Electrically Tunable Diode-Based Nonlinear Transmission Line

Diode-based nonlinear transmission lines(D-NLTLs) are capable of generating pulsed radio frequency(RF) signals with center frequency (f(c)) in the ones-of-GHz rangeand volumetric power densities (rho(v)) on the single GW/cm3.However, the use of monopolar excitation signals limits the fc range and incurs impedance losses that reduce rho(v). To mitigate this issue, a direct current (dc) bias was used to create an effective bipolar input, reducing impedance losses, resulting in a 37% increase in f(c) and a 4x improvement in rho(v) compared to the unbiased case. Observed increases infcand rho vare attributed to a 2.67x increase in voltage amplitude measured after the connection between the pulsed source and D-NLTL over that of a monopolar pulse, which is attributed to increased diode saturation. Additionally, the effects of a dc bias on network impedance are demonstrated through electrical tuning off cover a range of 160-260 MHz with monopolar excitation signals. Overall, results indicate a dc bias can enable f(c) modulation, increase f(c) and rho(v) range and ceiling, and reduce impedance losses in a D-NLTL network.