NSF Award
9901910
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to research and develop a monolithic Ka-Band (26.0-40.0 GHz) Linear Phase Shifter. The approach is to use a reflection of a pair of voltage control capacitors to obtain the phase shift. A coplanar waveguide quadrature branch line coupler serves as the circuit while a pair of varactor diodes serves as the voltage control capacitors, Linearity in the phase shift is obtained by using a doping profile that provides a non-linear change in the DC capacitance that translates into a linear change in the phase shift at the frequency of interest. Thus, the project combines semiconductor material engineering with high frequency circuit design to obtain a linear phase shifter without the use of additional biasing circuits. This results in a simple and monolithic device suitable for application in many areas of wireless communication.<br/> Commercial applications include MMW satellite communication (e.g. Ka-Band). Others include vehicular radar systems, worldwide detection systems, personal communication systems such as LMDS and point to point radar for the telecommunication industry.
