ACTIVE HIGH-POWER RF PULSE-COMPRESSION USING OPTICALLY SWITCHED RESONANT DELAY-LINES

We present the design and a proof of principle experimental results of an optically controlled high-power RF pulse-compression system, In pr inciple, the design should handle a few hundreds of megawatts of paw-c r at S-band. The system is based on the switched resonant delay-line t heory [I], It employs resonant delay lines as a means of storing RF en ergy. The coupling tee the lines is optimized for maximum energy; stor age during the charging phase, To discharge the lines, a high-power mi crowave switch increases the coupling to the lines just before the sta rt of the output pulse, The high-power microwave switch required for t his system is realized using optical excitation of an electron-hole pl asma layer on the surface of a pure silicon wafer. The switch is desig ned to operate in the TE01 mode in a circular waveguide to avoid the e dge effects present at the interface between the silicon wafer and the supporting waveguide; thus, enhancing its power handling capability.