High frequency electron discharge devices and slow wave structures therefor

Claim 1

AN ELECTRON DISCHARGE DEVICE COMPRISING, (A) AN ELECTRON GUN ADAPTED AND ARRANGED TO GENERATE AN ELECTRON BEAM ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID ELECTRON GUN BEING POSITIONED AT ONE END OF SAID PATH, (B) A COLLECTOR STRUCTURE POSITIONED AT THE OTHER END OF SAID PATH, (C) A SLOW WAVE STRUCTURE POSITIONED ALONG SAID PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID SLOW WAVE STRUCTURE HAVING A GENERALLY X-SHAPED TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA DEFINED BY A PLURALITY OF AXIALLY SPACED CRUCIFORM SHAPED MEMBERS HAVING THEIR MAJOR AXES LYING IN A PLURALITY OF AXIALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL PLANES EXTENDING ALONG AND TRANSVERSELY ORIENTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PREDETERMINED PATH, EACH OF SAID CRUCIFORM SHAPED MEMBERS HAVING AN APERTURE IN THE CENTRAL PORTION THEREOF FOR PERMITTING PASSAGE OF SAID ELECTRON BEAM TRAVERSING SAID PREDETERMINED PATH, AT LEAST TWO OF THE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED ARM MEMBERS OF EACH OF SAID CRUCIFORM SHAPED MEMBERS BEING CONDUCTIVELY CONNECTED TO THE AXIALLY OPPOSED ARM MEMBERS OF AN ADJACENT CRUCIFORM MEMBER AT THE PERIPHERAL END PORTIONS OF SAID ARM MEMBERS.