Silicon Based Diode Noise Source Scaling For Noise Measurement Up To 325 GHz

In this article, we investigate the use of silicon-based diode for millimeter-wave noise generation. A test bench setup was characterized to perform broadband noise measurements up to 325 GHz. A noise receiver is assembled and its Noise Figure (NF) was extracted using cryogenic Hot/Cold measurements. A unitravelling carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) is used as a noise source and the Excess Noise Ratio (ENR) is extracted using the Y-method. The latter was used as a reference for 300 GHz noise generation. The ENR value of the UTC-PD is then compared to that of a silicon based integrated diode noise source, where the ENR value was also extracted using the same receiver structure, to evaluate the integrated diode performance up to 325 GHz where it will be used to carry out noise measurements up to this frequency range.

I. Introduction

THE rapid progress in the industry of silicon technologies, make it possible to achieve new applications in the millimeter wave and sub-terahertz frequency range. Such systems are constructed using active devices such as MOS or Bipolar transistors, which are now fabricated to have high cutoff frequencies. In order to develop and better design such systems, accurate models of such transistors are used. These models are tested using high frequency measurements including small signal, large signal, and noise characterization.