Phase-noise reduction by self-injection locking in spatially extended tunnel-diode oscillator

摘要

A scheme is proposed for reducing phase noise in a spatially extended oscillator using tunnel-diode (TD) transmission line. It is observed that a voltage edge oscillates on a TD line when supplied by an appropriate DC voltage at the end. When the TD line is bypassed by a linear transmission line, part of the oscillating edge is inputted to and moves on the linear line to interact with the oscillating edge at the another crosspoint. The proper length of the linear line makes the bypassed voltage arrive at the crosspoint at the same time as the oscillating edge. It results in significant phase-noise reduction of the oscillating edge through self-injection locking. Herein, the principle of operation is described with its experimental validation.