| High-power microwave (HPM) technology has been in use for various military and commercial applications, such as radar-, broadcasting-, and communication-systems, but it was characterized by large-scale device dimensions. Moreover, their future use is being anticipated in materials processing, energy generation, environment protection, law enforcement, and advanced combat operations. Recent technological advances have directed further research towards reduction in dimensions of HPM components to a portable scale. The key areas to give a necessary breakthrough are identified as: materials, fast switches, optimization (by electromagnetic modeling and analysis), and thermal management.; A component of an HPM system responsible for generation of a high power is a pulse forming line (PFL). We had chosen a paxallel-plate Blumlein line (PPBL) configuration. In essence, there are two major concerns about this structure: maximum electric field, and the pulse delivered to the load. Excessive electric field causes electrical breakdown in the dielectric, whereas the pulse, if corrupted, will not deliver the intended magnitude and duration of the power to the load. Anticipated use of advanced materials will enable desired reduction of dimensions, but to achieve a proper performance of the system, an optimization between the electrical and geometrical parameters is needed.; The aim of this dissertation is twofold. One is the electromagnetic analysis of the Blumlein line in order to determine effects of various design approaches and gain better understanding of the process inside the structure. The other goal is to explore advanced approaches to the design of the PPBL in order to improve its robustness against electrical breakdown. The work seeks to minimize the size of the structure while satisfying other desired properties. The characteristics of various PPBL designs are presented and optimization approaches proposed. Several examples are presented and discussed to support the validity of our computational approach. |
