Conventional tubes are less useful at frequencies above 1GHz because

1. Lead inductance and inter-electrode capacitance 2. Transit-angle effects 3. Gain-bandwidth product limitations

Disadvantages of solid-state wave devices are

1. 2. 3. 4. Low efficiency at frequencies below 10GHz. Small tuning range Large dependence of frequency on temperature. Higher noise.

Advantages of tubes are

1. For generation of very high powers (10kw to 1Mw) 2. Generation of higher millimetre wave frequencies (100GHz and higher)

Types of tubes
1. Linear type or O type tubes: the electron beam traverses the length of thetube and is parallel to the electric field. Ex. Klystrons, TWTs 2. Crossed-field or M type tubes: the focusing field is perpendicular to theaccelerating electric field. Ex. Magnetron

Klystrons
1. Varian brothers invented klystron amplifier in 1939. 2. The major disadvantage is their narrow bandwidth,which is a result of thehigh-Q cavities required for electron bunching. 3. They have very low AM and FM noise levels.

TWTs
1. Kompfner invented the helix TWT in 1944. 2. It has the highest bandwidth of any amplifier tube ranging from 30 to 120%. 3. Its power rating can be increased to several kilowatts by using an interactionregion consisting of a set of coupled cavities. 4. The efficiency is relatively small ranging from 20% to 40%

Magnetron
1. Hull invented the magnetron in 1921. 2. It is the first high power microwave source. And now they are capable of very high power outputs on the order of several kilowatts. 3. Their efficiency is 80% or more. 4. Their disadvantage is they are very noisy and cannot maintain frequency or phase coherency when operated in pulsed mode 5. The application of magnetrons is now primarily for microwave cooking.

Difference between the Klystron and TWT

1. The interaction of electron beam and RF field in the TWT is continuous over the entire length of the circuit, but the interaction in the klystron occurs onlyat the gaps of a few resonant cavities. 2. The wave in the TWT is a propagating wave where as in the klystron it is nota travelling one. 3. In the coupled cavity TWT there is coupling effect between the cavities,whereas each cavity in the klystron operates independently.

Assumptions in the analysis of Klystrons

1. The electron beam is with uniform density in the cross section of the beam. 2. Space charge effects are negligible 3. The magnitude of the input signal is assumed much smaller than the dcaccelerating voltage.