9521521 Jones The millimeter- and submillimeter-wave range has long been of vital interest to radio astronomers and atmospheric scientists, and is becoming increasingly important for commercial applications such as automotive collision avoidance systems and surveillance radar. Unfortunately, the development of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave systems has been slow and costly. At present, the most serious challenge for millimeter- and submillimeter wave circuit designers is the realization of reliable, moderate power low noise and compact solid state sources. This proposal addresses these issues by focusing on the investigation of high performance Transferred Electron Oscillators for 100-300 Ghz. The goals of this three year research program are 1) Theoretical and experimental investigation of novel GaAs, InP, and GaN Stable Depletion Layer Transferred Electron Devices for improved 150-300 Ghz operation in second-harmonic cavities, 2) Advanced computer-aided design of Transferred Electron Devices and the associated second-harmonic oscillator cavities, and 3) Design, construction and testing of high reliability, digitally controlled, second-harmonic TEO systems. This project will involve a variety of research areas, including millimeter- wave solid state device theory, device fabrication, advanced computer-aided design of nonlinear circuits and oscillator system design. The research effort is an Academic-Industry collaboration under the Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) program. The University of Virginia researchers will work in close collaboration with J.E. Carlstrom Company, Litton Solid State, Santa Clara, CA. This GOALI program will enable collaboration with the two leading corporations selling advanced TEO systems. Future progress in the development of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave systems for scientific and commercial applications will depend critically on the availability of reliable and compact solid state sources, and implementation of this research program will be an important step toward this goal. ***
