CHAOS PREDICTION IN AN MMIC FREQUENCY-DIVIDER IN MILLIMETRIC BAND

In this letter, a technique is proposed for the analysis of possible q uasi-periodic routes to chaos in microwave circuits, This is based on the systematic application of a Nyquist stability analysis along the s olution paths in self-oscillating mixer operation, as a function of a relevant parameter. The steady quasiperiodic solutions, with two funda mental frequencies, are determined from the harmonic balance method. T he stability analysis allows the detection of possible asynchronous in stabilities, leading to a three-fundamental quasi-periodic solution, f rom which the transition to chaotic behavior will occur, This techniqu e has allowed the theoretical prediction of the onset of chaos that wa s experimentally observed in a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) frequency divider by two in millimetric band.