Effect of losses in varactor-diode impedance measurements

An analysis is made of several possible sources of loss which can lead to a degradation in the specification of the Q factor of the semiconductor region of a varactor diode. These sources may arise either within the diode cartridge or in the measuring system. The effects are illustrated in relation to a hypothetical diode having a cutoff frequency of about 40 Gc/s, and it is shown that care must be taken in interpreting data obtained experimentally on real diodes. Some representative experimental data are presented.