A Novel 183 GHz Solid-State Sub-Harmonic Mixer

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript has been reasonably improved after revision. The review has two minor comments:

It is good see simulation was carried to confirm conductive adhesive could affect the circuit performance and a lowpass filter could be effective in mitigating the effect. It will be useful to add a few statements to theoretically explain why such those random structures would change the conversion loss etc. and why a lowpass filter is a suitable solution. For the completeness of the paper, it will be useful to add more details on how the RF and IF probes were designed, as shown in Fig. 1 and 6.

 

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The author answered only four questions, even though I asked 8 questions in the previous comments. The authors must provide a detailed description of all the questions.

The authors must explain the novelty, originality and the technical progress of the paper, as compared with the previous results.

The graphs presented in the response do not represent exactly what we have done in this paper, and it is not clear exactly what the graphs describe. 

The results of the simulation alone are insufficient to verify the validity of the proposed structure, and the quantitative comparison, numerical calculation, and design process should be clearly shown. I still think that the paper is suitable for the letters or the conference proceedings. 

Author Response

Thanks to the Reviewer’s valuable comments previously. The novelty and originality are illustrated in part 1 (Introduction) and part 2 (Mixer design). The technical progress of this paper is presented in part 2 (Mixer design). The theory is also described clearly in part 2 (Mixer design). The two different mixers are simulated, measured, compared and discussed thoroughly in the manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors present experimental results for a Schottky diode-based mixer designed for optimal operation at 183 GHz. This frequency range is of growing scientific and commercial interest. The design of the device is carefully considered and explained, and the results are thoroughly documented. I therefore recommend it for publication in Electronics.

However, the manuscript contains a few minor errors in its use of English. These should be corrected by journal subeditors prior to publication.

Author Response

Point 1: The manuscript contains a few minor errors in its use of English. These should be corrected by journal subeditors prior to publication.

Response 1: Thanks to the Reviewer's valuable comments and suggestions. We have made revisions on errors in grammar and spelling. We hope it can improve the quality of the manuscript.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper presents the design of a 183GHz solid-state sub-harmonic mixer. The proposed design was verified by experimental results. The presented work has some practical values. However, the authors should address the following points.
1. It was claimed that “By adding a compact low-pass filter near the ground of the mixer’s circuit, the effect on the mixer’s RF performance of the random error of the conductive adhesive in assembling is effectively decreased”. This seems to be the main novely claimed by the authors. However, in the paper, there is virtually little analysis on what is the “random error” in assembling, what is the frequency response due to such an error, and why the proposed method is effective in decreasing such effect. Such details should be added to the paper.
2. It is necessary to at least provide either simulation or measured results, if not both, on the comparison of the mixer performance with or without the added “compact low-pass filter near the ground”.
3. In the context, it was mentioned “standard rectangular waveguides of WR5.1 and WR10” were used. In Fig. WR2.8 and WR1.5 were used. Please correct this.
4. More details on how the RF and LO coupling probes were designed should be added to the paper. Such probes might also affect the optimal LO power and the conversion loss.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper shows the sub-harmonic mixer with an additional low-pass filter (LPF) near the ground of the mixer. The authors insist that the LPF helps the solution to the problem generating in the assembling in the mixer implement. I cannot agree to publish the current manuscript in the journal of MDPI Electronics.

Specific comments are as follows:

A detailed explanation of how random error in the assembly process affects the performances of the mixer should be provided with the proof or the simulation results in the manuscript. The authors should fully mention the previous researches and provide the evidence and the difference for how the proposed method is novel and originality. The introduction of the manuscript should be completely rewritten. The current introduction does not explain what the manuscript claims and why this work is important in the field. There are also no previous works and approaches for them. The circuit diagrams shown in Figs. 3a and 4a should show the specific values of the model components and the physical dimensions of the transmission lines. And the explanation and the value should be shown that each resonance by the components makes the frequency responses in the filter. It is essential to explain the relationship between the resonance frequencies and the design parameters including the design methodology and process. The circuit diagrams in Figs. 3a and 4a should show the specific values of the model components and the physical dimensions of the transmission lines. And the detailed explanation should be shown that each resonance by the components makes the frequency response in the filter. It is essential to explain the relationship between the resonance frequencies and the design parameters including the design methodology and process. There is no evidence in the manuscript that the proposed mixer can reduce the random error in the assembly process. In order to show that the proposed structure affects the performance improvement, the measurement results on several devices should be presented. Measurement data should be presented by using the statistical data to determine how distributed the simulation results. In order to show that the proposed structure affects the performance improvement, the measurement results on several devices should be presented. Measurement data should be presented by using the statistical data to demonstrate how distributed or different the simulation results are.

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors simulated and realized a 183GHz solid-state sub-harmonic mixer. The article is well written and clear. The study is well performed and the results seem correct.

I recommend the publication in the present form.