Diode grids for electronic beam steering and frequency multiplication

Loading a grid with diodes offers the possibility of two-dimensional control of millimeter waves that is analogous to holography and nonlinear optics. These grids are attractive because they are suitable for monolithic integration with gallium-arsenide Schottky diodes and for high-power operation. Here we present grid designs for electronic beam-steering and harmonic generation. The beam-steering grid is a programmable reflector, where the diode bias controls the phase shift of the reflection. The variation of the phase across the grating sets the direction of the reflected beam. The reflection loss in computer simulations is 3dB at 90GHz. The harmonic-generating grid acts as a nonlinear reactive surface, where the nonlinear capacitance of the diodes produces the harmonic frequencies. Quasioptical filters select the desired harmonic. Computer simulations predict that a 65GHz-to-130GHz doubler would have an output power of 0.56W/cm² and a conversion efficiency of 35%.