180-GHz I-Q Second Harmonic Resistive Mixer MMIC

An indium phosphide MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) mixer was developed, processed, and tested in the NGC 35-nm-gate-length HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) process. The MMIC mixers were tested and assembled in the miniature MMIC receiver module described in “Miniature Low-Noise G-Band I-Q Receiver” (NPO-47442), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 34, No. 11 (November 2010), p. 45. This innovation is very compact in size and operates with very low LO power. Because it is a resistive mixer, this innovation does not require DC power. This is an enabling technology for the miniature receiver modules for the GeoSTAR instrument, which is the only viable option for the NRC decadal study mission PATH.