Investigation of RTD THz Oscillator with Wide Frequency Tuning Capability

Compact THz sources with a large VCO tunability are useful for a variety number of applications such as radar or communication. There are different approaches using transistor technology and smart circuit development to fulfill these requirements. A different approach is investigated in using single resonant tunneling diode oscillator with a large emitter spacer thickness topology to increase frequency tunability up to 7.6% in the WR2.2 band. Free-space spectrum measurements in the far field showing this observation are presented. Additional physical TCAD simulations are carried out using non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism and a Poisson solver to investigate in the large capacitance change in this layer stack configuration.