Photonically-driven Schottky diode based 0.3 THz heterodyne receiver

Belio-Apaolaza, Iñigo; Seddon, James; Moro-Melgar, Diego; Indiran, Hanu; Graham, Christopher; Bałakier, Katarzyna; Cojocari, Oleg; Renaud, Cyril C.

doi:10.1364/oe.471102

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…These results are a significant improvement over state-of-the-art full photonic THz links mentioned in the introduction in terms of carrier frequency, single channel line rate and bandwidth. Compared to the data rates of more than 100 Gbit/s achieved with electronic receivers, which often feature conversion gains greater than -20 dB and IF bandwidths of more than 20 GHz [13], [23]- [25], our results are not yet competitive. However, electronic receivers suffer from lower carrier bandwidths so that the spectrum from 100 to 300 GHz could not be addressed with a single electronics-based device.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Optoelectronic Heterodyne THz Receiver for 100–300 GHz Communication Links

Deumer,

Stiewe,

Nellen

et al. 2024

IEEE Access

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Terahertz wireless communications is an increasingly interesting research topic due to the high demand for un-allocated channels and high data rates. Photonic solutions have shown great potential in this field. However, most photonics assisted THz links so far have employed optoelectronics only on the transmit side. Thus, the full potential of photonic THz communication has not been utilized yet. Here, we introduce optoelectronics also on the receive side by using a photoconductive antenna based heterodyne THz detector. This allows down-conversion of data signals from the W-, D-, and THz-band to the baseband using a laser beat signal as local oscillator. Using electromagnetic modeling, we designed passive radio frequency structures and a receiver package to handle high intermediate frequency output signals. In a homodyne spectroscopic setup, the receiver shows a frequency response superior to state-of-the-art photoconductive antennas due to an improved photoconductive material. In a heterodyne testbed, the receiver exhibits a large intermediate frequency bandwidth of 11 GHz and a conversion gain of -47 dB. This enabled us to employ the receiver in a fully photonic wireless link at sub-terahertz and terahertz frequencies together with a PIN photodiode emitter. We achieved error-free transmission of 4-QAM signals with gross data rates up to 12 Gbit/s at carrier frequencies up to 320 GHz. This work shows the huge potential of optoelectronic receivers for THz wireless communications and enables the exploration of full photonic THz links.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Optoelectronic Heterodyne THz Receiver for 100–300 GHz Communication Links

Deumer,

Stiewe,

Nellen

et al. 2024

IEEE Access

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“…The performance achieved in these experiments represents a breakthrough for fully optoelectronic links, thanks to the novel low-barrier Schottky mixer driven with the MUTC-PD. The conversion loss of the mixer, of the order of 15-20 dB [39], is far superior to the reported values for photoconductor-based receivers, being the minimum conversion at 300 GHz of the order of 30 dB [32], [34]. This figure, however, is typically higher, exceeding 60 dB in the highest data rate reported photoconductor-based receiver wireless THz link [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…On the receiver side, the key component is a novel subharmonic low-barrier Schottky mixer [39]. In contrast to conventional THz Schottky mixers which are based on GaAs conb.…”

Section: B Receiver Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative THz optoelectronic receiver solution that has been minimally investigated consists of driving an electronic Recently this type of terahertz optoelectronic receiver was demonstrated using a novel 300 GHz subharmonic InGaAs Schottky mixer driven with a photonic LO generated in a UTC-PD [39], [40]. Thanks to its low-barrier height the mixer can be driven directly with a single UTC-PD, heterodyning two lasers separated by the LO frequency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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180 Gbps Multi-Channel 300 GHz Communications Enabled by Photonically-Driven Low-Barrier Mixers

Belio-Apaolaza,

Martinez-Gil,

Tebart

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Wireless communications at 300 GHz are expected to play an important role in the deployment of 6G and beyond networks. Multiple electronic and photonic technologies compete in this regard, each bringing its own particular benefits. While purely optoelectronic links are interesting for incorporating photonic advantages in signal transmission and reception, electronic receivers typically based on Schottky mixers are far superior in conversion efficiency. Thus, the link signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is improved, and higher throughput can be achieved. Here, we demonstrate a fully optoelectronic 300 GHz band multi-channel link using a novel low-barrier Schottky mixer driven with a photonically generated local oscillator (LO) signal in the receiver using a modified uni-travelling-carrier photodiode (MUTC-PD). This combines the efficient down-conversion of Schottky-based mixers and the advantages of photonic LO signals such as tuneability, remote generation and distribution, and the reuse of coherent technology used in fibre networks. Up to three frequency channels are generated in the transmitter which is also based on a MUTC-PD photomixer, achieving a maximum aggregated line rate of 180 Gbps over 1.5 m under SD-FEC limit using 16-QAM format and optical intensity modulation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is an unprecedented data rate for fully optoelectronic terahertz communications.

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“…These InGaAs diodes have already been used in detectors for space applications, where high-demanding equipment is a requirement [21]. They have also been used in mixers for high-speed optical communications, exhibiting their usability in future 6G technology schemes [22], and demonstrating the maturity and reliability of this enhanced technology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency Assessment of Traditional GaAs and Low-Power InGaAs Schottky Diodes in Full-Band Mixers at 0.3 THz

Martinez Gil,

Moro-Melgar,

Negrus

et al. 2023

Electronics

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In this paper, we present and compare two different full-band WR3.4 Sub-Harmonic Mixers (SHMs), featuring traditional GaAs and the novel low-barrier InGaAs discrete diodes. In this study, an Active Multiplier Chain (AMC) is used as a Local Oscillator source, which provides peak powers beyond 20 mW. The GaAs mixer presents Single-Sideband (SSB) Conversion Loss (CL) of 10 dB and Double-Sideband (DSB) Noise Temperature (NT) of 3000 K across the entire RF and IF bands when an LO power of 6–10 mW is applied. The low-barrier mixer featuring the new and improved batch of InGaAs diodes performs SSB Conversion Loss of 15 dB and DSB Noise Temperature of 9000 K, using LO powers of 0.5 mW. In this work, a comparison of the CL and NT of both mixers is carried out, highlighting the excellent performances of GaAs diodes and the minimum LO power requirements needed by InGaAs counterparts, as well as future perspectives in InGaAs mixer performances. The mixers and diodes were fully designed, fabricated, and tested at ACST GmbH.

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Photonically-driven Schottky diode based 0.3 THz heterodyne receiver

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Optoelectronic Heterodyne THz Receiver for 100–300 GHz Communication Links

Optoelectronic Heterodyne THz Receiver for 100–300 GHz Communication Links

180 Gbps Multi-Channel 300 GHz Communications Enabled by Photonically-Driven Low-Barrier Mixers

Efficiency Assessment of Traditional GaAs and Low-Power InGaAs Schottky Diodes in Full-Band Mixers at 0.3 THz

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