On Injection-Locking Figure of Merit for Avalanche, Gunn, and Other Oscillators

Injection-locking figure of merit has been derived for a negative-resistance oscillator in terms of the frequency compliance coefficient. A method of estimating this under small-injected-signal conditions for any device operating in any mode and a given circuit is described. The method requires the knowledge of the device impedance evaluated either from a large-signal analysis or experimentally and a proper description of the microwave circuit. A practical case of a Gunn-effect device operating in the quenched-domain mode has been described for illustration.