Bias Stabilization of Negative Differential Conductance Oscillators Operated in Pulsed Mode

The paper reports on the bias stabilization of a 60-GHz resonant-tunneling diode (RTD)-based oscillator operated in pulsed mode. The oscillator contains an on-chip stabilizing capacitor, enabling the minimum dc consumption possible for such an RTD oscillator to be obtained, since all of the dc current is consumed by the active device. This is achieved without imposing restraints on the output power or introducing parasitic oscillations in the bias network. The oscillator that was constructed produces short 75-ps wavelets at 60 GHz, at an energy consumption of 1.3 pJ, during generation of a pulse. Experimental, simulated, and analytical results are presented for demonstrating how this mode of operation can be utilized in negative differential conductance oscillators.