A Report on

Microwave Laboratory Components

Submitted as a part of course requirement of
Microwave Laboratory



Submitted by
Pushkar Lal Vijayvergiya
M.Tech, 1
st
year, RF & Microwave Engineering
Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee









Submitted to:
Dr. N P Pathak
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

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Contents
Microwave Overview .............................................................................................................................. 4
Microwave Frequency Band and Applications ........................................................................................ 5
Microwave Laboratory Components ...................................................................................................... 6
Waveguides ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Standard sizes of rectangular waveguide ........................................................................................... 7
Waveguide Bends ................................................................................................................................... 8
Waveguide Tees ...................................................................................................................................... 9
E-plane tee .......................................................................................................................................... 9
H-plane tee.......................................................................................................................................... 9
Magic Tees ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Directional Couplers .............................................................................................................................. 10
Circulator ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Isolators ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Attenuators ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Matched Load\Terminations ................................................................................................................ 13
Waveguide short/Variable shorts ......................................................................................................... 14
Frequency Meter .................................................................................................................................. 15
Horn Antennas ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Waveguide Detector Mount (Tunable) ................................................................................................. 17
Slide Screw Tuner .................................................................................................................................. 17
Slotted Line and tunable probe ............................................................................................................ 17
Klystron and Klystron Power Supply ..................................................................................................... 19
VSWR meter .......................................................................................................................................... 20



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Figure 1 Waveguide ................................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2 Gradual Bends ........................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3 Sharp Bend ................................................................................................................................ 8
Figure 4 Waveguide twist....................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 5 Waveguide Tees ........................................................................................................................ 9
Figure 6 Magic Tee ................................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 7 Directional Couplers ................................................................................................................ 11
Figure 8 Circulator ................................................................................................................................. 11
Figure 9 Isolators ................................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 10 Attenuators (Fixed and Variable) .......................................................................................... 13
Figure 11 Matched Loads ...................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 12 Waveguide short and variable short ..................................................................................... 14
Figure 13 Frequency meter ................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 14 Horn Antennas ...................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 15 Detector Mount .................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 16 Slide Screw Tuner .................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 17 Slotted Line and Tunable Probe ............................................................................................ 18
Figure 18 Reflex Klystron ...................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 19 Reflex Klystron and power supply ......................................................................................... 20
Figure 20 VSWR Meter .......................................................................................................................... 21














4

Microwave Overview
Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from
as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently,
with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz. The prefix "micro-" in
"microwave" is not meant to suggest a wavelength in the micrometer range. It
indicates that microwaves are "small" compared to waves used in typical radio
broadcasting, in that they have shorter wavelengths.
The term microwave also has a more technical meaning
in electromagnetic and circuit theory. Apparatus and techniques may be described
qualitatively as "microwave" when the frequencies used are high enough that
wavelengths of signals are roughly the same as the dimensions of the equipment, so
that lumped-element circuit theory is inaccurate. As a consequence, practical
microwave technique tends to move away from the discrete resistors, capacitors,
and inductors used with lower-frequency radio waves. Instead, distributed circuit
elements and transmission-line theory are more useful methods for design and
analysis. Open-wire and coaxial transmission lines used at lower frequencies are
replaced by waveguides and stripline, and lumped-element tuned circuits are
replaced by cavity resonators or resonant lines. In turn, at even higher frequencies,
where the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves becomes small in comparison to
the size of the structures used to process them, microwave techniques become
inadequate, and the methods of optics are used.
High-power microwave sources use specialized vacuum tubes to generate
microwaves. These devices operate on different principles from low-frequency
vacuum tubes, using the ballistic motion of electrons in a vacuum under the influence
of controlling electric or magnetic fields, and include the magnetron (used
in microwave ovens), klystron, traveling-wave tube (TWT), and gyrotron. These
devices work in the density modulated mode, rather than the current modulated
mode. This means that they work on the basis of clumps of electrons flying
ballistically through them, rather than using a continuous stream of electrons.
Low-power microwave sources use solid-state devices such as the field-effect
transistor (at least at lower frequencies), tunnel diodes,Gunn diodes, and IMPATT
diodes. Low-power sources are available as bench top instruments, rack mount
instruments, embeddable modules and in card-level formats. A maser is a solid state
device which amplifies microwaves using similar principles to the laser, which
amplifies higher frequency light waves.




