18–40-GHz Beam-Shaping/Steering Phased Antenna Array System Using Fermi Antenna

This paper concerns 18-40 GHz 1times 16 beam shaping and 1times 8 beam steering phased antenna arrays (PAAs) realized on a single low-cost printed circuit board substrate. The system consists of a wideband power divider with amplitude taper for sidelobe suppression, wideband microstrip-to-slotline transition, a low-cost true time piezoelectric transducer (PET)-controlled phase shifter, and wideband Fermi antennas with corrugations along the sides. A coplanar stripline is used under a PET-controlled phase shifter, which can generate 50% more phase shift compared to the perturbation on microstrip lines previously published. The systems are fabricated using electro-fine-forming microfabrication technology. Measured return loss is better than 10 dB from 18 to 40 GHz for both the beam-shaping and beam-steering PAAs. The beam-shaping PAA has a 12deg 3-dB beamwidth broadening range. The sidelobe ratios (SLRs) are 27, 23, and 20 dB at 20, 30, and 40 GHz, respectively, without perturbation. The SLRs are 20, 16, and 15 dB at 20, 30, and 40 GHz with maximum perturbation. The beam-steering PAA has a 36deg (-17deg to +19deg ) beam-scanning range measured at 30 GHz.