Low-loss 2- and 4-bit TTD MEMS phase shifters based on SP4T switches

2- and 4-bit microelectromechanical system (MEMS) X- to K_u-band true-time-delay phase shifters with a very low insertion loss are described. The phase shifters are fabricated on 200-μm GaAs substrates and the low loss is achieved using MEMS SP4T switches, which reduce the number of switches in the signal path by half when compared to conventional designs with SP2T switches. Measurements indicate an insertion loss of -0.6±0.3 and -1.2±0.5 dB at 10 GHz for the 2- and 4-bit designs, respectively. The measured losses agreed very well with Momentum simulations and are the lowest reported to date. The 2-bit phase shifter performed well from dc-18 GHz, with -0.8±0.3-dB insertion loss at 18 GHz and a return loss of <-10.5 dB over dc-18 GHz.