A millimeter-wave CPW-fed twin slot/infrared dipole antenna coupled Ni-NiO-Ni diode

Abstract

Millimeter-wave (mmW) imaging systems offer a good complement to infrared (IR) imaging systems. High resolution IR systems suffer high attenuation in cloudy and foggy atmospheres, while mmW systems penetrate through clouds and fog offering an excellent all-weather imaging system. In our application, we aim at integrating both mmW and IR detection capabilities in one sensor and thus combining the advantages of high resolution and all-weather detection capabilities. Antenna-coupled metal-oxide-metal (MOM) diodes have been used in the past for detection and mixing in the IR and mmW portions of the spectrum. A MOM diode with low enough junction capacitance, corresponding to a small enough junction area, to rectify IR radiation will also rectify mmW radiation, thus is a good candidate for this application. CPW-fed twin slots were successfully coupled to Schottky diodes and SIS mixers for detection in the mmW region. Dipole antennas were also successfully coupled to MOM diodes for detection at 10.6 /spl mu/m. In this paper we integrate both types of antenna and report on a Ni-NiO-Ni diode coupled to a dipole antenna for 28 THz response and a CPW-fed twin slot antenna for 94 GHz response.