PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER DESI GN

A THESIS

Present ed in Parti al Fulfillment of the Requi reme nt s

for the degree of Master of Science in the Graduate
School of the Ohio State Univers ity

By

WILLIAM • ROBERTSON,
,, B. E. E.

The Ohio State Univers i ty

1959

Approv ed by:

Adv ·ser
Department of
Electri cal Engineering
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION 1

A. NOISE SOURCES l

B. NOISE FIGURE AND EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE 2

C. THE PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER 4

D. NONLiCNEAR DIODE CAPACITORS 8

CHAPTER Ii - EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF THE

PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER 12

CHAPTER ID: - DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 19

CHAPTER IV - CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL

PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER 22

CHAPTER V - MEASUREMENTS 29

A. POWER GAIN 29

B. BANDWIDTH 30

C. NOISE FIGURE 30

CHAPTER VI - CONCLUSIONS 35

CHAPTER vn - APPENDIX 36

THE THREE TANK PARAMETRIC

AMPLIFIER 36

B!:BLIOGRAPHY 43

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 44
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. NOISE SOURCES

The minimum usable signal for any radio receiver is determined

by the noise at the receiver output terminals. This noise arises from

the following sources: ( 1) thermal noise and tube noise generated

within the receiver, ( 2) thermal noise generated by the resistance

that the antenna presents to the receiver input terminals, ( 3) sky

noise, ( 4) thermal noise from ground objects that are within the

pattern of the receiving antenna, and ( 5) thermal noise generated

in the losses of the feedline between the antenna and the receiver.

Due to the high gains in the intermediate frequency stages of

a superhetrodyne receiver, the principle contributors of noise are

the radio frequency amplifier and the mixer stage. As the signal

frequency is increased in the UHF region the background noise

received by the antenna decreases while the noise generated in the

vacuum tube radio frequency amplifier rapidly increases. Above

approximately 1000 me Is the noise generated by the radio frequency

amplifier becomes so great that the amplifier is usually discarded

and the antenna is connected directly to the crystal mixer stage.

Two recently developed solid-state radio frequency amplifiers, the

rraser and the parametric amplifier, have made it possible to design

1
very low-noise receivers in the UHF and microwave regions of the

spectrum.

B. NOISE FIGURE AND EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE

The amount of noise generated within an amplifier is usually

specified by a figure of merit called noise figure which is defined

by

where S 0 /N 0 is the ratio of signal power to noise power at the out-

put terminals and Si/Ni is the ratio of signal power to noise power

at the input terminals. If the amplifier introduces no noise, the

noise figure is unity or expressed in decibels, the noise figure is

zero db.

The rms noise voltage generated by a resistor is given by

z
EN = 4kTRB
-23
( 1. 37 x 10 watt-sec)
where k = Boltzman' s constant
K

T = temperature of the resistor, (OK)

R = resistance, (ohms)

B = frequency bandwidth, (cycles/ sec.)

The noise power generated by a resistor, which is independent of the

value of the resistance, is given by

N = 4kTB.

2
 A more convenient measure of amplifier noise is given by the

effect:~ve temperature in degrees Kelvin, which is defined by

(output noise originaEng in the ampl.'£er)

k • B • (Power gain of the ampl'Jier)

The relat.".onsh:i.p between noise figure and equivalent temperature is

g'.ven by

-2:
Te
F=l+--
290

where 290 ::s taken as room temperature in degrees Kelvin.

The advantage of using effective temperature is that the total

noise temperature at a point in a circuit may be found by simply

adding the effective temperatures of the various noise sources.

Thus, the total effective temperature at the input terminals of a

rece:Lver may be found by adding an effective antenna temperature

which includes feed-line losses, to the temperature of the :teceiver.

The noise temperature at the input terminals of a receiver due to the

no~se generated in the second stage of the receiver may be found by

d:~.'.':~ding the noise temperature of the second stage by the ga:i.n of the

first stageo Figure 1 shows the relationship between effec:t~ve and

nolse figure. Noise figures for various types of receivers are also

shown.

