Electron gun for a multiple beam klystron with magnetic compression of the electron beams

A multi-beam electron gun provides a plurality N of cathode assemblies comprising a cathode, anode, and focus electrode, each cathode assembly having a local cathode axis and also a central cathode point defined by the intersection of the local cathode axis with the emitting surface of the cathode. Each cathode is arranged with its central point positioned in a plane orthogonal to a device central axis, with each cathode central point an equal distance from the device axis and with an included angle of 360/N between each cathode central point. The local axis of each cathode has a cathode divergence angle with respect to the central axis which is set such that the diverging magnetic field from a solenoidal coil is less than 5 degrees with respect to the projection of the local cathode axis onto a cathode reference plane formed by the device axis and the central cathode point, and the local axis of each cathode is also set such that the angle formed between the cathode reference plane and the local cathode axis results in minimum spiraling in the path of the electron beams in a homogenous magnetic field region of the solenoidal field generator.