Monolithic integration of a 94 GHz AlGaAs/GaAs 2DEG mixer on quartz substrate by epitaxial lift-off

Abstract

We report the integration of an AlGaAs/GaAs two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) bolometric mixer and a quartz based microstrip circuit using the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique. The predicted potential performance of the 2DEG mixer at about 1 THz is T/sub M,DSB//spl ap/2,000K, which is competitive with the best data for Schottky diode mixers. The 2DEG mixer fabrication procedure demonstrated here is advantageous for its simplicity and uncritical choice of substrate. The active area dimensions are large (tens of pm) and uncritical, while integrated Schottky fabrication requires much more stringent consideration of size and parasitic effects.