3
 10,000

~Mony
l!S
c: 14
> 13
<II 5000 existing rodors ond
:Ii:::
4000 12 microwave radio relays
VI 3000 II
<II 10
....
Cl)

9
OI
Cl)
l!SOO 8
0
7
VI
o-3 kmc to 9 kmc IN21E and IN23E
Cl) 1000 crystal super heterodyne with 1.5 db 1-F
.... 6 Qi
::J .L:l
~-500 me
+- !S ·-
c
.... (.)
triodes, low-noise traveling-
Cl) 4 Cl) wove tube(3kmc), 500mc IN21E
a. 400 0
E 300 3 ~
- Parametric Amplifiers, SHF
Cl)
I- ....
Cl)

200 ::J
Cl) 2 OI
> 150 ii:
+-

~-Parametric
-
w
(.)
<II
......
z
Cl)
VI
0
Amplifiers, UHF
30 me triodes

0.5
0.4
~- Porometric Amplifiers, VHF
0.3

0.2 ~-Mo sers,o 11 m icrowove frequencies

Parametric Amplifiers, I MC
0.1

Fig. 1. Conversion between effective temperature and noise

figure. Also shown are typical noise figures for various
types of receivers ( 1958 values).

4
C. THE PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER

Figure 2. illustrates the operation of a parametric am.plifier. If

the plates of the capacitor are instanteneously pulled apart as the

voltage across the tuned circuit goes through its maximum value, work

is done on the system. The charge on the capacitor can not change

instantaneously because this requires infinite current to flow

( i = clQ/ dt). Since the charge is equal to the product of the \·oltage

and the capacitance and the capacity is dee reased, the \-oltage nmst

4
 L
time~
c

Fig. 2.

increase. Now, if the plates are returned to their original position

when the voltage goes through zero, no work is done and the voltage

across the capacitor remains zero. Thus, a signal at the resonant

frequency of the tuned circuit is amplified if the plates of the ca-

pacitor are continually pulled apart and pushed together at a 1re -

quency which is exactly twice the signal frequency. The phase

relationship must also be maintained for the circuit to amplify. If

the phase is reversed the device becomes an attenuator. The phase

requirement is usually a disadvantage except for use in doppler radar

and single sideband receivers.

The phase and frequency requirements can be overcome by using

a two tank amplifier. The second resonant circuit, which is called

the idler tank, stores the ener,~y supplied by the capacitor variations.

In the circuit shown in Fig. 3, the signal tank and the idler tank are

connected by a nonlinear capacitor which is varied at a third frequency

5
 C = F (fp)

f I·

f5 = Signal Frequency

fp = Pump Frequency

f i :. Id le r Frequency

Fig. 3. Two-tank parametric amplifier.

called the pump frequency. The tank circuits might also be con-

nected by a nonlinear inductor. At the present time no practical

nonlinear inductor has been developed. The pump frequency cor-

responds to the frequency at which the capacitor plates were varied

in Fig. 2. The presence of the idler tank introduces another degree

of freedom which removes the phase and double frequency reqmre-

rrents. Energy is supplied to the circuit by the capacitance vari-

ation causing both the signal and idler frequencies to be amplified.

Analysis of the equivalent circuit, which is carried out in Chapter II,

demonstrates how amplification takes place without the double fre-

quency and phase requirements.

6
 When a signal is coupled out at the idler frequency the device is

called an up-converter. The idler frequency may be above or below

the pump frequency. Although the up-converter with the idler fre-
2
quency above the pump frequency ( fi = fs + fp) has the advantage of

being a stable amplifier with any level of pump power, it has a maxi-
-4
f.
rrum gain equal to ..::J._. When the pump frequency is above the idler
fs
; l'
frequency ( fp = fi + fs) and the output is taken from either the sig-

nal tank or the idler tank, the amplifier will oscillate if the pump is

increased to a sufficient level. In practice, gains between 40 and

50 db can be obtained before oscillation begins.

The up-converters suffer two disadvantages. First, any fre-

quency instabilities in the pump generator appear in the output

frequency. Secondly, since the stage following the parametric

amplifier must operate at a higher frequency than the signal fre-

quency, there is a problem in obtaining a reasonably low noise fig-

ure in the second stage so that it does not degrade the noise figure of

the receiver. Usually the idler frequency must be converted down to

a reasonable intermediate frequency. This conversion further com-

plicates the receiver.

