Measurements of V-band n-type InSb junction circulators

A V-band n-type indium antimonide (InSb) junction circulator supported in a three-port finline structure has been fabricated and measured. Broad-band operation for a semiconductor junction circulator over the frequency range 50-75 GHz at a temperature of 77 K has been demonstrated for the first time. With an applied magnetic flux density of 0.88 T, approximately 10 dB of differential isolation has been measured over the entire waveguide frequency band. The measured results also indicate that circulation is possible when the semiconductor material has (epsilon)/sub eff/<0. In principle, broader bandwidths are predicted since frequency tracking can be achieved from (epsilon)/sub eff/<0 to (epsilon)/sub eff/>0, but the bandwidths of the circulators measured are restricted by the cutoff frequency of the V-band waveguide. Experimental evidence also showed that a disc or triangular-shaped semiconductor suspended in an E-plane junction without the finline circuit provides circulation. The experimental results clearly illustrate the broad-band behavior of semiconductor junction circulators for operation beyond 40 GHz, which is difficult to achieve with ferrite-based circulators.