5

Microwave Frequency Band and Applications
Letter
Designation
Frequency
range
Typical uses
L band 1 to 2 GHz
military telemetry, GPS, mobile phones (GSM), amateur
radio
S band 2 to 4 GHz
weather radar, surface ship radar, and some
communications satellites (microwave ovens, microwave
devices/communications, radio astronomy, mobile phones,
wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, amateur radio)
C band 4 to 8 GHz long-distance radio telecommunications
X band 8 to 12 GHz
satellite communications, radar, terrestrial broadband,
space communications, amateur radio
K
u
band 12 to 18 GHz satellite communications
K band 18 to 26.5 GHz
radar, satellite communications, astronomical observations,
automotive radar
K
a
band 26.5 to 40 GHz satellite communications
Q band 33 to 50 GHz
satellite communications, terrestrial microwave
communications, radio astronomy, automotive radar
V band 50 to 75 GHz
millimeter wave radar research and other kinds of scientific
research
W band 75 to 110 GHz
satellite communications, millimeter-wave radar research,
military radar targeting and tracking applications, and some
non-military applications, automotive radar
F band 90 to 140 GHz
SHF transmissions: Radio astronomy, microwave
devices/communications, wireless LAN, most modern
radars, communications satellites, satellite television
broadcasting, DBS, amateur radio
D band 110 to 170 GHz
EHF transmissions: Radio astronomy, high-frequency
microwave radio relay, microwave remote sensing, amateur
radio, directed-energy weapon, millimeter wave scanner


6

Microwave Laboratory Components
In Microwave laboratory, various components are used to characterize and
measurement of various microwave component and parameters. The details
descriptions of components used are given subsequently.
Waveguides
Waveguides are used in a variety of applications to carry radio frequency energy
from one pint to another. In their broadest terms they can be described as a system
of material that is designed to confine electromagnetic waves in a direction defined
by its physical boundaries. Typically a waveguide is thought if as a transmission line
comprising a hollow conducting tube, which may be rectangular or circular within
which electromagnetic waves are propagated. Unlike coaxial cable, there is no
centre conductor within the waveguide. Signals propagate within the confines of the
metallic walls that act as boundaries. The signal is confined by total internal
reflection from the walls of the waveguide







Waveguides will only carry or propagate signals above a certain frequency, known
as the cut-off frequency. Below this the waveguide is not able to carry the signals.
Since waveguides are really only hollow metal pipes, the installation and the physical
handling of waveguides have many similarities to ordinary plumbing. In light of this
fact, the bending, twisting, joining, and installation of waveguides is commonly called
waveguide plumbing
In order to determine the EM field configuration within the waveguide, Maxwells
equations should be solved subject to appropriate boundary conditions at the walls
of the guide. Such solutions give rise to a number of field configurations. Each
configuration is known as a mode. The following are the different modes possible in
a waveguide system
TE modes (Transverse Electric) have no electric field in the direction of propagation.
TM modes (Transverse Magnetic) have no magnetic field in the direction of
propagation
Figure 1 Waveguide
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The mode with the lowest cutoff frequency is termed the dominant mode of the
guide. It is usual to choose the size of the guide such that only this one mode can
exist in the frequency band of operation. In rectangular and circular (hollow pipe)
waveguides, the dominant modes are designated the TE
1,0
mode and TE
1,1
modes
respectively.
Standard sizes of rectangular waveguide
Waveguide
name
Recommended frequency band of
operation (GHz)
Cutoff frequency of lowest order
mode (GHz)
Inner dimensions of waveguide
opening (inch)
WR2300 0.32 0.45 0.257 23.000 11.500
WR2100 0.35 0.50 0.281 21.000 10.500
WR1800 0.45 0.63 0.328 18.000 9.000
WR1500 0.50 0.75 0.393 15.000 7.500
WR1150 0.63 0.97 0.513 11.500 5.750
WR975 0.75 1.15 0.605 9.750 4.875
WR770 0.97 1.45 0.766 7.700 3.850
WR650 1.15 1.72 0.908 6.500 3.250
WR510 1.45 2.20 1.157 5.100 2.550
WR430 1.72 2.60 1.372 4.300 2.150
WR340 2.20 3.30 1.736 3.400 1.700
WR284 2.60 3.95 2.078 2.840 1.340