In the straight-through parametric amplifier, in which the output

is taken from the signal tank, the input frequency is preserved. It

2
has been shown that this type of parametric amplifier has the lowest

noise figure of any configuration.

7
 When the pump frequtncy is exactly twice the signal frequency,

the amplifier is said to operate in a degenerate mode. Since the

- l
i.dler and signal frequencies are equal ( fp = fs + f 1) , noise enters

the amplifier by two channels while the signal enters by only one,

the minimum noise figure for the degenerate mode is always greater

than it is for any other choice of pump frequency.

3
D. NONLINEAR DIODE CAPACITORS

At the present time the only practical nonlinear current element

~·.s available for UHF and microwave parametric amplifiers is the PN

junction diode. Any PN junction has a nonlinear charge-voltage char-

acteristic, which is all that is required to make a parametric ampli-

fier. However, to obtain a low noise figure the diode must be designed

to minimize high frequency losses.

The P side of the junction has a large hole density, and the N side

has a large electron density. A narrow region at the junction which

ls practically free of holes and elec:t'rons is known as the depletion

region. In the depletion region, charge is separated by a dielectric;

therefore it acts as a capacitor. The capacitance of the junction is

approximately equal to that of a parallel plate capacitor made with a

rraterial with the same dielectric constant as silicon and with the same

thickness as the depletion region. The thickness of the depletion

regfon depends upon ·the voltage which is applied to the junction.

8
Hence, the capacitance is a function of the applied voltage. Figure 4

shows a typical capacitance vs voltage curve for a PN junction. The

10

-::t.
::t.
8

7
Rs
6
-=
QI
l.>
5 ~
-
c:
0

l.> 4
0
Q.
0
u 3

-s -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
Voltage

Fig. 4. Typical capacitance vs. voltage curve

for a reverse biased P-N junction and
an approximate equivalent circuit.

equation of the capacitance curve is approximated by

co
C(V) = 3~----
---
--JI - V/K

where K is a constant with a value between O. 3 and O. 4.

An approximate equivalent circuit for a reverse biased PN junc -

tion is also shown in Fig. 4. Rs, the spreading resistance, deter-

mines the upper frequency limit for the device because as the

9
frequency is increased, the capacitive reactance dee reases and the

current flowing through Rs must increase to maintain the same

voltage across G( V). For a given voltage across the capacitor the

input power increases as the square of the frequency.

Manufacturers use a figure of merit called the cut-off frequency

which is defined by

1
fc =-------
Z'll'RsGmin

lvfa.ximum Q at any frequency, which is also used as a figure of merit,

is then given by

Qmax = fc /f •

Currently available diodes have values of fc as high as 70 kmc/ s,

values of Rs less than 4 ohms and values of G . equal to about

mln

o. 5 µµf. G . is determined by the maximum peak-inverse voltage

min

that can be applied to the diode, which is usually about 7 volts.

When the diode is used in parametric amplifier, a de source may

be used as bias so that the operating point on the voltage-capacity

characteristic curve may be selected. An alternative method of

operation is the use of self bias which does not require a de path in

the circuit. This results in circuit simplifications since no radio

frequency chokes are required to isolate the pump and bias circuits.

10
 The pump must never drive the diode into the conduction region

nor exceed the peak inverse voltage because the resulting de current

will cause a large amount of noise to be generated.

11
 CHAPTER II
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF THE PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER

This section concerns itself with the derivation of the equations

for power gain, bandwidth and gain-bandwidth product of the straight-

through type of parametric amplifier. These equations, which were

2
originally derived by Heffner and Wade, show how stability, band-

width and noise figure may be optimized by proper choice of load

impedance, Q of the idler tank and idler frequency. The equivalent

circuit of the parametric amplifier is shown in Fig. 5.

