Mutual phase-locking of planar nano-oscillators.

Characteristics of phase-locking between Gunn effect-based planar nano-oscillators are studied using an ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) method. Directly connecting two oscillators in close proximity, e.g. with a channel distance of 200 nm, only results in incoherent oscillations. In order to achieve in-phase oscillations, additional considerations must be taken into account. Two coupling paths are shown to exist between oscillators. One coupling path results in synchronization and the other results in anti-phase locking. The coupling strength through these two paths can be adjusted by changing the connections between oscillators. When two identical oscillators are in the anti-phase locking regime, fundamental components of oscillations are cancelled. The resulting output consists of purely second harmonic oscillations with a frequency of about 0.66 THz. This type of second harmonic generation is desired for higher frequency applications since no additional filter system is required. This transient phase-locking process is further analyzed using Adler's theory. The locking range is extracted, and a criterion for the channel length difference required for realizing phased arrays is obtained. This work should aid in designing nanooscillator arrays for high power applications and developing directional transmitters for wireless communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]