Terahertz amplification by injection locking of waveguide resonant tunneling diode

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Greenberg, James, Heffernan, Brendan M., McGrew, William F., Rolland, Antoine
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Greenberg, James
Heffernan, Brendan M.
McGrew, William F.
Rolland, Antoine
author_facet Greenberg, James
Heffernan, Brendan M.
McGrew, William F.
Rolland, Antoine
contents High power and low phase noise oscillators at terahertz frequencies are required for several burgeoning scientific and technological applications, including radioastronomy, imaging, molecular spectroscopy, radar, and wireless communications. Operating at terahertz oscillation frequencies presents unique challenges based on the method of generation. Electronic oscillators can produce ample power but suffer from relatively high phase noise due to the nonlinear multiplication of microwave sources. Meanwhile, photomixing of optical sources provides superior spectral purity but low usable power, due to the limited bandwidth of the photomixer. We propose a hybrid solution involving injection locking of an electronic oscillator, a resonant tunneling diode, by a low phase noise photomixed source, a dual-wavelength Brillouin laser. In this study, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept injection-locking amplifier at 260 GHz, achieving up to 40 dB gain for nanowatt-level input signals. For the first time, we characterize the residual phase noise of an injection-locked waveguide RTD, showing quantitative consistency with theoretical predictions based on detailed analysis of its free-running noise. This architecture has the potential to scale to frequencies of 1 THz and beyond, which would provide a clear path to realize a terahertz oscillator with high power and low phase noise.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_14377
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Terahertz amplification by injection locking of waveguide resonant tunneling diode
Greenberg, James
Heffernan, Brendan M.
McGrew, William F.
Rolland, Antoine
Optics
Applied Physics
High power and low phase noise oscillators at terahertz frequencies are required for several burgeoning scientific and technological applications, including radioastronomy, imaging, molecular spectroscopy, radar, and wireless communications. Operating at terahertz oscillation frequencies presents unique challenges based on the method of generation. Electronic oscillators can produce ample power but suffer from relatively high phase noise due to the nonlinear multiplication of microwave sources. Meanwhile, photomixing of optical sources provides superior spectral purity but low usable power, due to the limited bandwidth of the photomixer. We propose a hybrid solution involving injection locking of an electronic oscillator, a resonant tunneling diode, by a low phase noise photomixed source, a dual-wavelength Brillouin laser. In this study, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept injection-locking amplifier at 260 GHz, achieving up to 40 dB gain for nanowatt-level input signals. For the first time, we characterize the residual phase noise of an injection-locked waveguide RTD, showing quantitative consistency with theoretical predictions based on detailed analysis of its free-running noise. This architecture has the potential to scale to frequencies of 1 THz and beyond, which would provide a clear path to realize a terahertz oscillator with high power and low phase noise.
title Terahertz amplification by injection locking of waveguide resonant tunneling diode
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14377