The TWT is designed to provide about 70-W power and more than 35-dB gain in the 71–76-GHz band. A test TWT using a single section interaction structure is in the final assembly phase as proof of concept with about 2-W output power. The <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{E}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band TWT performance will open new perspectives in the availability of long range wireless links with multi-Gb/s data rate needed for enabling 5G and 6G new networks.

An Isolated Waveguide Divider for W-Band Power Combined Amplifier

In this study, a compact isolated <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$E$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -plane waveguide T-junction divider has been proposed for power combination with solid-state amplifiers in <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W$</tex-math> </inline-formula> -band. The measured passive isolation between the output ports is better than 15 dB, with an average loss of 0.2 dB over the range of 77.5–97 GHz. In addition, the return loss is better than 17 dB at the input port. By using two GaN power amplifiers of about 3 W between back-to-back dividers, the power combined module produces a maximum power output of up to 6.2 W within the band of 81–86 GHz, with an average combination efficiency of 90.6%.

Reflection power suppression for solid state amplifiers with combiner optimization.

The application of high-power solid state amplifiers (SSAs) in accelerator facilities is increasing, and equipment failure caused by reflected power is the main risk to their long-term operation. High-power SSAs often comprise multiple power amplifier modules. Full power reflection is more likely to damage the modules in SSAs if the amplitudes of the modules are unequal. Optimization of the power combiners is an effective means for improving the stability of SSAs under high power reflection. This study analyzes the mechanisms and conditions of reflected power generation using the scattering parameters of the combiner and proposes an optimization scheme for the combiner. The simulation and experimental results show that some modules may receive reflected power as high as nearly four times the rated power of one module when the SSA meets certain conditions, which could damage the modules. The maximum reflected power can be effectively reduced and the anti-reflection ability of SSAs can be improved by optimizing the combiner parameters to suppress the maximum reflected power.

Integration studies of RF solid-state generators in the electrical system of NBTF experiments and ITER HNB

SPIDER operation, started in 2018, pointed out performance-limiting issues caused by the technology employed in RF generators, based on tetrode free-running oscillators. One of these limits, namely the onset of frequency instabilities, prevented operation at the full rated power of 200 kW. In addition, tetrodes require high voltage to operate, which translates to risk of flashovers and the necessity to perform conditioning procedures, limiting the overall reliability. These disadvantages, combined with the positive experience gained in the meanwhile on smaller facilities with solid state amplifiers, led to the proposal of a complete re-design of the radiofrequency power supplies. This paper describes the modelling activities used to define specifications and design criteria of the solid-state amplifiers for SPIDER and MITICA, which can be directly transposed to the ITER HNB units when their functionality is proven. We detail the topology of the generators, consisting of class D amplifier modules combined to achieve the required 200 kW, which design is mainly driven by the necessity to deliver nominal power to the ion source, mitigate the risk of obsolescence, and improve the reliability through modularity. Due to the non-standard application, we gave particular focus to the integration of generators in the RF systems of SPIDER and MITICA. Numerical analyses were performed to verify the impact of harmonic distortion on transmission line and RF load components, to address the effect of mutual coupling between RF circuits on the generator output modulation, and to assess the magnitude of common mode currents in the electric system. These studies, as well as the experience gained from SPIDER operation, helped to define dedicated circuit design provisions and control strategies, which are currently being implemented in the detailed design and construction phase of the new RF amplifiers.

Special tests on the first unit of the solid-state RF amplifiers for the ITER HNB and the NBTF experiments

Radio Frequency Solid-State Amplifiers (RFSSA) will replace the oscillators supplying SPIDER, MITICA and the ITER HNB RF ion sources. In order to verify the operation of the amplifiers on a significant load for the application and to identify possible integration problems in advance, special tests on a Resonant Dummy Load (RDL) able to mimic the ion source characteristics were foreseen. This paper will present the RDL conceptual design and the special tests that will demonstrate the design and operation of the RFSSA first unit in normal and abnormal conditions, and its integration to mitigate risks before on-site commissioning.

Design studies on a high-power wide-band RF combiner for consolidation of the driver amplifier of the J-PARC RCS

A power upgrade of the existing 8-kW solid-state driver amplifier is required for the acceleration of high intensity proton beams on the J-PARC 3-GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron. The development of a 25-kW amplifier with gallium nitride (GaN) HEMTs, based on 6.4-kW modules is ongoing. The combiner is a key component to achieve such a high output power over the wide bandwidth required for multi-harmonic RF operation. This paper presents the preliminary design of the combiner. The circuit simulation setup and results, including the realistic magnetic core characteristics and frequency response of the cable, are reported.

Field enhanced compact S-band gun employing a pin cathode

S-band RF-guns are highly developed for production of low emittance relativistic electron bunches, but need powerful klystrons for driving. Here, we present the design and first experimental tests of a compact S-band gun, which can accelerate electrons up to 180 keV powered by only 10 kW from a compact rack-mountable solid-state amplifier. A pin-cathode is used to enhance the RF electric field on the cathode up to 100 MV/m as in large-scale S-band guns. An electron bunch is generated through photoemission from a flat copper surface on the pin ex-cited by a UV laser pulse followed by a focussing solenoid producing a low emittance bunch with 0.1 mm mrad transverse emittance for up to 100 fC bunch charge. We are currently in the conditioning phase of the gun and first experiments show good agreement with simulations. The compact gun will serve three purposes: (i) it can be used directly for ultrafast electron diffraction; (ii) as an injector into a THz booster producing 0.3 MeV to 2 MeV electron bunches for ultrafast electron diffraction; (iii) The system in (ii) serves as an injector into a THz linear accelerator producing a 20 MeV beam for the AXSIS X-ray source project.