A Theoretical Study of Nanoelectromechanical Quantum Tunneling Frequency Multipliers

Abstract:
Frequency multipliers (FMs) are ubiquitous signal processing circuits in communication systems. Traditionally, this circuit is based on exploiting the nonlinearities found in semiconductor devices, for example, bipolar junction transistors and Schottky diodes. We explore an FM concept based on the coexistence of spring, electrostatic, and Casimir forces, and tunneling. In particular, we provide, for the first time, a theoretical analysis of a nanoelectromechanical quantum tunneling FM. The physics behind the nature of the frequency multiplication mechanism will be elucidated, together with a discussion of circuit modeling, applications and limitations. SPICE simulations are presented.