Abstract
In this paper, design, fabrication and measurement results of the first MEMS based, passive subarray is discussed. The system is based on distributed MEMS transmission lines (DMTL) by Barker and Rebeiz, (2003), which are the lowest loss analog time delay units (TDUs) currently available, outperforming contemporary MMIC, ferroelectric and photonic true time delay (TTD) units in terms of loss and outperforming digital beamforming (DBF) technology in terms of cost and feasibility. Also, in contrast to switched beamforming networks (BFN) based on SPNT switches and constrained lenses, such as the bootlace, Rotman and Archer lens, the noise figure of the passive line array scales readily with the amount of antenna elements and the transmit power is distributed and not limited by the SPNT, making it the subarray of choice for future integration in a hybrid ESA.
Published Version
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