If the Q's of the tank circuits are sufficiently high so that the

tanks act as short circuits at frequencies different from their reso-

nant frequencies, the voltages across the resonant circuits may be

written as

where

• ,!,. • t
V(wz) = V2(w2t+cj>z) = Re{-jV 2 eJ"' 2 eJWz}

where wz ~ '22.

The voltage across the capacitor, Cc, is

12
 b

il 1 = Resonant Frequency Of Signal Tonk

fl2 = Resonant Frequency Of Idler Tonk

= Signal Frequency

W2 = Idler Frequency

GTI = Tota I Conductance Of Signal Tank

G12 = Toto I Conductance Of Idler Tonk

G1 = Conductance Of Signal Tonk

Load Conductance Due To Following Stage

Go = Generator Conductance

Fig. 5. Equivalent circuit of the two-tank amplifier.

13
 If the right-hand plate of Cc is assumed to be at a higher potential

than the left-hand plate, the current flowing to the right may be

written as

ic = - d~ ( Cc V c) •

When this expression is expanded and all terms not containing ( w 3 -w 1 )

and ( w 3 -w 2 ) are discarded, the two components of current that cause

voltage drops across the two tank circuits may be written as

The effective admittance to the right of points a and b at w1 is

given by

Y(wi) =

-j( w1C 3 I 2) V 2 ej( <l> 3 -<j>z)

=
j VI ej<j>l

w1C3V2 ej(<j>3-<j>z-<l>1)
= 2V 1

Now, a relationship between V 1 and V 2 must be found. The admittance

of the idler tank may be written as

14
 1 ) ic ( wz)
Y z = GT +j ( wz C z - - - = -
z \ w2 L2 V ( w2 )

wzC3
= --"'--""- V1 ej(<fi3-cj>z-<\>1)
2 Vz

so

By taking the complex conjugate of this expression and substituting

it into the expression for Y( w 1 ) , the following relationship is ob-

tained

Gg
c,

Fig. 6. Equivalent circuit of the parametric amplifier.

Let Q 1 equal the loaded Q of tank 1 and Q 2 equal the loaded Q of

tank 2. Define w by

15
and o by

8 = !::,.w/O..
Then

w2 = '0.2 - !::,.w

and the admittance of the idling circuit becomes

Y2 = GT 2 ( 1 - j 26 n:
n
02 ]

and

The equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 7. With the gain defined as

ratio of the power dissipated in the load conductance to the available

power from the generator, the power gain is given by

power gain =

When w1 ~ 0. 1 the power gain is given by

16
 G lz
-[1+[20a g; ]
2
2
] j

'g -G

Fig. 7. Equivalent circuit at resonance.

The three db fractional bandwidth may be found by setting the off-

resonance power gain equal to one -half the power gain at resonance.

For high gains the half-power fractional bandwidth is given by

Since ( GT - G) is related to the square root of the power gain,

1

the gain-bandwidth product can be written as

1
2
(power gain)i (fractional bandwidth) = ZS:Lz ( GgGL)
01S"2zGT 1 +S"21QzG

17
Usually the Q of the idler tank is much higher than the Q of the sig-

nal tank so that

and the gain-bandwidth product may be written as

1

(power gain)t (~ractional bandwidth) = -E:L_( GiGL )z

0201\ G2

For high gain

and the gain-bandwidth product becomes

1
(power gain)z( fractional bandwidth)~ _.£L_
0201 •
2
In the literature it has been shown that the noise figure for a two

tank amplifier may be written as

G, Gw1
F =1 + ~
Gg
+ - - +higher order terms.
Ggw2

Since Gg >> G 1 and G ~ Gg if the load conductance is very large,, the

noise figure is given approximately by

F = l +~
W2

18
 CHAPTER Ill
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Parametric amplifiers can be designed to operate from about

10, 000 mc/s down to audio frequenc~es. Diodes have not been

developed for use above 10, 000 me/ s. Since vacuum-tube ampl:i.-

Eers can be designed to operate with very low noise figures up to

about 200 me / s, there is little justification in using a parametric:

amp:i.:.fier below this frequency if cost is a consideration.

