A Millimeter Wave Quantum Well Diode Oscillator

Experimental results concerning both the DC characteristics and the performance of Quantum Well (QW) diodes as oscillators are given. Two diodes have been manufactured and used in the work where the main difference between them is the doping profile outside the double barrier structure. I-V curves are presented to demonstrate the importance of these design parameters. Also presented are state of the art results for QW oscillators: 84 μW at 77 K and 60 μW at room temperature for a 90 GHz oscillator and 1 μW at 176 GHz also at room temperature.