A low-cost phased array antenna integrated with phase shifters cofabricated on the laminate

Abstract

This paper presents the design, development and experimental characterization of a monolithic phased array antenna integrated on a microwave laminate. A four-element linear antenna array is realized by cofabricating the corporate feed network, microstrip-CPW transitions, DC blocks, and mesoscale phase shifters on the same substrate. The phase shifters used here are electrostatically actuated and their operation is similar to that of the distributed MEMS transmission line phase shifters. Various components of the array are designed and are individually evaluated before fabricating together. The measured radiation pattern characteristics for this array shows a scan angle of 10° in the X-band. All fabrication processes employed here can be performed at a good printed circuit manufacturing facility. This simple approach of cofabricating various components can be readily extended for large phased arrays required in radar and space communication applications.