Cooled Schottky varactor frequency multipliers at submillimeter wavelengths

The efficiency of a Schottky varactor frequency multiplier at submillimeter wavelengths can be increased by cooling the diode. The increased mobility of the free carriers causes the series resistance to decrease, and the efficiency can increase as much as a few dB at low input power levels. At high output frequencies and at high power levels the efficiency of the multiplication is decreased by the current saturation, because the junction capacitance cannot be pumped effectively. When the diode is cooled, the maximum current of the diode increases and much more output power can be expected. There are also slight changes in the I-V characteristic and in the diode junction capacitance, but they have a negligible effect on the efficiency of the multiplier. The theoretical maximum output power near 1 THz is calculated to increase by about 10 dB from 50μW to 500μW, when the multiplier chain is cooled to 77 K. However, considerable improvement in the efficiency can be achieved by cooling to 150 K, which is easily attained in space by passive cooling