Millimeter-wave generation and characterization of a GaAs FET by optical mixing

Coherent mixing of optical radiation from a tunable continuous-wave dye laser and a stabilized He-Ne laser was used to generate millimeter-wave signals in GaAs FETs attached to printed-circuit millimeter-wave antennas. The generated signal was further down-converted to a 2-GHz IF by an antenna-coupled millimeter-wave local oscillator at 62 GHz. Detailed characterizations of power and S/N under different bias conditions have been performed. This technique is expected to allow signal generation and frequency-response evaluation of millimeter-wave devices at frequencies as high as 100 GHz.< >