Thin-Film Phase Shifters
Abstract
This work has concentrated on developing thin-film tunable dielectric technology towards commercial viability for phase-shifters. Agile's varactor and phase shifter modeling has demonstrated the potential for this technology to provide low loss phase shifters utilizing Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) as the tunable dielectric material. Initial work involved fabrication of parallel plate capacitors as test structures which demonstrated the high quality of the BST films. Prototype phase-shifters utilizing such films were successfully demonstrated and issues such as intermodulation distortion (IMD) were explored and quantified in terms of design parameters. This technology was also compared with alternatives such as MEMS and GaAs MMICs. Specifically, the tradeoff between control voltage and performance variables such as IMD, power handling, and phase noise was explored and tabulated for the various approaches. Agile's varactors technology enables low cost, low-loss phase shifters for DOD and commercial applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 09, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA422587
Entities
People
- Chris Elsass