All solid-state high power microwave source with high repetition frequency.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Microwave Engineering

Background:

• High power microwave (HPM) systems are crucial for various applications.
• Solid-state switches offer advantages over traditional vacuum devices.
• Developing compact, efficient HPM sources remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an all solid-state, megawatt-class HPM system.
• To demonstrate the integration of silicon carbide photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) and nonlinear transmission lines (NLTL).
• To characterize the system's performance in terms of pulse generation and microwave output.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 4H-SiC PCSS hard-switched by a 355 nm laser pulse train.
• Employed a fiber optic system for optical pulse delivery at 65 MHz repetition frequency.
• Fed the generated electrical pulses into a ferrimagnetic-based coaxial NLTL.

Main Results:

• Achieved electrical pulses with 7 ns FWHM and 2 ns risetimes from the SiC PCSS.
• Generated microwave pulses with a base frequency of 2.1 GHz at 65 MHz pulse repetition frequency (PRF).
• Observed sharpened output risetimes of 120 ps and microwave oscillations at 2-4 GHz from the NLTL.

Conclusions:

• The integrated SiC PCSS and NLTL system successfully generated megawatt-class HPM pulses.
• Demonstrated MHz-PRF burst-mode operation and frequency agility.
• The solid-state approach offers a promising alternative for future HPM systems.