Summary
Accurate circuit models derived from electromagnetic simulations have been used to fabricate photomixer sources with optimized high-impedance antennas. Output powers on the order of 1 uW were measured for various designs spanning 0.6-2.7 THz. The improvement in output power ranged from 3 to 10 dB over more conventionally designed photomixers using broad-band log-spiral antennas. Measured data on single dipoles, twin dipoles, and twin slots are in good agreement with the characteristics predicted by the design simulations.