Book Description

With the emergence of high power, millimeter wave sources operating at 94 GHz and 220 GHz with output powers in excess of 10 kW and 50 W, respectively, creates a critical need to route and process these powers efficiently. Since fundamental mode waveguides become unreasonably lossy and run into the breakdown regime to handle these associated powers when operating at the millimeter wave to terahertz regime, quasi-optical techniques, which utilize higher beam modes and common optical techniques, are employed. Such techniques typically require stringent mode control and call for intercoupling wave propagation analysis to minimize mode conversion. These complicated analysis techniques stretch the capabilities of traditional differential equation formulations typically employed to analysis complex structures in the microwave regime. Additionally, these structures become electrically large due to the shrinking associated wavelengths of the propagating waves in the millimeter wave to terahertz spectrum making such analysis difficult-to-impossible under 'normal' computing conditions. To intelligently design and manufacture these components, the multiphysics behavior of these devices must be carefully understood. As a result, circuit models and quick solver methodologies are presented and used to analyze these electrically large systems. As a result of careful signal integrity engineering, quasi-optical components and systems are designed and the experimental results are presented to extract empirical values, benchmark numerical solutions, and for practical use. As a result of these studies, one can conclude that quasi-optical signal processing and overmoded transmission line systems are essential to efficiently process the high powers fields radiating from the described vacuum electron beam devices for next generation telecommunication, remote sensing, scientific instrumentation, and electronic warfare systems.