WR229 3.30 4.90 2.577 2.290 1.145
WR187 3.95 5.85 3.153 1.872 0.872

WR159 4.90 7.05 3.712 1.590 0.795
WR137 5.85 8.20 4.301 1.372 0.622

WR112 7.05 10.00 5.260 1.122 0.497

WR90 8.20 12.40 6.557 0.900 0.400

WR75 10.00 15.00 7.869 0.750 0.375
WR62 12.40 18.00 9.488 0.622 0.311
WR51 15.00 22.00 11.572 0.510 0.255
WR42 18.00 26.50 14.051 0.420 0.170

WR34 22.00 33.00 17.357 0.340 0.170
WR28 26.50 40.00 21.077 0.280 0.140
WR22 33.00 50.00 26.346 0.224 0.112
WR19 40.00 60.00 31.391 0.188 0.094
WR15 50.00 75.00 39.875 0.148 0.074
WR12 60.00 90.00 48.373 0.122 0.061
WR10 75.00 110.00 59.015 0.100 0.050
WR8 90.00 140.00 73.768 0.080 0.040
WR6, WR7 110.00 170.00 90.791 0.0650 0.0325
WR5 140.00 220.00 115.714 0.0510 0.0255
WR4 172.00 260.00 137.243 0.0430 0.0215
WR3 220.00 330.00 173.571 0.0340 0.0170

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Waveguide Bends
The size, shape, and dielectric material of a waveguide must be constant throughout
its length for energy to move from one end to the other without reflections. Any
abrupt change in its size or shape can cause reflections and a loss in overall
efficiency. When such a change is necessary, the bends, twists, and joints of the
waveguides must meet certain conditions to prevent reflections
Waveguides may be bent in several ways that do not cause reflections. One way is
the gradual bend shown in figure. This gradual bend is known as an E bend because
it distorts the E fields. The E bend must have a radius greater than two wavelengths
to prevent reflections
Another common bend is the gradual H bend. It is called an H bend because the H
fields are distorted when a waveguide is bent in this manner. Again, the radius of the
bend must be greater than two wavelengths to prevent reflections. Neither the E
bend in the "a" dimension nor the H bend in the "b" dimension changes the normal
mode of operation


Figure 2 Gradual Bends
A sharp bend in either dimension may be used if it meets certain requirements.
Notice the two 45-degree bends in figure; the bends are 1/4l apart. The reflections
that occur at the 45-degree bends cancel each other, leaving the fields as though no
reflections have occurred




Figure 3 Sharp Bend
Sometimes the electromagnetic fields must be rotated so that they are in the proper
phase to match the phase of the load. This may be accomplished by twisting the
waveguide as shown in figure. The twist must be gradual and greater than 2l
9





Figure 4 Waveguide twist
Waveguide Tees
. In microwave circuits a waveguide or coaxial line junction with three independent
ports is commonly referred to as a tee junction. From the S-parameter theory of a
microwave junction it is evident that a tee junction should be characterized by a
matrix of third order containing nine elements Below are some pictures of some
waveguide splitters found in the lab. Note that basic network theory says that you
can't make a three-port splitter that is lossless and matched at all three ports
E-plane tee (series tee) An E-plane tee is a waveguide in which the axis of the
side arm is parallel to the E-field of the main guide. The signal entering the first port
of this T - junction will be equally dividing at second and third ports of the same
magnitude but in opposite phase
H-plane tee (shunt tee) An H-plane tee is a waveguide tee in which the axis of the
side arm is shunting the E-field or parallel to the H field of the main guide. It can be
seen that if the two input waves are fed in port 1 and port 2 of the collinear arm, the
output wave at port 3 will be in phase and additive. On the other hand, if the input is
fed into port 3, the wave will split equally into port 1 and port 2 in phase and in same
magnitude














Figure 5 Waveguide Tees
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Magic Tees (Hybrid tees)-A magic tee is a combination of the E-plane tee and H-
plane tee. These Tees are employed in balanced mixers, AFC circuits and
impedance measurement circuits etc. The magic tee has several characteristics
1. If the two ports of equal magnitude and the same phase are fed into port 1 and
port 2, the output will be zero at port 3 and additive at port 4.
2. If a wave is fed into port 4 (H arm), it will be divided equally between port 1 and
port 2 of the collinear arms and will not appear in port 3.
3. If a wave is fed into port 3 (E arm), it will produce an output of equal magnitude
and opposite phase at port 1 and port 2. The output at port 4 is zero.
4. If a wave is fed into one of the collinear arms at port 1 or port 2, it will not appear
in the other collinear arm at port 2 or port 1 because the E-arm causes a phase
delay while the H-arm causes a phase advance.







