Development and design of a phase-locked loop in the subterahertz and terahertz ranges for a harmonic of the signal of a centimeter-wave synthesizer

We describe a phase-locked loop of a backward-wave oscillator in the range 667–857 GHz for the 34th–45th harmonic of the reference signal of a centimeter-wave synthesizer. Multiplication of the reference-synthesizer frequency in the phase-locked loop is performed by using a subharmonic mixer based on semiconductor superlattices. The mixer, operated at room temperature, has a nonlinear electron conductance.