Nonresonant Semiconductor Phase Shifter

Distributed p-i-n diodes were appended to the sidewalls of dielectric waveguides in order to produce phase shifters and line-scanning antennas since a change in conductivity of the bulk semiconductor material will change the wavelength in the dielectric guide. RF losses have been reported when the p-i-n modulators are used in this manner. One of the mechanisms of loss can be resonance absorption at specific frequencies. In order to eliminate resonant effects, the p-i-n diode modulator has been redesigned into small periodic segments where each modulator chip is much smaller than one half wavelength.