All-Solid-State 2.45-to-2.78-THz Source

Sources in the THz range are required in order for NASA to implement heterodyne instruments in this frequency range. The source that has been demonstrated here will be used for an instrument on the SOFIA platform as well as for upcoming astrophysics missions. There are currently no electronic sources in the 2–3-THz frequency range. An electronically tunable compact source in this frequency range is needed for lab spectroscopy as well as for compact space-deployable heterodyne receivers. This solution for obtaining useful power levels in the 2–3-THz range is based on utilizing power-combined multiplier stages. Utilizing power combining, the input power can be distributed between different multiplier chips and then recombined after the frequency multiplication.