A 6.5 GHZ-11.5 GHZ SOURCE USING A GRID AMPLIFIER WITH A TWIST REFLECTOR

We have constructed and tested an oscillator using a grid amplifier wi th external feedback from a twist reflector. The twist reflector serve s two functions-it changes the output polarization to match the input, and its position sets the feedback phase. This permits a wider tuning range than has been possible with previous grid oscillators. The sour ce could be continuously tuned from 8.2 GHz to 11.0 GHz by moving the twist reflector. By moving the polarizer and mirror in the twist refle ctor independently, a 1.8-to-1 frequency range from 6.5 GHz to 11.5 GH z was achieved. The peak effective radiated power was 6.3 W at 9.9 GHz .