Design, development and rf characterization of resonant ring for testing of 325 MHZ IIFC couplers

Under IIFC collaboration, coaxial RF couplers at 325 MHz and 650 MHz are being developed at IADD, BARC. Presently, fabrication of 325 MHz couplers is in progress. For high power testing of these couplers, RF power of about 40-50 kW is required. So, design and development of high power RF test facility has been initiated at IADD, BARC. The test facility is based on a travelling wave resonating ring structure consisting of low loss waveguide components. The simulation of the resonant ring has been done in CST microwave studio. All the components of this resonant ring have been designed, fabricated and installed. RF characterization of the ring is being carried using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The ring has been tuned to the desired frequency of 325 MHz. Tuners are also used to optimize the resonance frequency and gain of the ring. Power gain of more than 10 dB has been measured. This paper presents the results of design optimization and RF measurements on the resonant ring. (author)