60 GHz Reflection Type Phase Shifter based on liquid crystal

Author

Bulja, S. ; Mirshekar-Syahkal, D. ; Yazdanpanahi, M. ; James, R. ; Day, S.E. ; Fernández, F.A.

Author_Institution

Sch. of Comput. Sci. & Electron. Eng., Univ. of Essex, Colchester, UK

fYear

2010

fDate

10-14 Jan. 2010

Firstpage

697

Lastpage

699

Abstract

For the first time, a compact 60 GHz band phase shifter incorporating liquid crystal (LC) is presented. Based on the Reflection Type Phase Shifter (RTPS) structure, it comprises a 3-dB coupler and tunable reflective loads formed on a nematic LC substrate. The LC used to form the substrate is known as E7. Biasing of the LC is achieved using an external electric field, allowing for the control of the reactance of the reflective loads. To facilitate on-wafer measurements and the application of the electric field to the LC, a transition from the microstrip line to the CPW is used. Preliminary measurement results for this RTPS show a differential phase shift of over 130 degrees, a figure of merit of 11.4Â°/dB and return losses better than -10 dB at 61 GHz.

Keywords

coplanar waveguides; microstrip transitions; millimetre wave phase shifters; nematic liquid crystals; waveguide transitions; coplanar waveguides; frequency 60 GHz; frequency 61 GHz; microstrip line; millimeter wave phase shifters; nematic liquid crystal substrate; on-wafer measurements; reflection type phase shifter; tunable reflective loads; Coplanar waveguides; Coupling circuits; Dielectric loss measurement; Frequency; Liquid crystals; Magnetic field measurement; Microstrip; Phase measurement; Phase shifters; Reflection; Dielectric anisotropy; Reflection type phase shifter; liquid crystal;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS), 2010 IEEE

Conference_Location

New Orleans, LA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4725-1

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-4726-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/RWS.2010.5434253

Filename

5434253