Figure 6 Magic Tee

Directional Couplers
Directional Couplers couple a defined amount of the electromagnetic power in
a transmission line to a port enabling the signal to be used in another circuit. An
essential feature of directional couplers is that they only couple power flowing in one
direction. Power entering the output port is coupled to the isolated port but not to the
coupled port.
The symbols most often used for directional couplers are shown in figure 1. The
symbol may have marked on it a number in dB: this refers to the coupling factor of
the coupler. Directional couplers have four ports. Port 1 is the input port where power
is applied. Port 3 is the coupled port where a portion of the power applied to port 1
appears. Port 2 is the transmitted port where the power from port 1 is outputted, less
the portion that went to port 3. Directional couplers are frequently symmetrical so
there also exists port 4, the isolated port. A portion of the power applied to port 2 will
be coupled to port 4. However, the device is not normally used in this mode and port
4 is usually terminated with a matched load (typically 50 ohms). This termination can
be internal to the device and port 4 is not accessible to the user. Effectively, this
11

results in a 3-port device. Directional couplers are useful for sampling a part of
Microwave energy for monitoring purposes and for measuring reflections and
impedance.





Figure 7 Directional Couplers
Circulator
A circulator is a ferrite device (ferrite is a class of materials with strange magnetic
properties) with usually three ports. The beautiful thing about circulators is that they
are non-reciprocal. That is, energy into port 1 predominantly exits port 2, energy into
port 2 exits port 3, and energy into port 3 exits port 1. In a reciprocal device the same
fraction of energy that flows from port 1 to port 2 would occur to energy flowing the
opposite direction, from port 2 to port 1 The selection of ports is arbitrary, and
circulators can be made to "circulate" either clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise
(CCW). A circulator is sometimes called a "duplexer", meaning that is duplexes two
signals into one channel (e.g. transmit and receive into an antenna). Circulators have
low electrical losses and can be made to handle huge powers, well into kilowatts.
They usually operate over no more than an octave bandwidth, and are purely an RF
component (they don't work at DC).
The make a great antenna interface for a transmit/receive system. Energy can be
made to flow from the transmitter (port 1) to the antenna (port 2) during transmit, and
from the antenna (port 2) to the receiver (port 3) during receive.






Figure 8 Circulator

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Isolators
By terminating one port, a circulator becomes an isolator, which has the property that
energy flows on one direction only. This is an extremely useful device for "isolating"
components in a chain, so that bad VSWRs don't contribute to gain ripple.
An isolator is a nonreciprocal transmission device that is used to isolate one
component from reflections of other components in the transmission line. An ideal
isolator completely absorbs the power for propagation in one direction and provides
lossless transmission in the opposite direction. Thus the isolator is usually called
uniline. Isolators are generally used to improve the frequency stability of microwave
generators such as klystrons and magnetrons in which the reflection from the load
affects the generating frequency. In such cases the isolator is placed between the
generator and load to prevent the reflected power from the unmatched load from
returning to the generator. As a result the isolator maintains the frequency stability of
the generator




Figure 9 Isolators
Attenuators
Attenuators are meant for inserting a known attenuation in a wave guide system.
This consists of a lossy vane inserted in a section of wave guide, flanged on both
ends. These are useful for isolation of wave guide circuits, padding and extending
the range of measuring equipments. Attenuators are passive resistive elements that
do the opposite of amplifiers, they kill gain.
Fixed attenuators: - All of the standard fixed attenuators are manufactured from
selected waveguide tube. The attenuating element is manufactured from a metalized
glass fiber reinforced PTFE, resistive card vane or an absorptive composite material.
The vane version is supported in the waveguide using two metal rods and is
accurately positioned to give a desired value between 0 and 40dB as required. The
composite absorber is positioned and glued into the tube (the attenuation is based
on the length of the absorber).
Variable Attenuators:-Based upon the same construction as the Fixed Attenuators,
the metalized glass fiber reinforced PTFE resistive card vane is positioned in the
Waveguide using a backlash free, spring controlled piston, precisely fitted in a
machined housing to give a high degree of mechanical stability. The attenuation is
varied by means of a knurled finger-control knob, and a locking screw is provided for
repetitive measurements, or, in the case of the variable precision devices, the
13

attenuation is varied by means of a standard micrometer drive. For some type of
variable attenuator, a guillotine principle is used for the vane insertion into the broad
wall of the waveguide. Movement of the vane is achieved by the means of an
eccentric cam attached to the control knob.





