Terahertz coherent oscillator integrated with slot-ring antenna using two resonant tunneling diodes

Abstract

Abstract The development of compact, high-output-power electronic terahertz sources will benefit from coherent combination of power from multiple oscillators. Mutual coupling for power combining and linewidth narrowing generally requires additional, potentially lossy coupling structures that limit array scalability. To address this limitation, two resonant tunneling diode (RTD) oscillators integrated within a single slot-ring antenna are herein proposed. They employ an innate phase-locking mechanism, thereby realizing mutual-coupling and radiation simultaneously. The proposed double-RTD device is experimentally found to demonstrate a single-peak oscillation at 354 GHz with narrow linewidth (2 MHz), higher output power (31 μW), and linearly polarized, unimodal radiation pattern.