A MEMS-based, Ka-band, 16-element sub-array

The aviation and missile research, development and engineering center (AMRDEC) has been involved in an army technology objective (ATO) aimed at furthering phased arrays for both tactical seekers and communication links. The ATO has been pursuing both microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and MMIC-based phase shifters with an overall goal of $50 K for a tactical seeker at Ka-band and $5 K for a communication link at Ku-band. In a collaborative effort with the communications- electronics research, development and engineering center (CERDEC), the AMRDEC has worked to improve the maturity of radio frequency (RF) MEMS devices for use in phase shifters for phased arrays. This paper shows that RF MEMS have vastly improved in reliability over the past few years. This paper presents the background and most current results of a task to implement a 16-element phased sub-array with RF MEMS-based phase shifters. The slat is centered at 33.4 GHz and utilizes Vi- wavelength spacing between elements. The individual elements consist of Vivaldi antennas. Taylor weighting is applied to lower the overall sidelobes. This paper discusses the MEMS design being produced and the current maturity of the design. It also discusses the insertion loss, power consumption, linearity and reliability of the phasing network.