Figure 10 Attenuators (Fixed and Variable)
Matched Load\Terminations
Waveguide terminations absorb energy and prevent RF signals from reflecting back
from open-ended or unused waveguide ports. They are passive devices which
dissipate radio frequency (RF) energy by producing heat energy. A waveguide may
also be terminated in a resistive load that is matched to the characteristic impedance
of the waveguide. One method is to fill the end of the waveguide with a
graphite and sand mixture .When the fields enter the mixture, they induce a
current flow in the mixture that dissipates the energy as heat. Another method
is to use a high-resistance rod placed at the center of the E field. The E field
causes current to flow in the rod, and the high resistance of the rod dissipates
the energy as a power loss, again in the form of heat. Still another method for
terminating a waveguide is the use of a wedge of highly resistive material. The
plane of the wedge is placed perpendicular to the magnetic lines of force.
When the H lines cut through the wedge, current flows in the wedge and
causes a power loss .As with the other methods, this loss is in the form of
heat. Since very little energy reaches the end of the waveguide,
reflections are minimum
Sliding Loads:-The standard sliding loads are assembled in the same way as the
standard fixed loads using selected waveguide tube and precise positioning of the
flange interface. Operation of the sliding element is by a push/pull mechanism and a
locking screw is provided for repetitive measurements




14








Figure 11 Matched Loads
Waveguide short/Variable shorts
Waveguide short plates are designed to terminate round or rectangular waveguide connectors at
the mating plane. These are simple metallic plates of high conductivity to reflect incident field
wave. They are used to establish a reference plane in systems and in making loss, Wavelength
measurement etc.
Variable Waveguide short circuit terminations provide standard reflection at desired, precisely
measurable positions. The basic idea behind it is to provide short-circuit by changing reactance
of the termination. The simplest form of an adjustable waveguide short consists of a sliding block
of a good conductor which makes as snug fit in the waveguide. However the electric short
position deviates from the physical short circuit position in a random manner owing to the erratic
contact between the sliding block and the wall. Furthermore some power leakage past the block
may occur thereby making the reflection coefficient less than unity. This too is highly undesirable
. These problems are overcome in chock-type shorting plungers.










Figure 12 Waveguide short and variable short
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Frequency Meter
The cylindrical cavity forms a resonator that produces a suck-out in the frequency
response of the unit. This you would turn the knob until a dip in the response is
observed. The graduations will tell you what frequency you are at. Waveguide
frequency meters use a short circuit resonant cavity, which resonates at half-
wavelength. Waveguide wave meters can only measure frequency over their
respective frequency band.
Direct Reading Frequency Meters are simple to operate and offer a high degree of
measurement accuracy over the appropriate recommended waveguide frequency
range. The design uses a TE
011
mode high Q cavity tuned by a precision non
contacting piston. The drive mechanism is coupled to a helical drum scale directly
calibrated in GHz.







Figure 13 Frequency meter
Horn Antennas
A horn antenna or microwave horn is an antenna that consists of a flaring
metal waveguide shaped like a horn to direct radio waves in a beam. A horn antenna is
used to transmit radio waves from a waveguide out into space, or collect radio waves into a
waveguide for reception. It typically consists of a short length of rectangular or cylindrical metal
tube (the waveguide), closed at one end, flaring into an open-ended conical or pyramidal shaped
horn on the other end.
These are the common types of horn antenna. Horns can have different flare angles
as well as different expansion curves (elliptic, hyperbolic, etc.) in the E-field and H-
field directions, making possible a wide variety of different beam profiles.
Pyramidal horn a horn antenna with the horn in the shape of a four-sided
pyramid, with a rectangular cross section. They are a common type, used with
rectangular waveguides, and radiate linearly polarized radio waves.
Sectoral horn A pyramidal horn with only one pair of sides flared and the other
pair parallel. It produces a fan-shaped beam, which is narrow in the plane of the
16

