Analytical and experimental modeling of a push-pull self-oscillating mixer

The optical control of the distributed electronics in phased array antennas requires specialized circuits which are compatible with the T/R level data mixing architecture. This paper presents an analytical modeling of a novel circuit, a push-pull self-oscillating mixer, that can perform three important functions: 1) oscillation, 2) frequency and phase locking to a reference signal, and 3) mixing with the data signals. The expected and the measured results show that this proposed circuit performs these three functions efficiently in a low power consuming circuit. This concept was analyzed and experimentally demonstrated at 12 GHz by use of a MESFET pair with a measured conversion efficiency as high as 13dB. Efficient subharmonic injection locking was also demonstrated. This design can be easily extended to HEMT and HBT at higher frequencies.