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Monolithic THz Frequency MultipliersFrequency multipliers are required as local oscillator sources for frequencies up to 2.7 THz for FIRST and airborne applications. Multipliers at these frequencies have not previously been demonstrated, and the object of this work was to show whether such circuits are really practical. A practical circuit is one which not only performs as well as is required, but also can be replicated in a time that is feasible. As the frequency of circuits is increased, the difficulties in fabrication and assembly increase rapidly. Building all of the circuit on GaAs as a monolithic circuit is highly desirable to minimize the complexity of assembly, but at the highest frequencies, even a complete monolithic circuit is extremely small, and presents serious handling difficulty. This is compounded by the requirement for a very thin substrate. Assembly can become very difficult because of handling problems and critical placement. It is very desirable to make the chip big enough to that it can be seen without magnification, and strong enough that it may be picked up with tweezers. Machined blocks to house the chips present an additional challenge. Blocks with complex features are very expensive, and these also imply very critical assembly of the parts. It would be much better if the features in the block were as simple as possible and non-critical to the function of the chip. In particular, grounding and other electrical interfaces should be done in a manner that is highly reproducible.
Document ID
20020038959
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Erickson, N. R.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA United States)
Narayanan, G.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA United States)
Grosslein, R. M.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA United States)
Martin, S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Mehdi, I.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Smith, P.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Coulomb, M.
(Massachusetts Univ. Lowell, MA United States)
DeMartinez, G.
(Massachusetts Univ. Lowell, MA United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology
Subject Category
Electronics And Electrical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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