A 3.5-THz, x6-Harmonic, Single-Ended Schottky Diode Mixer for Frequency Stabilization of Quantum-Cascade Lasers
Journal article, 2021
Efficient and compact frequency converters are essential for frequency stabilization of terahertz sources. In this paper, we present a 3.5-THz, 6-harmonic, integrated Schottky diode mixer operating at room temperature. The designed frequency converter is based on a single-ended, planar Schottky diode with a sub-micron anode contact area defined on a suspended 2-m ultra-thin GaAs substrate. The dc-grounded anode pad with the radio frequency E-plane probe resulted in an electrically compact circuit. At 200 MHz intermediate frequency, a mixer conversion loss of about 59 dB is measured resulting in a 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio for phase locking a 3.5-THz quantum-cascade laser. Using a quasi-static diode model combined with electromagnetic simulations, good agreement with the measured results was obtained. Harmonic frequency converters without the need of cryogenic cooling will help in the realization of highly sensitive space and air-borne heterodyne receivers.
phase locking
mixer characterization
terahertz electronics
quantum-cascade lasers
heterodyne receivers
Schottky diodes
harmonic mixers
Frequency converters
integrated circuits
frequency stabilization
Author
Divya Jayasankar
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Terahertz and Millimetre Wave Laboratory
GigaHertz Centre
Omnisys Instruments
Vladimir Drakinskiy
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Terahertz and Millimetre Wave Laboratory
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
GigaHertz Centre
Omnisys Instruments
Nick Rothbart
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Humboldt University of Berlin
Heiko Richter
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Humboldt University of Berlin
Xiang Lü
Paul Drude Institut fur Festkorperelektronik
Lutz Schrottke
Paul Drude Institut fur Festkorperelektronik
Holger T. Grahn
Paul Drude Institut fur Festkorperelektronik
Martin Wienold
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Humboldt University of Berlin
Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers
Humboldt University of Berlin
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Peter Sobis
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
GigaHertz Centre
Omnisys Instruments
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Terahertz and Millimetre Wave Laboratory
Jan Stake
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Terahertz and Millimetre Wave Laboratory
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
GigaHertz Centre
Omnisys Instruments
IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology
2156-342X (ISSN) 21563446 (eISSN)
Vol. 11 6 684-694THz Schottky diode mixers for high resolution FIR spectroscopy
Swedish National Space Board (170/17), 2018-01-01 -- 2019-12-31.
THz metrology for modern wireless systems
Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) (FID17-0040), -- .
Areas of Advance
Information and Communication Technology
Infrastructure
Kollberg Laboratory
Nanofabrication Laboratory
Subject Categories
Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
DOI
10.1109/TTHZ.2021.3115730