Mapping of electromagnetic waves generated by free-running self-oscillating devices

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics and Applied Physics
• Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Engineering
• Integrated Circuit (IC) Design and Fabrication

Background:

• Near-field mapping is vital for antenna characterization in the microwave range.
• Conventional methods fail for on-chip antennas in millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and terahertz (THz) frequencies.
• On-chip antennas are critical for future wireless communication systems operating at higher frequencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a new asynchronous mapping technique for on-chip antenna characterization.
• To enable spatial distribution measurements of electric field amplitude and phase.
• To overcome limitations of conventional methods for mm-wave and THz devices.

Main Methods:

• Development of a photonic-electronic hybrid measurement system.
• Implementation of an asynchronous mapping technique for field measurement.
• Utilizing free-running, self-oscillating generators (e.g., CMOS oscillators, Gunn oscillators).

Main Results:

• Simultaneous achievement of wide frequency coverage and minimal measurement invasiveness.
• Demonstration of phase distribution measurements with theoretically-limited sensitivity.
• Successful mapping of a 77 GHz mm-wave field from a Gunn oscillator.

Conclusions:

• The proposed technique is suitable for characterizing on-chip antennas in mm-wave and THz ranges.
• Near-to-far field transformation was successfully demonstrated for antenna characterization.
• This advancement facilitates the development of next-generation wireless communication technologies.