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Description
Microwave pulse compressors (MPCs) are used in linear accelerator RF systems to enhance peak power, as well as in other high-power RF applications such as IEMI testing. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of a low-power active MPC employing a self-breakdown spark-gap switch. In particular, the effect of the spark-gap distance on the resonant characteristics of the MPC is investigated. In the energy-stored (switch-off) state, the input impedance of the side arm of the H-plane T-junction varies with the spark-gap distance, thereby altering the resonance condition of the MPC. In this work, the upper electrode is modelled as a variable-height cylindrical post, and the resulting change in the resonance condition is formulated in closed form. The model predicts a shift in the optimum side-arm length at a fixed operating frequency, and equivalently a shift in the resonant frequency when the side-arm length is fixed. To examine the model, a WR-650 waveguide prototype was constructed and S-parameters were measured for two spark-gap configurations. The measured optimum side-arm lengths show a trend consistent with the equivalent-circuit model and full-wave EM simulations.
Funding Agency
This work was supported by the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (RS-2024-00425987).
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