Additively Manufactured High Power Microwave Components in Aluminum SLM

The multipactor is a phenomenon that plays a determining role in the design and development of high-power microwave components in satellite payloads. It relates to a resonant RF electron discharge in which electron multiplication takes place due to the secondary electron re-emission process 1 . The discharge is mainly encountered in RF accelerating structures where the combination of RF fields and surfaces of high secondary yield metals (e.g., copper or aluminum) will increase the number of electrons at each impact. For the estimation of the multipactor and for sensing the maximum power that can be handled by a microwave component without the occurrence of a breakdown event, we typically consider the two following conditions: i) the synchronization of electron movement with the RF fields and ii) the electron multiplication via secondary electron emission. The latter is normally addressed relying on semi-empirical models of the Total Electron Emission Yield (TEEY) (Vaughan, Furman) or curves derived from measurement of an equivalent surface.