Experimental Evidence of Zeros on Spectral Components of the Small-Signal Resistance of a Pumped Diode

In this brief, we present a thorough analysis of the small-signal resistance of a pumped diode, which is responsible for converting current fluctuations (e.g., current noise) into voltage fluctuations. An excellent agreement between experimental data and theoretical predictions was achieved, thanks to a carefully engineered setup along with a rigorous experimental method, which are described in detail. Under specific pumping conditions, we experimentally confirmed zeros on selected spectral components of the small-signal resistance, meaning that stimulated low-frequency (LF) stationary current fluctuations resulted in no voltage fluctuations around the respective pump harmonics. We believe these findings may enhance the understanding of the process of upconversion of LF noise and provide new insights to circuit designers for obtaining operation conditions that optimize the relation between noise performance and energy consumption in circuits such as oscillators and mixers.