Design and optimization at the highest frequency of a heterodyne receiver at 1.2 THz for the JUICE-SWI instrument

The design, fabrication and testing of a frequency heterodyne receiver at 1.2 THz has been developed by Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matiere en Astrophysique et Atmospheres (LERMA) and it is the foundation of this dissertation. The studies, analysis and results presented in this manuscript have been carried out within the framework of the JUpiter ICe moon Explorer (JUICE) mission. JUICE is one of the proposed missions in the agenda of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. The objective of the JUICE satellite mission is to study the Jovian system, especially the Jupiter atmosphere properties and the surface characteristics of its icy moons. Scientific equipment consisting of ten state-of-the-art instruments and one experiment comprise the payload of this satellite. The development of a 1.2 THz channel is part of the Submillimeter Wave Instrument (SWI) devoted to recovering the spectroscopy data of the Jupiter atmosphere and icy-moons’ surface composition. The scientific principle for this receiver is all-solid-state semiconductor technology based in GaAs Planar Schottky Barrier Diodes (PSBDs). The achievement of a 1.2 THz channel based in PSBDs totally developed by European partners was the major challenge proposed for SWI, with LERMA committed to this assignment. The required ultra-scaling of the Schottky anode size of PSBDs in the attainment of the THz range has been achieved in collaboration with Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures (LPN) using e-beam photolithography in the fabrication of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMIC). An important part of this dissertation addresses the appearance of additional physical phenomena when ultrascaling solid-state PSBDs. Particularly, the modification of the electrical resistivity and capacitance of SBDs due to two-dimensional phenomena has been studied by means of a physical microscopic Two-Dimensional Monte Carlo (2D-MC) simulator, in collaboration with the University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain. As discussed within this manuscript, the accurate characterization of the diode capacitance is one of the critical points when opening a frequency window in the required frequency range of a THz application. A misunderstanding of this modified capacitance during the design of these devices can lead to a considerable offset in the frequency range of the experimental module. However, the accurate modeling of PSBDs in such high frequency applications is only a part of the expertise required for the successful completion of this challenge. The accurate and meticulous analysis of the interrelationship between the electromagnetic behavior of the MMIC chip and the physical behavior of the integrated PSBDs is the main challenge faced in this dissertation for the development of the 1.2 THz receiver. This task has been addressed using the commercial Ansys High Frequency Simulation/Structure Software (Ansys-HFSS) and the Keysight Advance Design System (Keysight-ADS). The combination of the three-dimensional electromagnetic characterization of the chip structure (obtained with HFSS) with the non-linear electrical circuit simulation (carried out by ADS) of diodes is the current methodology for the design of these modules. The analytical electrical model of PSBDs required by ADS software has been defined by this author in agreement with the results obtained with the 2D-MC simulator. The implementation of this approach in the design and optimization of the different stages of the accomplished 1.2 THz receiver is the main subject of this dissertation. The interaction between the physical model of the PSBDs and the electromagnetic modeling of the structure will be discussed within the different chapters of this dissertation. Finally, the mechanical engineering of these applications must be addressed in this discussion.