JP2005333227A - Circuit with n-type negative resistive element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a circuit with an N-type negative resistive element free from degradation of oscillation efficiency and capable of obtaining large output power without providing another external signal source. <P>SOLUTION: N-type negative resistive elements 11 and 12 are connected in series, and a resonance circuit consisting of an inductor 13 and a capacitor 14 is connected at a connection between the N-type resistive elements 11 and 12, thereby suppressing spurious oscillation. Since, as a result, the area of the N-type negative resistive elements 11 and 12 such as a resonance tunnel diode can be enlarged, the oscillation efficiency does not degrade and large output power can be obtained without providing another external signal source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element that constitutes an oscillation circuit, an amplification circuit, a frequency division circuit, or a signal generation circuit that oscillates at an ultrahigh frequency.

  As an application of the negative resistance element, the oscillator is the most important one, and there have been many reports from the past (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional example of a circuit having a negative resistance element. This circuit includes a DC power supply 1, an inductor 2, a capacitor 3, an N-type negative resistance element 4, and a load 5 arranged in parallel thereto.

  An N-type negative resistance element 4 such as a resonant tunneling diode or an Esaki diode has an N-type negative resistance as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the vertical axis represents current and the horizontal axis represents voltage.

  In FIG. 1, when a bias is applied to the N-type negative resistance element 4, a minute fluctuation is amplified and oscillation starts. At this time, the energy consumption by the load 5 is supplemented by the N-type negative resistance element 4 and the vibration is sustained. Therefore, the amplitude is determined from the condition that the N-type negative resistance element 4 averaged by the oscillation amplitude matches the load resistance. The oscillation frequency at this time is the resonance frequency of the LC parallel resonance circuit.

  The circuit of FIG. 1 has a simple configuration and can oscillate at a very high frequency in combination with the high speed of the element itself. In particular, it is known that when a resonant tunnel element is used as the N-type negative resistance element 4, it is possible to oscillate at a very high frequency, and oscillation at 712 GHz has already been reported. Such an oscillation frequency is the largest oscillation by a solid element, and shows one end of the function of the resonant tunnel element. Furthermore, recently, dynamic frequency dividers, amplifiers, chaos generation circuits, signal generation circuits, and the like using this type of oscillator have been proposed.

  The conventional example of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element has a disadvantage that the output power is limited to a small value. Such inconvenience results from the fact that negative resistance exists from direct current, unlike a circuit that uses transistors to create negative resistance. In order to give a direct current bias to the diode, a parasitic inductance or capacitance component is inevitably generated, which is combined with a negative resistance, and low-frequency spurious oscillation is likely to occur.

  In order to suppress such oscillation, it is necessary to make the absolute value of negative conductance small (or make the absolute value of negative resistance large). Since this conductance is proportional to the area of the element, the condition relating to the conductance inevitably limits the area of the element that can be used to a small value, and thus limits its output power. Such a limitation is particularly serious in a resonant tunneling diode with a large negative conductance.

As a method for solving the inconvenience that the output power is limited, a method of inserting a lossy line and a method of connecting a Schottky diode in series have been proposed. However, in these methods, the oscillation efficiency is reduced due to the loss. There is an inconvenience. As a method of solving the inconvenience that the output power is limited without reducing the oscillation efficiency due to loss, a method of connecting two negative resistance elements in series and supplying an RF signal from the outside has also been proposed. (For example, see Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3).
Yoshifumi Amemiya, “For those who learn electronic circuits”, Ohm, p132 Satoshi Fujii, “Basic Characteristics of Series-Connected Resonant Tunneling Diode Oscillators”, IEICE Tech., EMCJ98-52, MW98-91, pp.21-27, Oct.1998 Heribert Eisele, “Conventional and Novel Approaches to RF Power Generation with Two-Terminal Devices at Terahertz Frequencies”, THENTH IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TERAHERTZ ELECTRONICS, CAMBRIDGE, UK, SEPT. 9-10, 2002

  However, in a method in which two negative resistance elements are connected in series and an RF signal is supplied from outside to oscillate, it is necessary to provide a signal source for generating an RF signal outside.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element capable of obtaining a large output power without lowering the oscillation efficiency and without providing another signal source outside.