The equations for noise figure and gain-bandwidth show that a

rrax:!.mum gain-bandwidth product and minimum noise figure occur

when the frequency of the idler and the pump generator are made as

large as possible. A good choice for the pump frequency appears to

be about l 0, 000 me Is when the availability of high frequency gener-

ators w::th sufgcient power output is considered. Another consider-

atlon is the cutoff frequency of available diode capacitors. It has

been found in practice that the frequency stability of the pump gen-

erator must be about l % for the amplifier to function properly. A

klystron, such as a Varian X-13, is capable of fulfilling these re-

quirements and may be used as a pump source.

The ga:Ln equation shows the amplifier will oscillate when the

denominator equals zero. Therefore, to obta:tn maximum gain with

2.0~d stabUity Gg and GL must be made as large as possible. If a

19
high gain is obtained by making ( GT - G) approach zero, small
1

~chanical or electrical chances in the circuit may actually make

( GT -G) equal zero which will cause the circuit to oscillate. The
1

amplifier should be built so that all parts are mechanically rigid.

A tuning device such as a line stretcher or a three stub tuner may

be used between the amplifier and receiver to increase the value of

the load conductance.

Circuit analysis of the equivalent circuit has shown that the

gai.n bandwidth product is a constant which is given approximately

by

(power gain)i( fractional bandwidth) - ~

-Ozf1

where

f 2 = idler frequency

f 1 = signal frequency

0 2 =0 of the idler tank.

Curves of this equation appear in Fig. 8 where power gain and

bandwidth are the variables and Oz is a parameter. The idler fre-

quency was chosen as 10, 000 me/ s because this frequency is about

the upper frequency limit of diodes at the present time. These

curves may be used at other idler frequencies if the ordinate is

-4
nultipl:i.ed by fz x 10 •

20
 f2
fl f =
0 2 (Power Goin) T
f2 = 10,000 Mc/s

VI
....... 14
u
~
I
-
.£:
"'O
~
12

"'O
c
0
CD

Power Goin -db

Fig. 8. Gain vs. bandwidth characteristic of a parametric amplifier.

21
 CHAPTER IV
CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL
PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER

It was decided to construct a single cavity type amplifier, which

was first successfully operated by Microwave Associates, Inc. This

type of construction was chosen because of the mechanical simplicity

of the single cavity and because published noise figures were lowest

for this type of amplifier. Also, it appeared that almost any of the

available signal generators could be used for a pump source. Al-

though this amplifier has only one resonant cavity, it is a two tank

amplifier. The higher order modes are used for the idler tank. Only

one tuning adjustment is required to tune both the signal and idler

tanks, but the pump frequency must be tunable to maintain the correct

relationship between the three frequencies ( fp = fi + fs).

The cavity is a coaxial type with the center conductor shorter

than the outer conductor so that a tuning adjustment may be employed.

Such a cavity has a very large turi.ing range. The diameter has little

effect on the resonant frequency and it may have any convenient value

which will allow the diode and other parts to be placed inside. The

length of the cavity is about 1I4 wavelength at the highest signal fre-

quency.

Two center conductors, having lengths of one and two incnes, were

constructed. A large tuning range is available with the long conductor,

22
Fig. 9. Experimental parametric amplifier.

23
while the amplifier with the short r.enter conductor in place has a

slow tuning rate and a small tuning range near 1000 me Is which

is the frequency at which the amplifier will be used. Calibration

curves of the cavity with the diode in place appear in Figs. 11 and

12.
Micrometer
Tuner

Diode
Capacitor

About
~""'-3"
4 ".J

coupling
Capacitor

Input~--....
1000 me
...
Output
IOOOmc

Fig. 1 O. Gross section of the parametric amplifier.

The cavity was constructed from 3 inch brass tubing and two

brass end plates. The center conductors were made from brass rod.

Big N type coaxial fittings were used for the three terminals, all parts

being silver plated to maximize the Q. The tuning adjustment, which

utilizes a micrometer head to provide calibration and mechanical

rigidity, was placed at the top of the cavity to maximize the tuning

range.

