W-band TWTs for new generation high capacity wireless networks

The congestion of the spectrum actually devoted to wireless networks has stimulated the exploitation of the wide availability of frequencies in the millimeter wave range. The high atmospheric attenuation and the strong detrimental rain effect require level of power not available by solid state power amplifiers typically used at microwave frequency. The lack of power has so far limited the use of millimeter wave range. The massive use of Traveling Wave Tubes as power amplifier in high capacity wireless networks will be the breakthrough in the development of the future millimeter wave network fundamental for the 5G development. The H2020 TWEETHER project aims at a new wireless network concept based on TWTs to distribute data in the millimeter wave portion of the spectrum.