Thin-film technology development
Thin film interconnect patterns developed for three hybrid satellite resistor, diode, and transistor circuit applications
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Thin film interconnect patterns developed for three hybrid satellite resistor, diode, and transistor circuit applications
Circuit suppresses AM component while providing matched input impedance. Phase modulation uses reflective properties of series resonant tank to reflect all of signal except for small amount in unloaded Q of coils and varactor diode. Circuit used in payload integrator of Space Shuttle S-band communications and tracking equipment, has applications in other communications and tracking equipment.
Phase modulator with tuned variable length electrical lines including coupling and varactor diode circuits
Developments reported in varactor multipliers, crystal mixers, and diodes for microwave application
Phase modulator for transmission in X band provides large phase deviation that remains nearly linear with voltage over relatively wide range. Operates with low loss over wide frequency band and with stable characteristics over wide temperature range. Phase modulator contains two varactor-diode phase shifters coupled via circulators. Separate drive circuit applies modulating voltages to varactor diodes. Modulation voltages vary in accordance with input to drive circuit.
The design and analysis of varactor diode doubler, quadrupler and cascaded doubler circuits for 320 and 640 GHz have been completed. A new approach has been employed to produce a tunerless waveguide mount with a very flexible, frequency scaleable, MMIC style multiplier circuit. The concept, design, predicted performance and measurements on some of the constituent mount elements are presented.
Amplifier, fabricated on single dielectric substrate, has pair of Schottky barrier varactor diodes mounted on single semiconductor chip. Circuit includes microstrip transmission line and slot line section to conduct signals. Main features of amplifier are reduced noise output and low production cost.
Stripline varactor harmonic multiplier uses a device for positioning the varactor diode with respect to the stripline circuit to obtain series resonance. The device also reduces detuning effects, due to thermal expansion, over a wide temperature range.
A tunerless 1.2 THz waveguide frequency tripler using Schottky planar varactor diodes has been designed, fabricated and tested.
Varactor diodes and transformer waveguide sections used instead of tuned circuits. Microwave phase modulator exhibits approximately flat delay-vs.-frequency response in frequency band of interest, according to design computations.
Monolithic diode grids were fabricated on 2-cm square gallium-arsenide wafers in a proof-of-principle test of a quasi-optical varactor millimeter-wave frequency multiplier array concept. An equivalent circuit model based on a transmission-line analysis of plane wave illumination was applied to predict the array performance. The doubler experiments were performed under far-field illumination conditions. A second-harmonic conversion efficiency of 9.5 percent and output powers of 0.5 W were achieved at 66 GHz when the diode grid was pumped with a pulsed source at 33 GHz. This grid had 760 Schottky-barrier varactor diodes. The average series resistance was 27 ohms, the minimum capacitance was 18 fF at a reverse breakdown voltage of -3 V. The measurements indicate that the diode grid is a feasible device for generating watt-level powers at millimeter frequencies and that substantial improvement is possible by improving the diode breakdown voltage.
Diode modeling for Schottky varactor frequency multipliers above 500 GHz is presented with special emphasis placed on simple models and fitted equations for rapid circuit design. Temperature- and doping-dependent mobility, resistivity, and avalanche current multiplication and breakdown are presented. Next is a discussion of static junction current, including the effects of tunneling as well as thermionic emission. These results have been compared to detailed measurements made down to 80 K on diodes fabricated at JPL, followed by a discussion of the effect on multiplier efficiency. Finally, a simple model of current saturation in the undepleted active layer suitable for inclusion in harmonic balance simulators is derived.
A voltage controlled phase shifter is rendered substantially harmonic distortion free over a large dynamic input range by employing two oppositely poled, equally biased varactor diodes as the voltage controlled elements which adjust the phase shift. Control voltages which affect the bias of both diodes equally are used to adjust the phase shift without increasing distortion. A feedback stabilized phase shifter is rendered substantially frequency independent by employing a phase detector to control the phase shift of the voltage controlled phase shifter.
Frequency multiplication circuits, examining effects of short-term stability on oscillator system
Schottky varactor frequency multipliers are used to generate local oscillator power at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The equivalent circuit of the Schottky varactor contains a junction capacitance, a junction conductance, a series resistance and a model for electron velocity saturation. A millimeter wavelengths the equivalent circuits is affected by the edge effects, which are due to the small-area circular anode. The correction factors due to the edge effect for the junction capacitance and for the series resistance are available in the literature. In this work the electron velocity saturation is modeled by limiting the velocity of the transition front between the depleted and undepleted layer. By using this model the maximum current of the diode is given by the actual area of the transition front between depleted and undepleted layers, and is therefore related to the capacitance correction factor. The new model has been tested by analyzing a two diode balanced doubler for 160 GHz presented earlier in the literature. The agreement between the theoretical results and the measurements is excellent. The new diode model is useful in optimization of varactors for high millimeter and submillimeter wave frequencies.
The design concepts, analyses, and the development of GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) linear-phase and digital modulators for the next generation of spaceborne communications systems are summarized. The design approach uses a very compact lumped-element, quadrature hybrid, and MESFET-varactors to provide low-loss and well-controlled phase performance for deep-space transponder (DST) applications. The measured results of the MESFET-diode show a capacitance range of 2:1 under reverse bias, and a Q of 38 at 10 GHz. Three cascaded sections of hybrid-coupled reflection phase shifters have been modeled and simulations performed to provide an X-band (8415 +/- 50 MHz) DST phase modulator with +/-2.5 radians of peak phase deviation.
The design concepts, analyses, and development of GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) linear-phase and digital modulators for the next generation of space-borne communications systems are summarized. The design approach uses a compact lumped element quadrature hybrid and Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFET)-varactors to provide low loss and well-controlled phase performance for deep space transponder (DST) applications. The measured results of the MESFET-diode show a capacitance range of 2:1 under reverse bias, and a Q of 38 at 10 GHz. Three cascaded sections of hybrid-coupled reflection phase shifters were modeled and simulations performed to provide an X-band (8415 +/- 50 MHz) DST phase modulator with +/- 2.5 radians of peak phase deviation. The modulator will accommodate downlink signal modulation with composite telemetry and ranging data, with a deviation linearity tolerance of +/- 8 percent and insertion loss of less than 8 +/- 0.5 dB. The MMIC digital modulator is designed to provide greater than 10 Mb/s of bi-phase modulation at X-band.