24
 The coupEng capacitor is actually the capacity due to the spacing

between the coaxial fitting and the diode capacitor. It was found that

t:h:i.s spaclng is very critical. If the spacing is made small, the in-

sert::on loss of the cavity becomes very large. If the spacing is made

large, the required pump power becomes very large. Considerable

experimenting is required to find the optimum position for the diode

wh~.ch changes with large changes in pump frequency. Both the

M.crowave Associates• type MA460E and the Hughes type HPA2810

diodes were used with equal success. Both diodes have a cutoff

frequency of 70 kmc/ s.

The amplifier will operate over a range of input signals in excess

of 100 db with no apparent overload. Since a severe overload will

cause the amplifier to be detuned, it can withstand very high power

levels at the signal frequency without destruction of the diode. This

is advantageous when the amplifier is operated near a high powered

transmitter.

n was found that almost any frequency which is near an odd in-

tegral multiple of signal frequency may be used for the pump. For

example, with the signal at 700 me/ s, pump frequencies from about

2200 me Is to 12, 000 me/ s were used. A Varian X-13 klystron in a

temperature controlled oil bath made a stable pump source, although

the :nit::al tuning was difficult because of frequency pulling. This

25
was due to the fact that most of the available power from the X-13 is

requ:!,red to operate the amplifier so that only a small amount of at-

tenua•,!on may be used for isolation.

Tuning a parametric amplifier is a difficult and time consuming

task due to the positive feedback used in the system. There is con-

siderable interaction between the cavity tuning, pump tuning and pump

power level. For this reason a Hewlett-Packard 616-A signal gen-

erator which has a calibrated attenuator and frequency dial was used

for the pump while measurements were made. The time required to

change frequency is considerably less with the 616-A generator than

w:i.th the X-13 klystron.

26
 1.0 --- -

0.9
!
0.8
7
I
0.7
J
Cl
c
"O
0.6 -
!
--
I
I
0
Cl>
a::
0.5
I
I
.....
Cl>
,._
Cl>
I
E )
e oA
/
0

)
0.3

0.2
//
/

0.1
~ / !
I

0 I
600 700 800 900
F re q uenc y - M c/s

Fig. 11. Frequency calibration curve (long center conductor).

27
 1.0

0.9

j
0.8

0.7 I
C'I
c 0.6 I
I
i:J
0
Q,)
a:::
.... 0.5

/'
Q,)
+-
Q,)

E
0
u
"""0.4

)
I
v
0.3

0.2

0. I
v
/ v
0
~V
940 980 1020 1060
Frequency -Mc/s

Fig. 12. Frequency calibration curve (short center conductor).

28
 CHAPTER V
MEASUREMENTS

A. POWER GAIN

The equipment used to measure the power gain of the amplifier

is shown in Fig. 13. Gain was measured by setting the calibrated

Hewlett
Packard
610-B - Parametric Tuner
-- APR - 4 - VTVM
Signal Amplifier Receiver
Generator

''

Hewlett
Packard
616-A
Generator

Fig. 13.

attenuator of the 61 OB signal generator for the same receiver output

level with the parametric arnplifier in the circuit and removed from

the circuit. The difference between these two readings is the power

gain. The tuner was readjusted each tirn.e to assure a matched con-

dition. Power gain was controlled by the power output level of the

pump generator. Tuning difficulties become much greater and

stability becon1es much worse at high gains. Gains up to 4) db have

been measured before the amplifier broke into oscillations. It appears

29
 /

that gains between 20 and 30 db may be utilized with a reasonable

degree of stability.

B. BANDWIDTH

Bandwidth was measured with the same equipment used to meas -

ure power gain. The amplifier was tuned for some particular values

of gain and signal frequency. The attenuation of the input signal was

then reduced 3 db and the frequency tuning dial of the 610-B signal

generator was adjusted to find two new frequencies at which the out-

put level was returned to its original value. The output level of the

610-B signal generator, indicated by a panel meter, remained con-

stant during the frequency changes. The difference between these

two new frequencies was taken as the half-power bandwidth.

It appears that there is no direct method of measuring the loaded

Q of the idler circuit because it is connected to the external signal

circuits through the coupling links. Therefore the measured values

of bandwidth can not be compared with calculated values. However,

comparison of the theoretical and measured curves shows the same

general form.

