Low Spurious, Broadband Frequency Translator Using Left-Handed Nonlinear Transmission Line

In this letter, we present a frequency translator based on a left-handed nonlinear transmission line (LH NLTL). The proposed LH NLTL can achieve a very linear phase variation as a function of applied dc bias for a broadband frequency that facilitates a low spurious, broadband frequency translation. Our experiment demonstrates that the LH NLTL enables frequency shift with 30 dB maximum spurious suppression. For any frequency between 3 and 3.8 GHz, it was possible to achieve 100 KHz-1 MHz frequency shift while the range of spurious suppression is between 21 and 30 dB. Because of its compactness and possibility of low-cost monolithic fabrication, this circuit will be very useful for microwave instrumentation, or a coherent communication system where single sideband modulation is required.