Abstract
Negative differential resistance (NDR) is inherent in many electronic devices, in which, over a specific voltage range, the current decreases with increasing voltage. Semiconductor structures with NDR have several unique properties that stimulate the search for technological and circuitry solutions in developing new semiconductor devices and circuits experiencing NDR features. This study considers two-terminal NDR electronic circuits based on multiple-output current mirrors, such as cascode, Wilson, and improved Wilson, combined with a field-effect transistor. The undoubted advantages of the proposed electronic circuits are the linearity of the current-voltage characteristics in the NDR region and the ability to regulate the value of negative resistance by changing the number of mirrored current sources. We derive equations for each proposed circuit to calculate the NDR region’s total current and differential resistance. We consider applications of NDR circuits for designing microwave single frequency oscillators and voltage-controlled oscillators. The problem of choosing the optimal oscillator topology is examined. We show that the designed oscillators based on NDR circuits with Wilson and improved Wilson multiple-output current mirrors have high efficiency and extremely low phase noise. For a single frequency oscillator consuming 33.9 mW, the phase noise is −154.6 dBc/Hz at a 100 kHz offset from a 1.310 GHz carrier. The resulting figure of merit is −221.6 dBc/Hz. The implemented oscillator prototype confirms the theoretical achievements.
Highlights
Negative differential resistance is a property of nonlinear semiconductor devices or special electronic circuits
We have demonstrated new two-terminal Negative differential resistance (NDR) circuits based on a combination a field-effect transistor and multiple-output cascode, Wilson, andcircuits improved
The proposed circuits allow controlling the slope of the currentbination of a field-effect transistor and multiple-output cascode, Wilson, and im voltage characteristics in the NDR region by changing the number of mirrored currents, Wilson
Summary
Negative differential resistance is a property of nonlinear semiconductor devices or special electronic circuits. In oscillators, the PVCR determines the slope of the current-voltage characteristic in the NDR region, the value of the differential resistance at the operating point. The literature review (see Section 2) shows that it is impossible to control PVCR in the NDR circuits of most published studies. In studies where it is possible, the maximum current level lies in the nA or μA range. This study proposes new two-terminal NDR circuits that combine a field-effect transistor (FET) with a multiple-output cascode, Wilson, or improved Wilson current mirror (CM). We control PVCR by changing the number of mirrored currents. We consider the applications of the proposed NDR circuits for microwave oscillators and voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs).
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