Nonlinear design of multiple-cavity switchable dielectric-resonator oscillators

The application of nonlinear CAD techniques to the design of multiple-cavity dielectric-resonator oscillators is demonstrated. The circuit topology consists of an FET oscillator which can be coupled to one of several dielectric resonators by means of a diode switching network. The circuit is numerically designed as a whole making use of a novel broadband optimisation technique especially devised for autonomous nonlinear circuits. At each fundamental frequency of interest the steady state of oscillation is determined by harmonic-balance analysis and at the same time the oscillator is tuned to the prescribed frequency by changing a parameter of the corresponding resonator. The electrical performance is simultaneously specified at all the fundamentals, and the optimisation is carried out with respect to the circuit parameters of the frequency-invariant part of the network.