See figure 10 31. The amplitron may have been so named, because it is an amplifier, yet is somewhat similar to a magnetron. The amplitron was introduced in the late 1950 s or early 1960 s as a final power amplifier device, serving two somewhat different purposes in FAA and FAA/USAF radar systems. In the AN/FPS-35 synthesis-type radar system, which operated in the UHF region, an amplitron boosted the power from a series of tetrode amplifiers, which were, in turn, supplied by a frequency synthesizer. In FAA ARSRs, the amplitron was introduced to supplement the power output of a magnetron, and the radar still operated as a magnetron-type system, without all the coherence and stability advantages of synthesis. The amplitron, which may exhibit gain from 3 to 20 dB, is no substitute for the power klystron, which may exhibit gains in excess of 50 dB. Of course, amplitrons may be serially connected for additional gain, and do have a significant advantage in greater bandwidth.

Figure 10 31: The Amplitron

The amplitron s similarity to the magnetron is in the application of perpendicular magnetic and electric fields, cycloidal electron movements, and cloud formations. It does not, however, contain the ring of cavities which cause the magnetron to oscillate, and, instead, utilizes a circular rf transmission line, which provides the cloud-forming rf synchronization fields for the interaction space. Superior to the klystron in one respect, the amplitron is considered a wide-band device, and responds to a wide range of input frequencies; it...