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Information About

Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier




A TWTA consists of a Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) coupled with its protection circuits and regulated Power Supply (EPC, Electronic Power Conditioner ), which may be supplied and integrated by a different manufacturer. The subsequent addition of a Linearizer can, by complementary compensation, improve the Gain Compression and other characteristics of the TWTA; this combination is called a linearized TWTA (LTWTA, "EL-tweet-uh").

Broadband TWTAs generally use a helix TWT, and achieve less than 2.5 kW output power. TWTAs using a coupled cavity TWT can achieve 15 kW output power, but at the expense of bandwidth.


USES

A TWTA whose output drives an Antenna is a specific type of Transmitter . TWTA transmitters are commonly used in Satellite Transponders . They are also used extensively in Radar , particularly in airborne fire-control radar systems, and in Electronic Warfare and self-protection systems. In these types of applications, a control grid is typically introduced between the TWT's electron gun and slow-wave structure to allow pulsed operation. The circuit that drives the control grid is usually referred to as a grid Modulator .

Another major use of TWTAs is for the EMC testing industry for immunity testing of electronic devices.