flared sides, but wide in the plane of the narrow sides. These types are often used as
feed horns for wide search radar antennas.
E-plane horn A sectoral horn flared in the direction of the electric or E-field in the
waveguide.
H-plane horn A sectoral horn flared in the direction of the magnetic or H-field in
the waveguide.
Conical horn A horn in the shape of a cone, with a circular cross section. They are
used with cylindrical waveguides.
Exponential horn (e) A horn with curved sides, in which the separation of the
sides increases as an exponential function of length. Also called a scalar horn, they
can have pyramidal or conical cross sections. Exponential horns have minimum
internal reflections, and almost constant impedance and other characteristics over a
wide frequency range. They are used in applications requiring high performance,
such as feed horns for communication satellite antennas and radio telescopes.
Corrugated horn A horn with parallel slots or grooves, small compared with a
wavelength, covering the inside surface of the horn, transverse to the axis.
Corrugated horns have wider bandwidth and smaller side lobes and cross-
polarization, and are widely used as feed horns for satellite dishes and radio
telescopes.
Ridged horn A pyramidal horn with ridges or fins attached to the inside of the
horn, extending down the center of the sides. The fins lower the cutoff frequency,
increasing the antenna's bandwidth.
Septum horn A horn which is divided into several subhorns by metal partitions
(septums) inside, attached to opposite walls.
Aperture-limited horn a long narrow horn, long enough so the phase error is a
negligible fraction of a wavelength, so it essentially radiates a plane wave. It has an
aperture efficiency of 1.0 so it gives the maximum gain and minimum beam width for
a given aperture size. The gain is not affected by the length but only limited by
diffraction at the aperture. Used as feed horns in radio telescopes and other high-
resolution antennas.


Figure 14 Horn Antennas

17

Waveguide Detector Mount (Tunable)
Tunable Detector Mount is simple and easy to use instrument for detecting
microwave power through a suitable detector. It consists of a detector crystal
mounted in a section of a Wave guide and shorting plunger for matching purpose.
The output from the crystal may be fed to an indicating instrument




Figure 15 Detector Mount
Slide Screw Tuner
Tuners are based on precision slide screw technology that utilizes broadband slab
line transmission structure and passive probes to create impedances for devices.
The probes are designed to be very close to one-quarter wavelength in the linear
dimension at the mid-band of each range. Slide screw tuners are used for matching
purposes by changing the penetration and position of a screw in the slot provided in
the centre of the wave guide. These consist of a section of wave guide flanged on
both ends and a thin slot is provided in the broad wall of the Wave guide. A carriage
carrying the screw is provided over the slot. A VSWR upto 20 can be tuned to a
value less than 1.02 at certain frequency





Figure 16 Slide Screw Tuner
Slotted Line and tunable probe
Slotted lines are used for microwave measurements and consist of a movable probe
inserted into a slot in a transmission line It consists of a waveguide, with a movable
insulated probe inserted into a longitudinal slot cut into the line. In a rectangular
waveguide, the slot is usually cut along the centre of the broad wall of the
waveguide. Circular waveguide slotted lines are also possible.
18

The slotted line works by sampling the electric field inside the transmission line with
the probe. For accuracy, it is important that the probe disturbs the field as little as
possible. For this reason the probe diameter and slot width are kept small (usually
around 1 mm) and the probe is inserted in no further than necessary. It is also
necessary in waveguide slotted lines to place the slot at a position where the current
in the waveguide walls is parallel to the slot. The current will then not be disturbed by
the presence of the slot as long as it is not too wide. For the dominant mode this is
on the centre-line of the broad face of the waveguide, but for some other modes it
may need to be off-centre. This is not an issue for the co-axial line because this
operates in the TEM (transverse electromagnetic) mode and hence the current is
everywhere parallel to the slot. The slot may be tapered at its ends to avoid
discontinuities causing reflections.
The disturbance to the field inside the line caused by the insertion of the probe is
minimized as far as possible. There are two parts to this disturbance. The first part is
due to the power the probe has extracted from the line and manifests as a lumped
equivalent circuit of a resistor. This is minimized by limiting the distance the probe is
inserted into the line so that only enough power is extracted for the detector to
operate effectively. The second part of the disturbance is due to energy stored in the
field around the probe and manifests as a lumped equivalent of a capacitor.
This capacitance can be cancelled out with an inductance of equal and
opposite impedance. Lumped inductors are not practical at microwave frequencies;
instead, an adjustable stub with an inductive equivalent circuit is used to "tune out"
the probe capacitance. The result is an equivalent circuit of a high impedance in
shunt across the line which has little effect on the transmitted power in the line. The
probe is more sensitive as a result of this tuning and the distance it is inserted can
be further limited as a result. The probe is connected to a detector and a VSWR
meter. The detector can be a crystal detector or a Schottky barrier diode. The
detector is mounted on the probe assembly, usually a distance /4 from the probe
tip. This is because the detector looks almost like a short circuit to the transmission
line, and this distance will convert it to an open circuit through the quarter-wave
impedance transformer effect. Thus, the detector has minimal effect on loading the
line. The probe tuning stub branching from the line linking the probe to the detector