According to the present invention, a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element is
A first N-type negative resistance element having a first terminal to which a positive voltage is applied and a second terminal;
A second terminal having a first terminal connected to a second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and a second terminal to which a negative voltage having the same magnitude as the positive voltage is applied or grounded; An N-type negative resistance element;
A circuit portion having at least a resonance circuit, and connecting the resonance circuit to a connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element; It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element is connected to the first terminal of the second N-type negative resistance element, that is, the first and second N-type negative characteristics. By connecting the resistance elements in series and connecting a resonance circuit to the connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element, spurious oscillation is generated. It is suppressed. As a result, the areas of the first and second N-type negative resistance elements such as the resonant tunneling diode can be increased, so that the oscillation efficiency is not lowered and no other signal source is provided outside. A large output power can be obtained.

  The resonant circuit can be configured by, for example, a parallel resonant circuit or a transmission line including an inductor and a capacitor. Further, the connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element is short-circuited to the ground at a low frequency, thereby connecting the connection portion. Is grounded in a direct current manner, thereby making it difficult for low-frequency spurious oscillation to occur. Such a short circuit with the ground is performed by a resonance circuit or the like. Furthermore, the circuit unit may further include a load. When the circuit section further includes a matching circuit, the maximum output power corresponding to the areas of the first and second N-type negative resistance elements can be obtained.

  Since the circuit unit further includes a voltage-controlled capacitance element, the capacitance can be changed according to the applied voltage, and therefore the oscillation frequency can be selected to an arbitrary value. As a result, it becomes easy to obtain a large output power.

  The circuit unit is connected to a third N-type negative resistance element having a first terminal to which a positive voltage is applied and a second terminal, and a second terminal of the third N-type negative resistance element. A fourth N-type negative resistance element having a first terminal and a second terminal to which a negative voltage having the same magnitude as the positive voltage is applied or grounded; and the third N-type negative resistance A resonance circuit connected to a connection portion between the second terminal of the resistance element and the first element of the fourth N-type negative resistance element; the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element; A connection portion between the N-type negative resistance element and the first element; a connection portion between the second terminal of the third N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the fourth N-type negative resistance element; And connecting means for connecting the first and second N-type negative resistance elements to be smaller than the areas of the first and second N-type negative resistance elements. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the low-frequency oscillation by an external bias circuit, since the oscillation without giving special trigger occurs, it is possible to obtain a large output power without special trigger.

  When the circuit unit further includes an input terminal, an active bandpass filter, a narrowband amplifier, or a dynamic frequency divider having a large output power can be configured. In addition, since the circuit unit further includes a control unit that periodically resets to a predetermined initial condition, various signal patterns can be obtained with a large output power. Furthermore, since the circuit unit further includes an identifier for digitizing the output, a digital signal can be obtained with a large output power.

An embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit functions as an oscillation circuit and includes N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12, an inductor 13, and a capacitor 14. As the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12, a resonant tunnel diode, an Esaki diode, or the like is used.

  A positive voltage + Vb is applied to the first terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 11, and the second terminal is connected to the first terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 12. A negative voltage −Vb is applied to the second terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 12. The magnitude of the positive voltage + Vb is equal to the magnitude of the negative voltage −Vb. One end of the inductor 13 is connected to one end of the capacitor 14, and the other end of the inductor 13 and the other end of the capacitor 14 are grounded. A connection point between the inductor 13 and the capacitor 14 is connected to a connection point between the N-type negative resistance element 11 and the N-type negative resistance element 12. The inductor 13 and the capacitor 14 constitute an LC resonance circuit. The connection point between the second terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 11 and the first terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 12 is low-frequency grounded by the LC resonance circuit formed by the inductor 13 and the capacitor 14. Short circuit. As a result, the connecting portion is grounded in a DC manner, and low-frequency spurious oscillation is less likely to occur.

