waveguide3promo.jpg

MEMS and Micromachined Waveguide Combine for 500-GHz Phase Shifter

Oct. 27, 2016
A 3.3-b phase shifter combines micromachined waveguide and MEMS chips to achieve 10 phase states from 0 to 90 deg. at frequencies from 500 to 550 GHz.

Semiconductor technologies enable the fabrication of microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) components for use as high-frequency oscillators and components with changing modes, such as switches and phase shifters. To investigate the potential of MEMS technology for terahertz applications, researchers from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., integrated a submillimeter-wave, 3.3-b MEMS phase shifter in micromachined waveguide for use from 500 to 550 GHz.

The component was created by loading micromachined rectangular waveguide with nine E-plane stubs. The phase shifter uses reconfigurable MEMS surfaces to block or unblock the E-plane stubs from the waveguide as well as achieve the different phase states.

The component provides a linear phase shift of 20 deg. in 10 discrete steps (3.3 b). It features only 3 dB or less insertion loss from 500 to 550 GHz, with at most 1.5 dB attributed to the MEMS surfaces. Most of the insertion loss was traced to misalignment and mechanical manufacturing errors with the micromachined chips and the waveguide surfaces. The MEMS chips were fabricated on SOI wafers and deep-reactive-ion-etching (DRIE) process techniques. Simulations were performed with CST Microwave Studio simulation software from CST, and measurements were made using a PNA-X VNA system with waveguide frequency extenders from Agilent Technologies (now Keysight Technologies). The results were closely matched for phase shifts from 0 to 90 deg. in 10 steps across a frequency range of 500 to 600 GHz.

See “Submillimeter-Wave 3.3-bit RF MEMS Phase Shifter Integrated in Micromachined Waveguide, ” IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, Vol. 6, No. 5, September, 2016, p. 706.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.

Sponsored Recommendations

Forging the Future of Defense

Oct. 11, 2024
Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team incubates capabilities that fuel the future of defense. Together with leading research and development organizations, def...

Phase-Matched Cable Assemblies

Oct. 8, 2024
Phase-matched cable assemblies are ubiquitous, and growing in popularity. Electrical length matching requirements continue to tighten and the mechanical precision of cable construction...

3 New Wideband MMIC LNAs Cover 5.5 to 20 GHz

Oct. 8, 2024
Mini-Circuits’ expanded PMA3-series of wideband, ultra-low NF MMIC amplifiers operates in ranges between 5.5 and 20 GHz.

Wideband Amplifiers Variable and Temperature-Compensated Gain

Oct. 8, 2024
Many types of RF systems and applications that span from the upper end of microwave frequencies to the lower end of mmWave have arisen in recent years. Meeting system requirements...