Second harmonic suppression in helix traveling-wave tubes
A filter structure to suppress the second harmonic component in the RF signal of a traveling-wave tube (TWT) was developed and integrated into a helical delay line. Its effect is shown in simulation and measurement.
Filter Helix for Harmonic Suppression in Traveling Wave Tubes
Increasing the efficiency of traveling wave tubes (TWTs) is a basic development strategy. In this paper, second harmonic suppression is introduced as a possible mean. For this purpose, a filter consisting of periodic pitch discontinuities is implemented in the helix transmission line (TL) of a tube. A method is developed to obtain the reflection coefficients of adjustable pitch discontinuities. A filter design for a low frequency TWT is tested in a helical TL without electron beam and implemented in the tube. Both simulation and measurement confirm a stopband at the second harmonic and thus a significant reduction of this harmonic at the output. An additional filter is designed and tested at S-band. It is shown to improve both the output power and the linearity of the tube.
Mass Loss History of Evolved Stars
We provide high-resolution maps of the circumstellar dust shells of several dozen Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars using data from the Spitzer space telescope Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) imaged at 70μm. AGB stars are the major contributors of chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen and silicon, which are essential to the existence of life in the universe, through mass loss processes that take place at the surface of the star. We probe the spatial distribution of cold (∼40 K) dust grains in order to trace the history of mass loss from the observed radial density variation in these shells. Our images illustrate that different morphologies may evolve because AGB stars can already interact with the interstellar medium (ISM) that surrounds them even at these early stages of the AGB mass loss history. Relative motion of the star as well as the ISM with respect to the local environment may be of particular importance for shell structure evolution.