Reflectometry Measurements of the Loss Tangent in Silicon at Millimeter Wavelengths

Abstract

We report here on measurements of the reflectivity and loss tangent measured in the W-band (80-125 GHz) and D-band (125-180 GHz) in two samples of float zone silicon with intrinsic stoichiometry - one irradiated by neutrons, which increases the resistivity by introducing crystalline defects, and the other unperturbed. We find a loss tangent $\tan(\delta)$ of 2.8e-4 and 1.5e-5 for neutron-irradiated silicon and intrinsic silicon, respectively, both with an index of refraction of 3.41. The results demonstrate the applicability of silicon as a warm optical component in millimeter-wave receivers. For our measurements, we use a coherent reflectometer to measure the Fabry-Perot interference fringes of the reflected signal from dielectric slabs. The depth of the reflection nulls provides a sensitive measurement of dielectric losses. We describe the test setup which can also characterize scattering and transmission, and can provide detailed characterization of millimeter wave materials.