A 170-230 GHz High-Power Frequency Doubler Based on a GaAs MMIC Process

This letter reports a high-performance frequency doubler operating at 170-230 GHz based on a GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) process. The frequency doubler was designed with a balanced structure and the MMIC was inserted between two E -plane split-waveguide blocks. A "Pass-by" shaped biased filter was employed to improve the operation bandwidth. Measurement results showed that the doubler delivers continuous wave (CW) output power of 42-78 mW from 170 to 220 GHz with an efficiency of 14%-26%. With the increase of bias voltage, higher output power at higher frequency can be achieved, delivering a CW output power of 54-107 mW from 192 to 226 GHz at an efficiency of 18%-36%. At a very high input power level (600 mW), a maximum CW output power of 165 mW at 215 GHz with an efficiency of 27.5% has been demonstrated.