Abstract

Rapid progress in the development of silicon monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMIC) operating at frequencies up to 100 GHz demands for new test techniques with high temporal and spatial resolution.[1] Nonlinear optical methods based on the internal Pockels effect have been used effectively to noninvasively probe both analog and digital signals in GaAs MMIC’s. While this approach is adequate for measuring voltage waveforms in III/V-based circuits it is not applicable to silicon integrated circuits. Silicon exhibits no bulk second-order nonlinearities, because of its centrosymmetric crystal structure. To overcome this limitation and simultaneously retain the noninvasiveness of direct electro-optical probing, we apply electric field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) to monitor the internal electric field distribution in silicon MMIG’s. We present the first results of a picosecond EFISIIG study showing a free-running microwave signal on a. photoconductive dipole antenna, fabricated on a radiation-damaged silicon-on-sapphire substrate.[2]

© 1996 Optical Society of America