Trigger waves in an oscillator loop and their applications in voltage‐controlled oscillation with high tuning gain

Abstract

SummaryTrigger waves, propagating in a loop of a one‐dimensional lattice of tunnel‐diode (TD) oscillators, can be effectively applied to voltage‐controlled oscillation with high tuning gain. The lattice under investigation can generate both phase and trigger waves by varying the bias voltage to the TD. We demonstrate a voltage‐controlled oscillator (VCO) achieving high tuning gain through the utilization of rotating trigger waves. As the loop size decreases, the trigger wave becomes bound to itself or to adjacent waves. At this point, the excitation motion of the individual lattice cell is constrained by the global interaction caused by the trigger wave(s), leading to coherent behavior. Consequently, the bifurcation curve of the trigger wave seamlessly connects to that of the phase wave with changes in the TD bias voltage. Owing to the trigger wave's property of significantly increasing velocity with the TD bias voltage, a VCO with very high tuning gain can be developed, leveraging the seamless dependence of the oscillation frequency on the TD bias voltage.