From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A klystron is a specialized vacuum tube (evacuated electron tube) called a linear-beam tube. They are used as an oscillator or amplifier at microwave and radio frequencies to produce high-power carrier waves.
In the klystron, a beam from an electron gun being held together by a parallel magnetic field is velocity modulated (periodically bunched) by a weaker RF signal as it passes through an oscillating resonance cavity to produce large amounts of RF power. These amplifiers are used to produce HF, VHF, UHF, and EHF signals where such high amplitude (power) is required that solid state devices (semi-conductors) are inadequate. They can be found at work in radar, satellite and wideband high power communication (very common in television broadcast and EHF satellite terminals), and high-power physics (particle accelerators and experimental reactors).
See also: Magnetron
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