On the Prospects for Millimetre Wave Analogue Phase Locked Frequency Division via Bifurcation to Chaos in Non-Linear Systems

In a system which is sufficiently non-linear there is frequently a route to chaos involving successive period doublings in the response to a sinusoidal drive, as the amplitude of the drive is increased in relation to the non-linearity. Examples are described, and proposals to exploit this process at millimetre wavelengths for the provision of phase locked frequency division are presented. Various systems are considered, and it is suggested that a diode having charge storage time of 10 picoseconds an injection voltage of about a volt, and a charge storage capacity of about l0^5 electrons would provide an ideal device to divide a 50GHz signal at a power level of around l0mW. For modulated signals with l00MHz carriers, phase locked division is demonstrated in which the amplitude and frequency excursions of a carrier are faithfully followed at speeds representing a fractional bandwidth of at least 10%.