Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2004, pp.

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Thermal and Structural Analysis on the Output Coupler of a Vacuum Tube

Hyoung S. Kim
Plasma Technology Center, Institute for Advanced Engineering, Yongin 449-863

Han S. Uhm
Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 442-749

Seung W. Baek
LG Electronics, Guro-dong, Yongdeungpo-ku, Seoul 153-023

Sang W. Lee
Dual Use Technology Center, Agency for Defence Development, Daegeon 305-600 (Received 2 September 2003) SMA (Subminiature)-type couplers are widely used in mini-TWT (traveling wave tube) as an output power extraction port. The coupler consists of various materials such as kovar, ceramic, teon, and monel. During the passage of the microwave output power through the connector, there is an ohmic loss in the connector when the microwave output is extracted through it. This is a heat source and should be considered in the connector design. We have used the High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) and the Analysis System (ANSYS) codes to carry out the thermal and structural analysis of the output connector for a helix-TWT. The analytical result shows that the highest temperature appears on the kovar as a center pin and that the most signicant stress is on the ceramic window in the output coupler.
PACS numbers: 84.44, 84.81, 84.80 Keywords: Thernal analysis, Structural analysis, Connector, Coupler, HFSS, ANSYS, Microwave, RF

I. INTRODUCTION The TWT (traveling wave tube) was invented in 1942 by Rudolf Kompfner [1,2]. The main elements of a TWT are the electron gun, the RF input connector, the RF output connector, RF interaction circuit, the PPM (periodic permanent magnet), and the collector. In RF interaction circuit, the RF wave travels at approximately the same speed as the electron beam, and the interaction with the beam continues to exchange energy from electron beam, in the form of kinetic energy, to the RF wave, in the form of electromagnetic wave, which is to be used as the output RF power through the output RF connector. We studied the thermal and the structural behaviors of the output RF connector to see whether it was in the safe region to be used in transmitting RF output power for a TWT. The RF connector is consisted of various materials, such as kovar, monel, brass, alumina, and teon. When the RF wave is passing through the connector, it causes electromagnetic heating due to the electro E-mail:

magnetic loss factor of the material. The thermal eect causes thermal expansion, which arouses structural deformation on various connector materials. However, it is hard to calculate theoretically the thermal energy to be given to the materials by the electromagnetic wave. We have presented an electromagnetic loss analysis when an RF wave is passing through a connector which causes various connector parts to be heated. The analysis was based on the HFSS (high-frequency structure simulator) software, and the heat owing from the RF wave to the materials was calculated [3]. The thermal and the structural analyses were performed with the heat quantity by using ANSYS (analysis system) software [4 7].

II. ELECTROMAGNETIC ANALYSIS HFSS software can simulate electromagnetic behavior while an RF wave is passing through a connector. The RF connector was designed to have VSWR 2.5 in the range of the C/X/Ku band and consisted of various materials, such as kovar, teon, brass, BeCu alloy, alumina,

hskim@iae.re.kr

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Thermal and Structural Analysis on the Output Hyoung S. Kim et al. Table 1. Electrical properties of connector parts: brass, teon, BeCu alloy, alumina, kovar and monel. Electrical Properties RF Loss Tangent Dielectric Constant Resistivity [cm] Brass 5.9106 Teon 0.0003 2.1 Beryllium Copper Alloy 2.9106 Alumina 0.0002 9.0 Kovar 49106

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Monel 404 53106

Fig. 3. Scattering parameters of the RF connector. The kovar curve means that only the loss factor of the kovar material was considered in the HFSS simulation, and the monel, alumina and teon curves have similar meanings. The w/o loss curve means we have not considered any loss factor for the various materials. The full loss curve means every loss factor has been considered to get the scattering parameter by using the HFSS software.

Fig. 1. Schematics of the designed RF connector.

