Active Microstrip Antenna with a Gunn Diode

Continuous electromagnetic emission from a Gunn diode built in a microstrip log-periodic antenna in the frequency range from 25 to 60 GHz is studied experimentally. The microstrip antenna was located on an insulating substrate with a thickness of about a quarter of the wavelength and with a metallized back side. It is shown that the output radiation power of such an antenna reaches 5 mW, which is over 50% of the power received from similar diodes in the waveguide cavity. The oscillation regime was varied from single-mode to noise-like, depending on the dielectric thickness and could be synchronized by external emission. Such a quasi-optical structure based on a Gunn diode is convenient for summing up powers from individual oscillators in an open resonator and is of great interest for the terahertz frequency band.