Publication Date
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Elliott Brown (Advisor), Jason Deibel (Committee Member), Yan Zhuang (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr)
Abstract
One of the challenges in developing semiconductor devices and integrated circuits for the terahertz (THz) region is their electrical characterization. The most common technology for their characterization is presently metal-to-metal, DC-coupled contact probes, which operate up to 750 GHz but are expensive and fragile.
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In this Master's Thesis, we investigate through numerical simulation and analysis the electromagnetic properties of a novel, AC-coupled probe. The new probe couples radiation from the device or circuit-under-test (DUT) via polarization current, which is then transformed to conduction current in the probe and down-converted in frequency to baseband by an optically-pumped photomixer. Finite-element simulations using High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) yield an optimum narrowband designs for probing devices and circuits in coplanar waveguide (CPW), with DUT-to-photomixer coupling efficiencies between -10 and -20 dB between 300 and 600 GHz. A broadband designs shows promising performance up to 1300 GHz in an operating band of 1000 GHz.
Page Count
89
Department or Program
Department of Electrical Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2013
Copyright
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
