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RadarBasicsMagnetron

RadarBasics
Magnetron

Whatisamagnetron?

Themagnetronisahighpoweredvacuumtube,thatworksasselfexcitedmicrowave
oscillator.Crossedelectronandmagneticfieldsareusedinthemagnetrontoproducethehigh
poweroutputrequiredinradarequipment.Thesemulticavitydevicesmaybeusedinradar
transmittersaseitherpulsedorcwoscillatorsatfrequenciesrangingfromapproximately600to
30,000megahertz.TherelativelysimpleconstructionhasthedisadvantagethattheMagnetron
usuallycanworkonlyonaconstructivelyfixedfrequency.
Figure1:MagnetronMI29G(29)of
theoldRussianRadarBarLock

Physicalconstructionofamagnetron

resonantcavity

interactionspace

cathode

resonantcavity

filamentleads

Themagnetronisclassedasadiodebecauseithasnogrid.Theanodeofa
magnetronisfabricatedintoacylindricalsolidcopperblock.Thecathodeand
filamentareatthecenterofthetubeandaresupportedbythefilamentleads.
an o
Thefilamentleadsarelargeandrigidenoughtokeepthecathodeandfilament
deb
lock
structurefixedinposition.Thecathodeisindirectlyheatedandisconstructed
ofahighemissionmaterial.The8upto20cylindricalholesaroundits
circumferenceareresonantcavities.Anarrowslotrunsfromeachcavityinto
thecentralportionofthetubedividingtheinnerstructureintoasmany
coax
segmentsastherearecavities.Eachcavitiyworklikeaparallelresonant
ial c
oup
ling
circuit.Asdepictedinfigure3bythelowfrequencyanalog,therearwallofthe
p
robe
structureoftheanodeblocmaybeconsideredtoastheinductiveportion(a
coilwithasingleturn).Thevanetipregionmaybeconsideredasthecapacitor
portionoftheequivalentparallelresonantcircuit.Theresonantfrequencyofa
microwavecavityistherebydeterminedbythephysicaldimensionofthe
Figure2:Cutawayviewofamagnetron
resonator.Ifasingleresonantcavityoscillates,thenitexcitesthenextoneto
oszillatetoo.Thisoneoscillatesataphasedelayof180degreesandexcites
thenextresonantcavity,andsoon.Fromaresonantcavitytothenextalwaysoccursthisdelayof180degrees.Thechainof
resonatorsthusformaslowwavestructurewhichisclosedinitself.Becauseofthisslowwavestructure,thisdesignisalsocalled
MulticavityTravellingWaveMagnetroninsomepublications.
Thecathodeofamagnetronprovidestheelectronsthroughwhichthemechanismofenergytransferis
accomplished.Thecathodeislocatedinthecenteroftheanodeandismadeupofahollowcylinderof
emissivematerial(mostlyBariumOxyde)surroundingaheater.Thefeedingwiresofthefilamentmust
centerthewholecathode.Anyeccentricitybetweenanodeandcathodecancauseseriousinternalarcingor
malfunction.
Theopenspacebetweentheanodeblocandthecathodeiscalledtheinteractionspace.Inthisspacethe
electricandmagneticfieldsinteracttoexertforceupontheelectrons.Themagneticfieldisusually
providedbyastrong,permanentmagnetmountedaroundthemagnetronsothatthemagneticfieldis
parallelwiththeaxisofthecathode.
Itgenerallyconsistsofanevennumberofmicrowavecavitiesarrangedinradialfashion.Theformofthe
Figure3:Eachcavitiyworklike
cavitiesvaries,shownintheFigure4.
aparallelresonantcircuit.
a. slottype
b. vanetype
c. risingsuntype
d. holeandslottype
Theslottype,holeandslottypeandtherisingsuntypeareusuallymachinedbyhobbingmethodsoutofsolid
copperstock.Butitcanbedifficulttocutsoftlymetal(suchascopper)inalathe.Thevanetypeisgenerally
madeupofindividualvanesassembledandbrazedintoasupportringtherefore.Theresonancebehaviorcanbe
alreadytestedandcalibratedinthelaboratorybeforetheanodeisinstalledinthetube.Theoutputleadisusually
aprobeorloopextendingintooneofthetunedcavitiesandcoupledintoawaveguideorcoaxialline.

Figure4:Formsof
theanodeblockina
magnetron

Howdoesamagnetronwork?

