An Integrable SIW Phase Shifter in a Partially Magnetized Ferrite LTCC Package

There is a growing need for small size integrable phased antenna arrays for emerging satellite communications on-the-move applications. Traditional ferrite-based phase shifters are generally bulky due to the need of electromagnets for biasing, yielding them unsuitable for this kind of application. In this paper, a novel compact light-weight substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) based phase shifter realized in a multi-layer ferrite low-temperature co-fired ceramic package with embedded bias windings is reported. By using embedded windings and operating the material in a partially magnetized state, the required bias magnetic field could be significantly reduced from typically about 1000 Oe to less than 50 Oe. Moreover, the presented phase shifter has two modes of operations corresponding to two different biasing scenarios of the SIW, namely, symmetric and anti-symmetric bias. Under anti-symmetric bias, the phase shifter can achieve high nonreciprocal phase shift, whereas under symmetric bias, the phase shift is reciprocal, but the available phase shift is less than the anti-symmetric case. The fabricated prototype operates in the 11.5-13.5-GHz range and has a peak figure of merit (phase shift per decibel of loss) of 102 degrees/dB and a maximum phase shift per unit length of 153 degrees/cm, which are more than five times the previously reported figures for this technology. Due to the use of embedded windings, the presented phase shifter offers a huge size reduction from the order of cm to mm, making it particularly useful for mobile phased-array applications.