[paper] Vacuum Electron Devices

R. Lawrence Ives, Life Senior Member, IEEE

Advanced Fabrication of Vacuum Electron Devices

(Invited Paper)

IEEE TED, Vol. 70, No. 6, June 2023

DOI: 10.1109/TED.2023.3268629

Abstract: RF source scientist and engineers continuously push the envelope with new designs, striving for improved performance with higher efficiency, higher frequency, greater bandwidth, increased gain, smaller size, lower voltage, and myriad other parameters required for ever more demanding applications. Invariably, it becomes more challenging to achieve the required fabrication and assembly performance with increasing complexity and precision. This publication reviews recent development on advanced fabrication technologies and describes the current state of the art in machining, assembly, and alignment capabilities.

FIG: Assembled 11.4-GHz accelerating structure assembled with elastic averaging

Acknowledgment: Several people assisted with this article, and the author would like to acknowledge their contributions. These include Jeff Herman at Ron Witherspoon, Inc., Colin Joye at the Naval Research Laboratory, Daniel Busbaher at 3M Technical Ceramics, Diana Gamzina at Elvespeed, Emma Snively at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Philipp Borchard at Dymenso. The author would like to thank RWI for access to their facilities to see their micro-CNC and software capabilities in operation.