Fig. 2. Various materials constituting the RF connector: (1) connector, (2) connector sleeve; brass, (3) insulation sleeve (long) ; teon, (4) insulation sleeve (short) ; teon, (5) inner connector; BeCu alloy, (6) expansion disk ; brass, (7) ceramic windows ; alumina, (8) windows pin ; kovar, (9) window ring; kovar, and (10) window base ; monel404.

and monel 404. A schematic of the designed RF connector and its various materials can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2. All the parameters used in the simulations, e.g., rf loss tangent, the dielectric properties and the resistivity, are included in Table 1. The conduction coecient and the thermal expansion coecient in Table 1 are used to sim-

ulate loss factors using HFSS. All the parameters, e.g., rf loss tangent, dielectric properties, and resistivity, are used to simulate the energy loss by using HFSS. The electromagnetic wave loses energy to the various materials constituting the RF connector. The energy delivered to materials from the RF wave can be calculated by using the scattering parameter of the RF connector. Figure 3 shows the scattering parameter of the RF connector. In Fig. 3, the kovar curve means that the loss factor of the kovar material only was considered in the HFSS simulation; the monel, alumina, and teon curves have similar meanings; the w/o loss curve means we have not considered any loss factor for the various materials; the full-loss curve means every loss factor was considered to get the scattering parameter by using HFSS software. The curve shows that full-loss considerations reveal maximum electromagnetic energy loss to the materials, as we expected. From these simulation results, we could derive the electromagnetic energy loss, i.e., the heating power to various materials at various frequency regions. After the calculation of the scattering parameter from HFSS, we could input the heat quantity to the thermal analysis simulation software, ANSYS.

III. THERMAL ANALYSIS

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Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, May 2004

Fig. 4. Thermal distribution results using ANSYS. The output RF power is 100 Watts. (1) The alumina loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the alumina due to RF energy passing through is 34.1 C. (2) The kovar loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the kovar due to RF energy passing through is 122.5 C. (3) The monel 404 loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the monel 404 due to RF energy passing through is 42.9 C. (4) The teon loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the teon due to RF energy passing through is 35.0 C. (5) All loss factors, alumina, kovar, monel, and Teon, have been considered. The highest temperature of the connector due to RF energy passing through with 100 watt output power at 18 GHz is 180.6 C on end part of the kovar pin.

Fig. 5. Structural analysis results using ANSYS. (1) Temperature distribution from above results. (2) Stress and deformation distribution results. The maximum stress is the on ceramic window, 17 MPa. (3) Vector plots of the stress deformation. (4) Strain and deformation results ; The maximum strain is on the teon, 0.0013. (5) Vector plots of the strain deformation.

IV. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS The structure of the RF connector can be deformed due to the thermal expansion of the various materials constituting the connector. With knowledge of the temperature distribution from the thermal analysis, we can see which part will be aected and how much expansion will be occur. Figure 5 shows the structural analysis results from ANSYS. Figure 5 shows (1) the temperature distribution from the above results, and (2) the stress and deformation distribution results; the maximum stress is on the ceramic window, 17 MPa. Figure 5 also shows (3) the vector plots of the stress deformation, (4) the strain and deformation results; the maximum strain is on the Teon, 0.0013, and (5) the vector plots of the strain deformation. In Fig. 5, we can get results that the maximum stress is on the ceramic window, 17 MPa and the maximum strain is on the Teon, 0.0013. The tensile strength of the ceramic we are going to use is 225 MPa, which is much higher than the structural analysis result. Also the strain on the teon is not problem because it is outside the connector; i.e., it is at atmosphere pressure and not in a high-vacuum region. Therefore, we can see that connector still has enough room to handle the RF power with the structural deformation and stress on the teon and ceramic window, to use due to the thermal expansion caused by the 100 watt RF output power passing through the RF connector.