Figure 17 Slotted Line and Tunable Probe
19

Klystron and Klystron Power Supply
A klystron is a specialized vacuum tube (evacuated electron tube) called a linear-
beam tube. The pseudo-Greek word klystron comes from the stem form -(klys) of a
Greek verb referring to the action of waves breaking against a shore, and the end of
the word electron
Klystrons are used as an oscillator or amplifier at microwave and radio frequencies
to produce both low power reference signals for super heterodyne radar receivers
and to produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force
for linear accelerators. It has the advantage (over the magnetron) of coherently
amplifying a reference signal and so its output may be precisely controlled in
amplitude, frequency and phase. Many klystrons have a waveguide for coupling
microwave energy into and out of the device, although it is also quite common for
lower power and lower frequency klystrons to use coaxial couplings instead. In some
cases a coupling probe is used to couple the microwave energy from a klystron into
a separate external waveguide.











Figure 18 Reflex Klystron
In Reflex klystron, electron beam passes through single resonant cavity. The
electrons are fired into one end of the tube by an electron gun. After passing through
the resonant cavity they are reflected by a negatively charged reflector electrode for
another pass through the cavity, where they are then collected. The electron beam is
velocity modulated when it first passes through the cavity. The formation of electron
bunches takes place in the drift space between the reflector and the cavity. The
voltage on the reflector must be adjusted so that the bunching is at a maximum as
the electron beam reenters the resonant cavity, thus ensuring a maximum of energy
is transferred from the electron beam to the RF oscillations in the cavity. The
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reflector voltage may be varied slightly from the optimum value, which results in
some loss of output power, but also in a variation in frequency. This effect is used to
good advantage for automatic frequency control in receivers, and in frequency
modulation for transmitters. The level of modulation applied for transmission is small
enough that the power output essentially remains constant. At regions far from the
optimum voltage, no oscillations are obtained at all. There are often several regions
of reflector voltage where the reflex klystron will oscillate; these are referred to as
modes.
Three power sources are required for reflex klystron operation: (1) filament power,
(2) positive resonator voltage (often referred to as beam voltage) used to accelerate
the electrons through the grid gap of the resonant cavity, and (3) negative repeller
voltage used to turn the electron beam around. The electrons are focused into a
beam by the electrostatic fields set up by the resonator potential in the body of the
tube. In addition to these voltage klystron power supply has the mode control switch
of selecting CW or AM or FM. There also knobs provided for changing amplitude and
frequency of the AM and FM.






Figure 19 Reflex Klystron and power supply

VSWR meter
The VSWR meter measures the standing wave ratio in a transmission line. A VSWR
meter basically consists of high gain, high Q, low noise voltage amplifier normally
tuned at fixed frequency (1 kHz) at which the microwave signal modulated. The
VSWR meter used the detected signal out of microwave detector as its input,
amplifies the same and provides the output on a calibrated voltmeter. The meter
itself can be calibrated in terms of VSWR.
The VSWR meter has a gain control to adjust the reading to a desired value, by fine
or coarse adjusting knobs. Normally, the overall gain is about 125dB that can be
adjusted in steps of 10. Also there are three scales on the VSWR meter- normal
SWR, Expanded SWR and dB scales. Normal SWR scale can be used when the
VSWR is between 1 and 4, when value up to 10 bottom of normal scale is used. The
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expanded scale is graduated from 1 to 1.3. The dB scale is at the bottom along with
an expanded dB for measuring VSWR directly in dB.







Figure 20 VSWR Meter