CMOS-compatible 60 GHz Harmonic Optoelectronic Mixer

We present 60 GHz harmonic optoelectronic mixers based on Si avalanche photodetectors (APDs) fabricated by the standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The characteristics of APDs and harmonic optoelectronic mixers are investigated in order to optimize their performances. At the avalanche on-set voltage of APD, efficient harmonic optoelectronic mixing at 60 GHz band is obtained. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of applying harmonic optoelectronic mixers for fiber-supported millimeter-wave communication systems, down-link data transmission of 5 MS/s, 32 quadrature modulation (QAM) signals in 60 GHz band is successfully performed.