Limitations of the back-to-back barrier-intrinsic-n/sup +/ (BIN) diode frequency tripler

Problems of the back-to-back GaAs barrier-intrinsic-n/sup +/ (BIN) diode frequency tripler concept along with the associated device physics are presented. The back-to-back GaAs BIN diode structure was originally proposed to have an intrinsic cutoff frequency close to 1 THz and to be a highly efficient millimeter-wave frequency tripler. Frequency limitations will be discussed to explain the failure of the back-to-back GaAs BIN diode as a millimeter-wavelength device. Optimization is also carried out to explore the possibility of improving the high-frequency performance by modifying the BIN diode structure.<
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