We have designed an output connector through which RF output power passes. The electromagnetic loss energy can be obtained from the scattering parameter by using HFSS. This energy can be injected into the various materials as an equivalent heat source to do a thermal analysis using ANSYS. From the mechanical and the thermal properties of the various materials, as in Table 2, we could simulate the thermal ow because we knew the thermal conduction coecients [5]. The conduction coecient and thermal expansion coecient in Table 2 are used to simulate the thermal and structural analysis by using ANSYS. The simulation results from ANSYS can be seen in Fig. 4. Figure 4 shows the thermal distribution results from ANSYS. The output RF power is 100 Watts. In Fig. 4, (1) the alumina loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the alumina due to RF energy passing through is 34.1 C. (2) the kovar loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the kovar due to RF energy passing through is 122.5 C. (3) the monel 404 loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the monel 404 due to RF energy passing through is 42.9 C. (4) the teon loss factor only is considered. The highest temperature of the teon due to RF energy passing through is 35.0 C. (5) All loss factors of alumina, kovar, monel and teon have been considered. The highest temperature of the connector due to RF energy passing through with 100 watts output power at 18 GHz is 180.6 C on the end part of kovar pin. This simulation result agrees well with the facts that one of the major failures happens due to the disconnection of the windows pin(kovar) with a helix wire(tungsten or molybdenum) that is connected and welded to the kovar pin.

V. CONCLUSIONS We have analyzed an output connector through which RF output power passes. The electromagnetic loss energy in the RF connector is obtained from the scattering

Thermal and Structural Analysis on the Output Hyoung S. Kim et al. Table 2. Mechanical and thermal properties of connector parts: brass, teon, BeCu alloy, alumina, kovar and monel. Mechanical and Thermal Properties Density [kg/m3 ] Specic Heat [J/kg-C] Poissons Rate Thermal Expansion Coecient [106 /C] Youngs Coecient [GPa] Conduction Coecient [W/mC] Brass 8.8E3 380 0.34 21.2 104 151 Teon 1.92E3 1040 0.2 230 340 0.22 Beryllium Copper Alloy 8.94E3 390 0.339 7.8 123 10 Alumina 3.72E3 880 0.21 8.2 303 24.7 Kovar 8.36E3 432 0.317 6.19 137.9 16.53

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Monel 404 8.9E3 540 0.32 17.5 170 19.68

parameter by using HFSS. This energy is injected into various materials as an equivalent heat source to get a thermal analysis by using ANSYS. From the material properties of various materials, as in Table 1, we can simulate the thermal ow by using the thermal conduction coecients from ANSYS. All loss factors, alumina, kovar, monel, and teon, were considered. The highest temperature of the connector due to RF energy passing through with 100 watt output power at 18 GHz was 180.6 C on the end part of a kovar pin. This simulation results agree well with the facts that one of the major failures happens due to the disconnection of the kovar pin with a helix wire, which is connected and welded to the kovar pin. Stress and strain analyses have also been performed. The maximum stress is on the ceramic window, 17 MPa, and the maximum strain is on the teon, 0.0013. The tensile strength of the ceramic we are going to use is 225 MPa, which is much higher than the structural analysis result. Also, the strain on the teon is not a problem because it is exible and outside the connector; i.e., it is at atmosphere pressure, not in a high-vacuum region. Therefore, we can conclude that the connector still has enough room to handle the RF power, with a structural deformation and stress on the teon and the ceramic window, to use due to thermal expansion caused by the 100

watt RF output power passing through the RF connector.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by the National Research Laboratory program.

REFERENCES
[1] R. Kompfner, Wireless World 53, 369 (1946). [2] A. S. Gilmour, Jr, Microwave Tubes (Artech House, Norwood, 1986), Chap. 10. [3] High Frequency Structure Simulator, Version 6.0 (Ansoft Co., PA, 1999). [4] ANSYS, Version 5.6 (ANSYS Inc.). [5] James F. Shackelford, William Alexander CRC Material Science and Engineering Handbook, 3rd Ed. (CRC Press, New York, 2001). [6] H. S. Uhm, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 42, S989 (2003). [7] E. H. Choi, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 42, S1000 (2003).