C. NOISE FIGURE

There are two methods available for measuring noise figure:

The signal generator method and the noise generator method. The

noise generator method has the advantage of being simple and

30
 Signal Frequency 700 Meis
Pump Frequency 1950Mc!S

2
en
'
u
:?:
I

-
.i=

~
3:
"O
c
0
ID

Power Goin-db

Fig. 14. Gain vs. bandwidth.

producing more repeatable results. However, the results from such

measurements may easily be misunderstood. For example, when the

noise figure of a radar set is measured, there are two channels

through which the wide -band noise generator injects signals since

there is no image rejection in such a receiver. Such a measure -

rrent will indicate a noise figure which is 3 db lower than the actual

noise figure.

The noise figure of a parametric amplifier is even more difficult

to measure by this method because noise enters the system at not

only the image frequency but also at the idler frequency. It appears

31
that these effects may not have been taken into account in some of the

noise figure measurements reported in the literature. The signal

generator method was used to evaluate the noise figure of the ex-

perimental single -cavity amplifier. Noise figure is defined by

Nout
F =-- •

If a calibrated signal generator is used to provide an input signal

that just doubles the output power, so that Sout = Nout• the noise

figure may be written as

N.ln •

Sin can be evaluated if the input voltage and the input impedance are

known. The input noise power, Nin can be evaluated from the

equation

Nin= 4kTB.

The bandwidth in the above equation is not the bandwidth between

the half-power points; rather, it is an equivalent rectangular band-

width. A Collins 51J4 receiver was used for the IF amplifier because

it uses mechanical filters which to a good approximation have a rec-

tangular band-pass.

32
 The input voltage was obtained from the calibrated attenuator

wh:'..ch is part of the 610-B signal generator. Since the parametric

ampEf:~er has a 50 ohm input impedance, the inp-i.:i.t power is easily

calculated.

The input voltage required to give a 3 db signal to noise ratio

was measured with and without the parametric amplifier connected

in the circuit. The gain of the parametric amplifier was measured

at a sufficiently high sign3.l level so that noise did not affect the

:rreasurement.

The noise temperature of the receiver was divided by the power

ga~_n of the parametric amplifier. This quotient was subtracted from

the measured noise temperature with the amplifier in the circuit.

This yields the noise temperature of the parametric amplifier.

Typical values of noise figure are 23 db without the amplifier and

12. 7 db wJ.th the parametric amplifier. With a power gain of 15 db

the noise figure of the parametric amplifier is about 5 db for these

values. Noise figures between 3 and 5 db consistantly measured.

The theoretical minimum noise figure at th~.s idler frequency :s

1. 7 db. Comparison between this value and measured values of 3 to

5 db shows discrepancies which may easily be explained by the ac -

curacy of the equipment used for the measurement and the noise

contr.fouted by the spreading resistance of the diode.

33
 Hewlett -----
Packard General
700mc 700~
610-B s Parametric 700 .!!!£.
s Three s Radio
Stub
~.

Sig. Gen. And 1------~ Amplifier - fff4-Mr

Calibrated Tuner Mixer
Attenuator
1 I

2080~ 30.!!f
730~c

Hewlett RME Three

Packard Stub
Preamplifier
Tuner
616-A
Signal
1'1
Generator
30mc 730~c
s

Collins General
Radio Radio
RCA - 1209-A
V.T.V.M. 51J4
Receiver Oscillator

Fig. 15. Block diagram of equipment used for

noise figure measurements.

34
 CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS

A regenerative parametric amplifier may be designed with suf-

ficient stability to be used with gains up to 20 or 30 db in applications

where its operation is continuously monitored. However, for mili-

tary and commercial applications it appears that the traveling wave

type of parametric amplifier shows more promise with its increased

stability and very large bandwidth.

35
 CHAPTER Vil
APPENDIX

THE THREE TANK PARAMETRIC AMPLIFIER

It has been reported in the literature that a third tank circuit

tuned to the upper idler frequency may be used to stabilize a negative

resistance parametric amplifier. The following analysis shows the

third tank circuit merely adds a positive conductance across the

signal tank. This conductance increases the amount of pump power

required to make the amplifier oscillate. The equivalent circuit of

the three tank amplifier is shown in Fig. 16.

