Broadband 600- and 1200-GHz Subharmonically Pumped Schottky Diode Mixers

Abstract

A subharmonic mixer topology is introduced that uses quarter-wave stubs to create virtual RF/LO grounds and provide impedance matching in close proximity to the antiparallel Schottky barrier diode pair, thereby reducing the electrical length and enabling broadband operation. The RF/LO matching topology is demonstrated at 600 GHz and 1200 GHz, with good agreement between measured and simulated performance. The 600-GHz mixer demonstrates approximately 20% RF bandwidth with a DSB receiver noise temperature below 1300 K across most of the measured band, while the 1200-GHz implementation achieves DSB receiver noise temperatures below 3000 K over a broad frequency range. Both mixers are characterized at room temperature with approximately 2 mW of LO power. The 600-GHz mixer is used in the Submillimeter Wave Instrument (SWI) onboard ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. Overall, these results demonstrate state-of-the-art room-temperature performance for broadband receiver front ends targeting atmospheric research and remote-sensing applications.