Thermo-Mechanical Stress in High-Frequency Vacuum Electron Devices

Analysis of the thermo-mechanical performance of high-frequency vacuum electron devices is essential to the advancement of RF sources towards high-power generation. Operation in an ultra-high vacuum environment, space restricting magnetic focusing, and limited material options are just some of the constraints that complicate thermal management in a high-power VED. An analytical method for evaluating temperature, stress, and deformation distribution in thin vacuum-to-cooling walls is presented, accounting for anisotropic material properties. Thin plate geometry is used and analytical expressions are developed for thermo-mechanical analysis that includes the microstructure effects of grain orientations. The method presented evaluates the maximum allowable heat flux that can be used to establish the power-handling limitation of high-frequency VEDs prior to full-scale design, accelerating time-to-manufacture.