Array of Nanoklystrons for Frequency Agility or Redundancy

An array of monolithically fabricated nanoklystrons has been proposed as a frequency-agile and/or redundant source of electromagnetic radiation at frequencies ranging from about 0.3 to about 3 THz. Each nanoklystron would, as its name suggests, be a very small klystron. Like other klystrons, a nanoklystron would operate at a frequency determined primarily by the dimensions of its resonant cavity and the spacing of its electron-bunching grids, with some dependence on applied voltages. An individual nanoklystron could be fabricated in top and bottom halves from silicon wafers and would contain an integral output waveguide and feed horn (see Figure 1). In typical operation, a nanoklystron without a mechanical tuner would generate power only at a fixed frequency. Thus, frequency agility and/or redundancy could be obtained by incorporating into the array multiple nanoklystrons that are pretuned to generate signals at all required frequencies.