AN INVESTIGATION OF THE AMPLIFICATION OF FREQUENCY MODULATED MICROWAVE SIGNALS BY INJECTION LOCKED GUNN-EFFECT OSCILLATORS.

Although it has been known for many years that under the proper conditions an oscillator can lock to and follow an external signal of much smaller amplitude, this phenomena has not had widespread usage. The development of negative resistance solid state oscillator diodes, such as the Gunn diode, has brought about renewed interest in the locked oscillator, however. The locking characteristics of an X-Band Gunn-effect oscillator have been investigated. The theory of injection locking is discussed and the experimental work performed is described. Amplifier performance of 20 db gain with 40 MHz bandwidth and 30 db gain with 13 MHz bandwidth is reported. The advantages of the locked Gunn-effect oscillator as an amplifier for frequency modulated signals are its minimal power supply requirements, small size, low weight, and simplicity. (Author)