A Fast Ferrite Phase Shifter for 10.7 - 11.7 GHz

As a part of a development program sponsored by European Space Agency (ESA), a variable phase shifter (VPS) of dual ferrite toroid type has been developed. The phase shifter is a critical component in the feed network of a fully reconfigurab1e antenna system. The switching time is less than 1 ¿s, which is very low for a phase shifter having the capacity to shift 0 - 360° with an accuracy of ± 8°. The insertion loss is less than 0.6 dB and typically 0.5 dB with a return loss of 25 dB. An important step in the development was the analysis of the switching characteristics, from which it is possible to predict the features in fast switching of ferrite phase shifters.