Wideband photonic millimeter-wave synthesizer using a high-power pin waveguide photodiode

We present a frequency-tunable photonic millimeter-wave synthesizer based upon optical heterodyning. The photonic synthesizer consists of a wavelength-tunable two-mode laser set-up, a high-power pin photodetector and a millimeter-wave (W-band) limiting amplifier. The key component of the synthesizer is the high-power waveguide pin photodiode featuring a WR10 waveguide output port. The photodiode exhibits a flat frequency response in the W-band and provides millimeter-wave output power levels up to −4.88dBm. The developed photonic synthesizer can be continuously tuned over the entire W-band from 69–112GHz and within that frequency range it offers an extremely flat response with power fluctuations below 3dB. The synthesizer’s total frequency-tunability is 50GHz and its output power can be linearly adjusted from about −35dBm to OdBm.