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MagnetronBasicOperation
Aswhenallvelocitymodulatedtubestheelectroniceventsattheproductionmicrowavefrequenciesatamagnetroncanbesubdivided
intofourphasestoo:
1. phase:Productionandaccelerationofanelectronbeaminadcfield
2. phase:Velocitymodulationoftheelectronbeam
3. phase:Formationofelectronbunchesbyvelocitymodulation(hereinformofaSpaceChargeWheel)
4. phase:Dispenseenergytotheacfield
1.Phase:Productionandaccelerationofanelectronbeam
Sincethekathodeiskeptatnegativevoltage,thestaticelectricfieldisinradialdirectionfrom
(grounded)anodeblocktothecathode.Whennomagneticfieldexists,heatingthecathoderesultsin
auniformanddirectmovementoftheelectronfromthecathodetotheanodeblock(thebluepathin
figure5).AweakpermanentmagneticfieldBperpendiculartotheelectricfieldbendstheelectron
pathasshownwiththegreenpathinfigure5.Iftheelectronflowreachestheanode,soalarge
amountofplatecurrentisflowing.Ifthestrengthofthemagneticfieldisincreased,thepathofthe
electronwillhaveasharperbend.Likewise,ifthevelocityoftheelectronincreases,thefieldaroundit
increasesandthepathwillbendmoresharply.However,whenthecriticalfieldvalueisreached,as
Figure5:Theelectronpathunder
showninthefigure5asaredpath,theelectronsaredeflectedawayfromtheplateandtheplate
theinfluenceofdifferentstrengthof
currentthendropsquicklytoaverysmallvalue.Whenthefieldstrengthismadestillgreater,the
themagneticfield.
platecurrentdropstozero.
ThesevaluesoftheanodevoltageandmagneticfieldstrengththatpreventananodecurrentarecalledHullcutoffmagneticfieldand
cutoffvoltage.Whenthemagnetronisadjustedtothecutoff,orcriticalvalueoftheplatecurrentandtheelectronsjustfailtoreach
theplateintheircircularmotion,itcanproduceoscillationsatmicrowavefrequencies.
2.Phase:Velocitymodulationoftheelectronbeam
Theelectricfieldinthemagnetronoscillatorisaproductofacanddcfields.Thedcfieldextends
radiallyfromadjacentanodesegmentstothecathode.Theacfields,extendingbetweenadjacent
segments,areshownataninstantofmaximummagnitudeofonealternationoftheRFoscillations
occurringinthecavities.
Inthefigure6isshownonlytheassumedhighfrequencyelectricalacfield.Thisacfieldworkin
additiontothetothepermanentlyavailabledcfield.Theacfieldofeachindividualcavityincreasesor
decreasesthedcfieldlikeshowninthefigure.
Well,theelectronswhichflytowardtheanodesegmentsloadedatthemomentmorepositivelyare
acceleratedinaddition.Thesegetahighertangentialspeed.Ontheotherhandtheelectronswhichfly
towardthesegmentsloadedatthemomentmorenegativelyareslowdown.Thesegetconsequently
asmallertangentialspeed.

Figure6:Thehighfrequency
electricalfield

3.Phase:FormingofaSpaceChargeWheel
Onreasonthedifferentspeedsoftheelectrongroupsthevelocitymodulationledstoadensity
modulationtherefore.
Thecumulativeactionofmanyelectronsreturningtothecathodewhileothersaremovingtowardthe
anodeformsapatternresemblingthemovingspokesofawheelknownasaSpaceChargeWheel,
asindicatedinfigure7.Thespacechargewheelrotatesaboutthecathodeatanangularvelocityof2
poles(anodesegments)percycleoftheacfield.Thisphaserelationshipenablestheconcentrationof
electronstocontinuouslydeliverenergytosustaintheRFoscillations.
Oneofthespokesjustisnearananodesegmentwhichisloadedalittlemorenegatively.The
electronsaresloweddownandpassherenergyontotheacfield.Thisstateisn'tstatic,becauseboth
theacfieldandthewirewheelpermanentlycirculate.Thetangentialspeedoftheelectronspokes
andthecyclespeedofthewavemustbebroughtinagreementso.