  4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining current-voltage characteristics at a connection point between the N-type negative resistance element 11 and the N-type negative resistance element 12, and As well as taking current, the horizontal axis takes voltage. When the magnitude of the voltage Vb is slightly smaller than the valley voltage of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12, the circuit of FIG. 1 has a negative resistance when the input voltage is near 0 (see FIG. 4A). The negative resistance value itself can also be controlled by the voltage applied to the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12 connected in series.

  Further, when the magnitude of the voltage Vb is near the valley voltage of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the input voltage of the circuit of FIG. It is possible to create a current-voltage characteristic in which the resistance becomes infinite and the resistance becomes negative when the input voltage is further increased.

  Further, when the magnitude of the voltage Vb is sufficiently larger than the valley voltage of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the input voltage of the circuit of FIG. A current-voltage characteristic having a resistance value and having a negative resistance when the input voltage is further increased can be created.

  In these states, the system is DC stable. That is, even if an inductor or a capacitor exists outside the first terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 11 and the second terminal of the N-type negative resistance element 12, this circuit does not cause spurious oscillation. Therefore, the areas of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12 can be increased, so that the oscillation efficiency is not lowered and a large output power can be obtained without providing another signal source outside. Become.

  In this case, if the input voltage of the circuit has a positive resistance near 0, it is necessary to add some fluctuations to start vibration. Such fluctuations are caused by, for example, superimposing a pulse on the external voltage. Can be easily obtained.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 21 and 22, an inductor 23, a capacitor 24, and a load 25. The circuit shown in FIG. 5 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that one end of the load 25 is connected to the connection point of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12 and the other end of the load 25 is grounded. Have As the load 25, a general impedance can be used in addition to a resistor.

  In this case, the current-voltage characteristic of the series circuit of the N-type negative resistance elements 21 and 22 is obtained by adding the current-voltage characteristic of the load 25 to the current-voltage characteristic in the first embodiment. Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the input voltage of the circuit is stable in a direct current near 0 and becomes a negative resistance outside the direct current circuit, so that oscillation is possible. Further, the fluctuation for starting oscillation can be given by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 31, 32, an inductor 33, a capacitor 34, a load 35, and a matching circuit 36. The circuit shown in FIG. 6 has the same configuration as that of the second embodiment except that a matching circuit 36 is arranged between one end of the load 25 and the connection point of the N-type negative resistance elements 11 and 12. . As a result, the maximum output and efficiency for the load 25 can be obtained, and the maximum output power corresponding to the areas of the N-type negative resistance elements 31 and 32 can be obtained.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 41 and 42, a transmission line 43, a load 44, and a matching circuit 45. In this case, although the resonance circuit is comprised by the transmission line 43, the operation principle is the same as the 1st-3rd embodiment.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a fifth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 51 and 52, a pn junction diode 53, an inductor 54, a load 55, and a matching circuit 56. The pn junction diode 53 has a characteristic that the capacitance can be changed by a voltage applied to both ends thereof. Therefore, in the circuit shown in FIG. 8, the capacitance value can be changed by the bias current applied to the capacitance.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a sixth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 61 and 62, an inductor 63, a capacitor 64, a load 65, a matching circuit 66, N-type negative resistance elements 67 and 68, an inductor 69, and a capacitor. 70, 71. In this case, the circuit shown in FIG. 3 and the circuit shown in FIG. 6 are connected in cascade, and the area of the N-type negative resistance elements 67 and 68 is made smaller than the area of the N-type negative resistance elements 61 and 62. Low frequency oscillation by an external bias circuit (not shown) is prevented.

