Frequency Doubling Helical-Type Gyro-TWT for Radar Applications

The helical-type gyro-TWT has been demonstrated excellent high-power and broadband operation at frequencies up to the W-band and is also a promising candidate for future applications in the sub-THz frequency range. Recently, an extension of helical-type gyro-TWTs was proposed, the frequency-doubling gyrotron traveling wave amplifier (FD-GTWT). The FD-GTWT delivers over a broad bandwidth high power and gain and is simultaneously doubling the frequency of the input signal. Therefore, it is especially of interest for sub-THz frequencies. However, a modified version of the FD-GTWT at lower frequencies could be also of interest for radars that require high power and a broad bandwidth, such as space observation radars. An FD-GTWT may be of particular interest if an existing radar is to be upgraded to higher frequencies, since the signal generation path does not need to be replaced. For such an application, we present for the first time simulations of a 70GHz FD-GTWT (NATO V-band) that could be operated with existing Ka-band signal generation hardware.