An Innovative sub-mmWAVE/THz Noise Chip Using PIC Technology

Leveraging the recent breakthroughs in manufacturing of ultrafast photonics devices such as PIN-PD or UTC-PD, and in the drastic improvement in cost and performance of ASE, we propose to transform our commercial high ENR noise sources, currently operated under 110 GHz, into an integrated noise diode chip operating in sub-mmWave/THz.nbsp; The proposed noise diode chip is an ideal source to calibrate microwave components and systems in passive remote sensing. The proposed noise diode chip, fabricated using photonic integrated circuit technology, integrates an ASE source and an UTC-PD and can produce noise with ENRgt; 40 dB at 100 GHz or 15 dB at 1 THznbsp;nbsp; In phase I, we will build a simulation model and a benchtop prototype operating from 100GHz to 200GHz to demonstrate the proposed concept. The simulation will guide the design of the noise diode chip for development in Phase II. Success in this program will significantly reduce mission cost, size, weight, power and increase performance of future telecommunication and radar sensor in NASA applications.