Figure7:Rotatingspacecharge
wheelinantwelvecavitymagnetron

4.Phase:Dispenseenergytotheacfield
RecallthatanelectronmovingagainstanEfieldisacceleratedbythefieldandtakesenergyfromthefield.Also,anelectrondispenses
energytoafieldandslowsdownifitismovinginthesamedirectionasthefield(positivetonegative).Theelectronspendsenergyto
eachcavityasitpassesandeventuallyreachestheanodewhenitsenergyisexpended.Thus,theelectronhashelpedsustain
oscillationsbecauseithastakenenergyfromthedcfieldandgivenittotheacfield.Thiselectrondescribesthepathshowninfigure5
overalongertimeperiodlooked.Bythemultiplebreakingoftheelectrontheenergyoftheelectronisusedoptimally.The
effectivenessreachesvaluesupto80%.
Transientoscillation
Afterswitchingtheanodevoltage,thereisstillnoRFfield.Thesingleelectronmovesundertheinfluenceofthestaticelectricfieldof
theanodevoltageandtheeffectofthemagneticfieldasshowninFigure5bytheredelectronpath.Electronsarechargecarriers:
duringtheflybyatagap,theygiveoffasmallpartofenergytothecavities.(Similartoaflute:Afluteproducessoundwhenastream
ofairisflowingpastanedgeofahole.)Thecavityresonatorbeginstooscillateatitsnaturalresonantfrequency.Immediatelybegins
theinteractionbetweenthisRFfield(withaninitiallowpower)andtheelectronbeam.Theelectronsareadditionallyinfluencedbythe
alternatingfield.Itbeginstheprocessdescribedinsequenceofphase1to4oftheinteractionbetweenRFfieldandthenowvelocity
modulatedelectrons.
Unfortunately,thetransientoscillationdoesn'tbeginwithapredictablephase.Eachtransientoscillationoccurswitharandomphase.
Thetransmittingpulsesthataregeneratedbyamagnetronarethereforenotcoherent.
ModesofOscillation
Theoperationfrequencydependsonthesizesofthecavitiesandtheinteractionspacebetweenanodeandcathode.Butthesingle
cavitiesarecoupledovertheinteractionspacewitheachother.Thereforeseveralresonantfrequenciesexistforthecompletesystem.
Twoofthefourpossiblewaveformsofamagnetronwith12cavitiesareinthefigure9represented.Severalothermodesofoscillation
arepossible(mode,mode,mode),butamagnetronoperatinginthemodehasgreaterpowerandoutputandisthemost
commonlyused.
Sothatastableoperationalconditionadaptsintheoptimalmode,twoconstructivemeasuresarepossible:

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Strappingrings:
Thefrequencyofthemodeisseparatedfromthefrequencyoftheothermodesby
strappingtoensurethatthealternatesegmentshaveidenticalpolarities.Forthe
mode,allpartsofeachstrappingringareatthesamepotentialbutthetworings
havealternatelyopposingpotentials.Forothermodes,however,aphasedifference
existsbetweenthesuccessivesegmentsconnectedtoagivenstrappingringwhich
causescurrenttoflowinthestraps.

Useofcavitiesofdifferentresonancefrequency
e.g.suchavariantistheanodeformRisingSun.

Magnetroncouplingmethods

Mode

Mode

Mode

Figure8:Modesofthemagnetron
(Anodesegmentsarerepresented
unwound)

Energy(rf)canberemovedfromamagnetronbymeansofacouplingloopasshownin
Figure9intothebottomoneresonator.Atfrequencieslowerthan10,000megahertz,the
couplingloopismadebybendingtheinnerconductorofacoaxiallineintoaloop.Theloopisthen
solderedtotheendoftheouterconductorsothatitprojectsintothecavity,asshowninFigure10also.
Locatingtheloopattheendofthecavity,asshowninFigure11,causesthemagnetrontoobtain
sufficientpickupathigherfrequencies.
ThesegmentfedloopmethodisshowninFigure12.Theloopinterceptsthemagneticlinespassing
betweencavities.ThestrapfedloopmethodFigure13,interceptstheenergybetweenthestrapandthe
segment.Ontheoutputside,thecoaxiallinefeedsanothercoaxiallinedirectlyorfeedsawaveguide
throughachokejoint.Thevacuumsealattheinnerconductorhelpstosupporttheline.Aperture,or
slot,couplingisillustratedinFigure14.Energyiscoupleddirectlytoawaveguidethroughaniris(made
fromeitherglassorceramic).

Figure9:cutawayviewofa
magnetron(vanetype)showing
thestrappingringsandtheslots.

Figure10:couplingloopintoaresonator

Figure11:couplingloopattheendoftheresonator

Figure12:segmentfedloop

Figure13:strapfedloop

Figure14:Aperturecoupling(orslotcoupling)

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Magnetrontuning
Atunablemagnetronpermitsthesystemtobeoperatedataprecisefrequencyanywherewithinabandoffrequencies,asdetermined
bymagnetroncharacteristics.Theresonantfrequencyofamagnetronmaybechangedbyvaryingtheinductanceorcapacitanceof
theresonantcavities.
tunerframe
anode

additional
inductive
tuning
elements

Figure12:Inductivemagnetrontuning

AnexampleofatunablemagnetronistheM5114BusedbytheATCRadar
ASR910.Toreducemutualinterferences,theASR910canworkondifferent
assignedfrequencies.Thefrequencyofthetransmittermustbetunable
therefore.ThismagnetronisprovidedwithamechanismtoadjusttheTx
frequencyoftheASR910exactly.
Figure13showstheinductivetuningelementsoftheTH3123Magnetronused
inATCradarThomsonER713S.Notethattheadjacentthefilamentsupply
linesresonantcavityandthecouplingloopcavityarenottunable!

Figure13:resonantcavitiesofanholeandslottypemagnetron
withinductivetuningelements

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