Low Spurious, Broadband Frequency Translator Using Left-Handed Nonlinear Transmission Line

In this letter, we present a frequency translator based on a left-handed nonlinear transmission line (LH NLTL). The proposed LH NLTL can achieve a very linear phase variation as a function of applied dc bias for a broadband frequency that facilitates a low spurious, broadband frequency translation. Our experiment demonstrates that the LH NLTL enables frequency shift with 30 dB maximum spurious suppression. For any frequency between 3 and 3.8 GHz, it was possible to achieve 100 KHz—1 MHz frequency shift while the range of spurious suppression is between 21 and 30 dB. Because of its compactness and possibility of low-cost monolithic fabrication, this circuit will be very useful for microwave instrumentation, or a coherent communication system where single sideband modulation is required.