If the Q 1 s of the tank circuits are sufficiently high so that the

tank circuits act as short circuits at frequencies other than their

resonant frequencies, the voltages across the tank circuits may be

written as

where

36
 a

::3
"3 L1
GTl lV1
Vz

GT2
L3 Gn l
V3

.0.1 .0. 3

.0.2

b L2

.0.1 = Resonant frequency of signal tank circuit

.0. 2 = Resonant frequency of lower idler tank circuit
.0. 3 = Resonant frequency of upper idler tank circuit
w 1 = Signal frequency
w 2 = Lower idler frequency
w3 = Upper idler frequency

Fig. 16.

The voltage across the capacitor, Cc, is

If the right hand side of Cc is assumed to be at a higher potential

than the left-hand side, the current flowing to the right may be

writ~en as
d
dt

37
or

• sin( w4 t+cj>4) J

• sin( w4 t+cj>4) ] •

Using the identity

sin A cos B =
~in .A+ B,
+
s.in A ~ .:a
2 2

and neglecting all terms not containing w1 , Wz and w 3 , the three com-

ponents of ic may be written as

These expressions may be simplified by using the relationships be-

38
 The effective admittance looking to the right of points a and b

rray be written as

Y(wi} =

= _ C4w1 Vz ej( cj>4 -<l>z -<1>1) _ C4 V 3W1 ej( cj>3 -<j>4 -<1>1)
2V 1 2V 1

Now a relationship between V 1, V 2 and V 3 must be found. The

admittances of the idler tanks may be written as

Y2 = G+2 +j( wzCz - _l_) = - ic ( wz)

wzLz V( wz)

and

C4V 1wz sin( w2 t +<)>4 -cj> 1)

2V 2 sin( w2 t + <l>z)

or

39
and

al.so

and

...
or

_ Wz
Y*
J
where Y 3 * and Y z >): are the complex conjugates of Y 3 and Y z.

The equivalent circuit of the amplifier with GT separated into

1

its components is shown in Fig. 17.

If

40
or
I
Y( w1) =G - G.

The equivalent circuit of the parametric amplifier tuned to reso-

nance is shown in Fig. 18. The power gain for this circuit is given

by
4GgGL
power gain=
I Z
( GT 1 -G+G )

The power gam for a two tank amplifier is given by

Comparison of the two equations shows that the third tank adds an

additional positive conductance across the signal tank. This additional

conductance does not stabilize the amplifier, but merely increases

the amount of pump power to product oscillations.

41
Gr1= Gg+GL+G1
G1 = Conductance of signal tank
Gg = Generator conductance

GL = Load conductance

Fig. 17. Equivalent circuit.

Gg -G

Fig. 18, Equivalent circuit at resonance,

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Manley, J.M. and Rowe, H. E., "Some General Properties of

11
Nonlinear Elements - Part I, General Energy Relations,

Proceedings of the IRE, Vol. 44, pp. 904-913, July 1956.

2. Heffner, H. and Wade, G., "Gain, Bandwidth and Noise Char-

11
acteristic of the Variable Parameter Amplifier, J. Appl. Phys. ,

Vol. 29, pp. 1321-1331, September 1958.

3. Uhler, A., Jr., "Two-Terminal P-N Junction Devices for

11
Frequency Conversion and Computation, Proceedings of the

IRE, Vol., 44, pp. 1183-1191, September 1956.

11
4. Heffner, H., "Solid-State Microwave Amplifiers, Technical

Report No. 56, April 24, 1959, Stanford Electronics Lab-

oratories, Stanford University. Reprinted from IRE Trans-

actions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. MTT-7,

Number l, January 19 59. This paper has a very good

bibliography; 121 references are listed.

43
 ACXNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is indebted to Professors T. Gordon Hame and

William C. Davis for their guidance and aid in the pursuance of this

work.

The research reported in this paper was sponsored in part by

a contract between The Ohio State University Research Foundation

and The Air Research and Development Command, Wright Air Devel-

opment Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

44