Unified Integration Space of Multi-FET Active Frequency Multiplier and Multiport Antenna

Abstract

This letter presents the integration of multiple active devices output port directly with the antenna for simultaneous active frequency multiplication and radiation. This eliminates the circuitry losses at the multiplied output frequency, which points to a significant advantage of the proposed unified integration space in addition to size reduction. Furthermore, active devices are configured in parallel to enhance the power handling capability of this unified module. Initially, the rectangular patch antenna is analyzed and presented as a potential design space for simultaneously accomplishing efficient radiation, output matching, and fundamental frequency suppression. Subsequently, a procedure to achieve the circuit–antenna unification is described through a prototype operating as a 14–28 GHz frequency doubler using two paralleled transistors. The fabricated prototype realizes the maximum conversion gain of 9 dB and fundamental frequency suppression of 14 dB from measurements.