  Therefore, the N-type negative resistance elements 67 and 68 can be biased so as to have a negative resistance even when the input voltage is close to 0, and oscillation occurs even if a special trigger is not applied. As a result, the area of the N-type negative resistance elements 61 and 62 is made larger than the area of the N-type negative resistance elements 67 and 68, and a positive value is obtained near 0 of the input voltage so that low frequency oscillation does not occur. Even if a bias is applied so that a resistance is generated, the oscillation circuit composed of the inductor 63 and the capacitor 64 oscillates by the outputs from the N-type negative resistance elements 67 and 68. That is, by using the structure shown in FIG. 9, a large output power can be obtained without a special trigger.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a seventh embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 81 and 82, an inductor 83, a capacitor 84, a load 85, matching circuits 86 and 87, and an input terminal 88. By providing the input terminal 88 in this way, the circuit shown in FIG. 10 operates as an active bandpass filter or a narrowband amplifier.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an eighth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 91 and 92, an inductor 93, a capacitor 94, a load 95, a matching circuit 96, and an input terminal 97.

  In the present embodiment, the bias voltage of the N-type negative resistance elements 91 and 92 is made larger than the valley voltage, a sufficiently wide positive resistance region is formed near 0 of the input voltage, and self-oscillation is prevented and the input terminal A high frequency signal is input to 97.

  At this time, the circuit shown in FIG. 11 causes a period-double branching phenomenon due to strong non-linearity, and a signal having a frequency that is 1 / integer of the input frequency is output. That is, the circuit shown in FIG. 11 operates as a dynamic frequency divider. The circuit shown in FIG. 11 can also be used to generate a chaos signal. Further, a matching circuit may be provided on the input side.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a ninth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 101 and 102, an inductor 103, a capacitor 104, a load 105, a matching circuit 106, a pass transistor 107, and an input terminal 108.

  The circuit shown in FIG. 12 has the same configuration as that of the eighth embodiment except that a control circuit that periodically resets the system state is incorporated. In the present embodiment, a control circuit that uses an output node of a chaos generator connected to an external power source (not shown) through a pass transistor 107 is used.

  Traditionally, chaos has been regarded as a random and uncontrollable phenomenon, but its behavior is a deterministic system following an equation. The reason chaos is unpredictable is that small differences in initial conditions diverge exponentially with time. Therefore, it becomes possible to predict the behavior of chaos by limiting the time.

  Further, since chaos can be regarded as a signal source including an infinite waveform / signal pattern, various signals can be extracted by controlling this. In this embodiment, an external power source (not shown) is connected to the output node through the pass transistor 107, and the circuit is reset to a desired initial condition by periodically turning it on. The reset interval is determined by an error included in the initial condition at the time of reset. That is, the reset interval is set to such a short time that the error included in the initial condition does not affect the output.

  At this time, the signal pattern output by the system can be selected according to the timing of the voltage Vctrl of the external power supply and the reset voltage Vreset. Since the chaos includes various signals, the circuit shown in FIG. 12 can output various signal patterns.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a tenth embodiment of a circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to the present invention. This circuit includes N-type negative resistance elements 111 and 112, an inductor 113, a capacitor 114, a discriminator 115, a pass transistor 116, and an input terminal 117.

  In this embodiment, a discriminator 116 is provided on the output side, and the output is digitized. As a result, the circuit shown in FIG. 13 operates as a pulse pattern generator. The pulse pattern is selected according to the voltage supplied to the reset circuit (not shown) and the reset timing. When the reset circuit is not operated, the circuit shown in FIG. 13 outputs a random pulse.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and many changes and modifications can be made.
For example, a resonance circuit other than the resonance circuit described in the first to tenth embodiments can be used as the resonance circuit. In the first to tenth embodiments, two N-type negative resistance elements connected in series by applying a positive voltage and a negative voltage to both ends of the two N-type negative resistance elements connected in series. The connection point is 0V in terms of DC, but one end of two N-type negative resistance elements connected in series is grounded, and a positive voltage is applied to the other end so that the DC voltage at the connection point is The position may be ½ of the applied voltage. Furthermore, in the first to tenth embodiments, the case where the short circuit with the low frequency ground is performed by the resonance circuit has been described. However, the short circuit with the low frequency ground can be performed by other means (for example, two N-types). The first terminal of the inductor is connected to the connection point of the negative resistance element, the first terminal of the capacitor is connected to the second terminal of the inductor, and the second terminal of the capacitor is grounded).

