RF breakdown prediction for microwave passive components in multi-carrier operation

Abstract

This work addresses the multipactor problem for multi-carrier operation inside rectangular waveguide-based devices, by means of numerical simulations of the electron trajectories and multiplication inside the structure. Accurate field calculation and considering space charge effects are mandatory. For this, a PIC-FDTD method has been employed. As a result, novel software has been implemented offering the possibility of predicting multipactor in multi-carrier systems for a wide variety of situations. Simulation results show that multipactor can occur even for short pulse durations if an inter-period charge accumulation is present. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.