Diamond Heat-Spreader for Submillimeter-Wave Frequency Multipliers

The planar GaAs Shottky diode frequency multiplier is a critical technology for the local oscillator (LO) for submillimeter-wave heterodyne receivers due to low mass, tenability, long lifetime, and room-temperature operation. The use of a W-band (75–100 GHz) power amplifier followed by a frequency multiplier is the most common for submillimeter-wave sources. Its greatest challenge is to provide enough input power to the LO for instruments onboard future planetary missions.