Analysis of the electromagnetic radiation generated by a multipactor discharge occurring within a microwave passive component

M Jiménez (1) , B Gimeno (2) , C Miquel-Espanya (3) , D Raboso (3) , S Anza (4) , C Vicente (4) , J Gil (4) , F Quesada (1) , A Lvarez (1) , M Taroncher (5) , M Reglero (5) , V E Boria (5)

1 UPCT - Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena / Technical University of Cartagena
2 Departamento de Fsica Aplicada y Electromagnetismo- ICMUV
3 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
4 Aurora Software and Testing S.L
5 Departamento de Comunicaciones- ITEAM

Multipactoring is a non-linear phenomenon that appears in highpower microwave equipments operating under vacuum conditions and causes several undesirable effects. In this manuscript, a theoretical and experimental study of the RF spectrum radiated by a multipactor discharge, occurring within a realistic microwave component based on rectangular waveguides, is reported. The electromagnetic coupling of a multipactor current to the fundamental propagative mode of a uniform waveguide has been analyzed in the context of the microwave network theory. The discharge produced under a single-carrier RF voltage regime has been approached as a shunt current source exciting such a mode in a transmission-line gap-region. By means of a simple equivalent circuit, this model allows predicting the harmonics generated by the discharge occurring in a realistic passive waveguide component. Power spectrum radiated by a third order multipactor discharge has been measured in an E-plane silver-plated waveguide transformer, thus validating qualitatively the presented theory to simulate the noise generated by a single-carrier multipactor discharge.

Mots clés: 84.40.Ua; 41.20.Jb; 29.27.-a; 52.20.Fs

M Jiménez, B Gimeno, C Miquel-Espanya, D Raboso, S Anza, et al.. Analysis of the electromagnetic radiation generated by a multipactor discharge occurring within a microwave passive component. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2010, 43 (39), pp.395501. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/43/39/395501⟩. ⟨hal-00569720⟩