Low-cost phased-array antenna technology enabled by MAcro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MÆMS)

In recent years, there has been an exponential growth of the use of millimeter-wave (MMW) frequencies for various communications, sensing, and imaging applications. One contributing factor to this growth is the exhaustion of the available radio-wave spectrum that can be used for high-speed wireless communications at lower microwave frequencies. Consequently, the 5^th generation cell phones are planned to operate at MMW frequencies to provide the high-speed data rates required for streaming video and voice applications. The efficient utilization of MMW frequency bands for the new emerging applications, however, requires the development of affordable phased-array antennas that can provide video-frame rates of scanning. A phased-array antenna is a high-gain antenna that can rapidly and dynamically change the direction of its radiated beam (e.g., to track a moving receiver). While various phased-array antennas operating at microwave frequencies have been developed, their extreme cost and complexity has limited their application only to the most expensive pieces of military hardware. Indeed, the development of affordable phased-array antenna technology remains an unaddressed challenge in the applied electromagnetic area.