  In the fifth embodiment, another voltage-controlled capacitive element such as a Schottky diode can be used instead of the pn junction diode. Furthermore, in the sixth embodiment, a connection using a capacitor is performed, but a connection using a resistor or an inductance or direct bonding can also be performed.

  Application to communications, radar, measurement, etc. using low voltage, low power consumption and high efficiency ultra-high frequency oscillation circuit, amplifier circuit, frequency divider circuit and signal generator circuit.

It is a figure which shows the prior art example of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element. It is a figure which shows the current-voltage characteristic of an N-type negative resistance element. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the circuit which has an N-type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the current-voltage characteristic in the connection point between the 1st N type negative resistance element and the 2nd N type negative resistance element in the circuit of FIG. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the circuit which has an N-type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 4th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 5th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 6th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 7th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 8th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 9th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention. It is a figure which shows 10th Embodiment of the circuit which has an N type negative resistance element by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 DC power supply 2, 13, 23, 33, 54, 63, 69, 83, 93, 103, 113 Inductor 3, 14, 24, 34, 64, 70, 71, 84, 94, 104, 114 Capacitor 4, 11 , 12, 21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 67, 68, 81, 82, 91, 92, 101, 102, 111, 112 N-type negative resistance element 5, 25, 35, 44, 55, 65, 85, 95, 105 Load 36, 45, 56, 66, 86, 87, 96, 106 Matching circuit 43 Transmission line 53 Pn junction diode 88, 97, 108, 117 Input terminal 107 , 116 Pass transistor 115 Discriminator + Vb Positive voltage −Vb Negative voltage Vctrl External power supply voltage Vreset Reset voltage

Claims (10)

A first N-type negative resistance element having a first terminal to which a positive voltage is applied and a second terminal;
A second terminal having a first terminal connected to a second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and a second terminal to which a negative voltage having the same magnitude as the positive voltage is applied or grounded; An N-type negative resistance element;
A circuit portion having at least a resonance circuit, and connecting the resonance circuit to a connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element; A circuit having an N-type negative resistance element.   2. The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to claim 1, wherein the resonance circuit is constituted by a parallel resonance circuit or a transmission line including an inductor and a capacitor.   The connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element is short-circuited to the ground at a low frequency. Item 3. A circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to Item 1 or 2.   4. The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to claim 1, wherein the circuit unit further includes a load. 5.   The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the circuit unit further includes a matching circuit.   The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the circuit unit further includes a voltage-controlled capacitive element. The circuit section is
A third N-type negative resistance element having a first terminal to which a positive voltage is applied and a second terminal;
A fourth terminal having a first terminal connected to the second terminal of the third N-type negative resistance element, and a second terminal to which a negative voltage having the same magnitude as the positive voltage is applied or grounded An N-type negative resistance element;
A resonance circuit connected to a connection portion between the second terminal of the third N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the fourth N-type negative resistance element;
A connection portion between the second terminal of the first N-type negative resistance element and the first element of the second N-type negative resistance element; the second terminal of the third N-type negative resistance element; Connection means for connecting a connection portion between the fourth N-type negative resistance element and the first element;
7. The area of the third and fourth N-type negative resistance elements is smaller than the area of the first and second N-type negative resistance elements. A circuit comprising the N-type negative resistance element according to any one of the above.   The N according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the circuit unit further includes an input terminal and constitutes an active bandpass filter, a narrowband amplifier, or a dynamic frequency divider. A circuit having a negative resistance element.   The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the circuit unit further includes a control unit that periodically resets the circuit unit to a predetermined initial condition. .   The circuit having an N-type negative resistance element according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the circuit unit further includes an identifier for digitizing an output.

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