A lightweight, 64-element, organic phased array with integrated transmit-receive SiGe circuitry in the X band

For the first time, a transmit-receive (TR), 64-element phased array fully driven by Silicon Germanium (SiGe) integrated circuits and implemented on organic substrates is demonstrated at 9.5 GHz. The array was realized on a duroid and liquid crystal polymer substrate stack-up. The radiating elements are driven by SiGe-based TR modules and power amplifiers. Additionally, radio-frequency micro-electromechanical switches allow the toggled operation between transmit and receive modes. Measurements showed an average TR operation bandwidth of 2.55 GHz, an azimuthal TR beam-steering range of ±26°, a receive gain of 27.28 dB and an estimated output power of 41.33dBm.