Ultrawideband, high-power, microstripline test setup for experimental study and characterization of multipactor.

This paper discusses different components of a high-power test setup for replicating multipactor in a laboratory environment. We developed a broadband test cell for parallel-plate multipactor discharges that can operate from DC to 1.2 GHz. The proposed test cell design features a multi-step transition from a coaxial line to a microstripline with negligible insertion loss suitable for high-power breakdown experiments. The multipactor section is adjustable and replaceable, offering flexibility in conducting various multipactor tests, such as different gap distances and local surface treatments. We incorporated two local multipactor detection methods, an electron multiplier tube and a biased standalone probe to rapidly and reliably detect the growth of secondary electrons in the multipactor vicinity. The driving circuits of these detection methods have been designed to filter out RF coupling while preserving the detection signal due to multipactor current. To demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed test setup, we validated the multipactor thresholds determined in simulation using the 3D particle-in-cell module of CST Microwave Studio. We obtained very good agreement between simulation and experimental results over the broadband frequency range. The topics discussed in this paper further inform how to address the design obstacles encountered in developing a bench-top multipactor test setup.

Quantification of electroporative uptake kinetics and electric field heterogeneity effects in cells.

We have conducted experiments quantitatively investigating electroporative uptake kinetics of a fluorescent plasma membrane integrity indicator, propidium iodide (PI), in HL60 human leukemia cells resulting from exposure to 40 mus pulsed electric fields (PEFs). These experiments were possible through the use of calibrated, real-time fluorescence microscopy and the development of a microcuvette: a specialized device designed for exposing cell cultures to intense PEFs while carrying out real-time microscopy. A finite-element electrostatic simulation was carried out to assess the degree of electric field heterogeneity between the microcuvette's electrodes allowing us to correlate trends in electroporative response to electric field distribution. Analysis of experimental data identified two distinctive electroporative uptake signatures: one characterized by low-level, decelerating uptake beginning immediately after PEF exposure and the other by high-level, accelerating fluorescence that is manifested sometimes hundreds of seconds after PEF exposure. The qualitative nature of these fluorescence signatures was used to isolate the conditions required to induce exclusively transient electroporation and to discuss electropore stability and persistence. A range of electric field strengths resulting in transient electroporation was identified for HL60s under our experimental conditions existing between 1.6 and 2 kV/cm. Quantitative analysis was used to determine that HL60s experiencing transient electroporation internalized between 50 and 125 million nucleic acid-bound PI molecules per cell. Finally, we show that electric field heterogeneity may be used to elicit asymmetric electroporative PI uptake within cell cultures and within individual cells.

Design of an inductive plethysmograph for ventilation measurement.

We have designed an inductive plethysmograph to obtain a non-invasive measure of ventilation. Two elastic bands containing insulated wires encircle the chest and abdomen--the inductance of each band depends on the enclosed cross sectional area. Each inductive band forms an element in a tank circuit, which determines the resonant frequency of a Colpitts oscillatory. By measuring the oscillatory frequency, we indirectly measure the changes in cross sectional area that occur during breathing. Independent measures of chest and abdominal cross sectional area provide a way to detect both normal breathing and airway obstruction. Magnetic coupling due to the mutual inductance between chest and abdominal bands modulates the desired oscillation frequencies. When modulation is excessive, frequency locking occurs and we cannot make independent measures of chest and abdominal area. We have performed simulations that show that, as the chest and abdominal band oscillator frequencies are sufficiently separated, we decrease modulation and avoid frequency locking. We have compared simulataneous recordings of ventilation using our inductive plethysmography and a commercial impedance pneumograph and spirometer. Recordings of normal ventilation by all methods appear similar; however, our inductive device is less prone than the impedance pneumography to artifacts caused by applied pressure and body movements. In addition, during simulated airway obstruction, signals from the chest and abdominal bands are out of phase--suggesting that the inductive technique may be useful for detecting airway obstruction.

The Role of Plasmalemmal-Cortical Anchoring on the Stability of Transmembrane Electropores.

The structure of eukaryotic cells is maintained by a network of filamentous actin anchored subjacently to the plasma membrane. This structure is referred to as the actin cortex. We present a locally constrained surface tension model for electroporation in order to address the influence of plasmalemmal-cortical anchoring on electropore dynamics. This model predicts that stable electropores are possible under certain conditions. The existence of stable electropores has been suggested in several experimental studies. The electropore radius at which stability is achieved is a function of the characteristic radii of locally constrained regions about the plasma membrane. This model opens the possibility of using actin-modifying compounds to physically manipulate cortical density, thereby manipulating electroporation dynamics. It also underscores the need to improve electroporation models further by incorporating the influence of trans-electropore ionic and aqueous flow, cortical flexibility, transmembrane protein mobility, and active cellular wound healing mechanisms.

Experimental verification of the mechanisms for nonlinear harmonic growth and suppression by harmonic injection in a traveling wave tube.

Understanding the generation and growth of nonlinear harmonic (and intermodulation) distortion in microwave amplifiers such as traveling wave tubes (TWTs), free electron lasers (FELs), and klystrons is of current research interest. Similar to FELs, the nonlinear harmonic growth rate scales with the harmonic number in TWTs. In klystrons, the wave number scaling applies to the nonlinear harmonic bunching and associated nonlinear space-charge waves. Using a custom-modified TWT that has sensors along the helix, we provide the first experimental confirmation of the scaling of nonlinear harmonic growth rate and wave number in TWTs. These scalings of a nonlinearly generated harmonic mode versus an injected linear harmonic mode imply that suppression by harmonic injection occurs at a single axial position that can be located as desired by changing the injected amplitude and phase.

Suppression of third-order intermodulation in a klystron by third-order injection.

The first observations and measurements are reported on suppression of the third-order intermodulation (IM3) product arising from nonlinear mixing of two drive frequencies in a klystron, by externally injecting a wave at the IM3 product frequency. Optimum amplitude and phase of the injected wave for maximum suppression are examined. Results indicate that suppression of the IM3 product by as much as 30 dB can be achieved. Experimental results compare favorably with predictions of a 1D simulation code that takes into account all kinematical and dynamical effects including charge overtaking and space charge forces.