Broadband High Efficiency Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier System
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsDavid Goldberg, John Eng, Eric Nicol
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Abstract
A power control system for a satellite receiving radio-frequency signals includes a traveling wave tube amplifier system and corresponding traveling wave tube. An anode voltage of the traveling wave tube amplifier system is used to modulate or saturate the current of the electron beam of the traveling wave tube so that the output power of the traveling wave tube amplifier system, from the saturated electron beam, is proportional to a waveform envelope of the radio-frequency signals.
Claims25
A power control system comprising:
- a digital signal processor receiving an RF signal and generating a processed RF signal and an envelope of said RF signal from said RF signal;
- and
- a traveling wave tube receiving said processed RF signal and said envelope of said RF signal, said envelope of said RF signal modulating at least one of a voltage or a current of an electron beam generated in said traveling wave tube.
A power control method for a traveling wave tube amplifier system comprising:
- receiving an RF signal;
- generating a processed RF signal from said RF signal;
- generating an envelope of said RF signal from said RF signal;
- generating an electron beam;
- and
- modulating at least one of a voltage or a current of an electron beam generated in the traveling wave tube amplifier system with said envelope of said RF signal.
A traveling wave tube amplifier system for a satellite comprising:
- a traveling wave tube amplifier receiving an RF signal, said traveling wave tube amplifier comprising a traveling wave tube, generating an electron beam, and a digital signal processor processing said RF signal such that a processed RF signal and an envelope of said RF signal are generated therefrom,
- said digital processor comprising an oversample module, a digital limiter, a complex look-up table, a digital delay, an envelope module, and a look-up table comprising envelope-to-anode voltage conversions,
- said oversample module adding in-phase and quadrature signals of said RF signals,
- said digital limiter receiving and limiting said RF signals from said oversample module,
- said complex look-up table receiving signals from said digital limiter and amplitude-to-amplitude conversion from said signals,
- a digital delay receiving signals from said complex look-up table and generating delayed signals therefrom, wherein signals from said digital limiter are converted to analog signals and up-converted to a RF input of said traveling wave tube,
- said envelope module receiving said RF signals from said oversample module and separating envelopes of said RF signals,
- said look-up table comprising envelope-to-anode voltage conversions converting said envelopes to linearized anode voltages, wherein signals from said look-up table comprising envelope-to-anode voltage conversions are converted to analog signals and received in an anode control of said traveling wave tube, wherein said envelopes modulate said electron beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.