A Novel Injection-Locked S-Band Oven Magnetron System Without Waveguide Isolators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, low-cost injection-locked S-band magnetron system that eliminates waveguide isolators by injecting microwaves through filament structures, achieving reliable locking and potential for improved microwave oven efficiency.

Contribution

It presents the first use of filament-based microwave injection locking in magnetrons, reducing size and cost while maintaining reliable locking performance.

Findings

Maximum locking bandwidth of 0.7 MHz achieved

System weight reduced to 28%, volume to 16%

Reliable locking demonstrated in experiments

Abstract

A novel injection-locked S-band microwave oven magnetron system is proposed, analyzed, and experimented. The magnetron is considered as a two-port oscillator, and the filament structures of it are used as a port for injection locking. To our knowledge, it is the first time that microwaves have been injected through magnetron filaments. The microwave is injected into the magnetron filter box using a self-designed injection structure, entering the resonant cavity through filament leads. The intrinsic isolation between the magnetrons output and filament is utilized as an isolator. No waveguide circulators or couplers between the injection source and the magnetron were used in the system, resulting in low cost and compact injection locking. Two types of injection structures were performed. The maximum locking bandwidth of 0.7 MHz was achieved at an injection ratio of 0.2. The weight and volume of the proposed injection-locked magnetron system were reduced to 28% and 16%, respectively. The magnetron output is successfully locked by an external signal. The experiment results reveal that the proposed low-cost injection-locked oven magnetron system works reliably. It has significant potential applications for future microwave ovens with frequency-selective heating to improve both efficiency and uniformity.