Planar ferro-electric phase shifter

A ferro-electric phase shifter comprising:

• a conductor line;
• a ground plane;
• a means for applying a DC current between said conductor line and said ground plane;
• a ferro-electric element of a material possessing a high dielectric constant that can be varied by applying a DC voltage, said ferro-electric element being interposed between said conductor line and said ground plane to form an inverted microstrip circuit, and said ferro-electric element having an entry point and exit point;
• a means integral to said ground plane for blocking DC voltage from traveling through said conductor line, said ferro-electric element, and said ground plane;
• an impedance matching circuit functionally interposed between said conductor line and said entry point of said ferro-electric element, wherein said impedance matching circuit reduces the signal reflection of a microwave signal traveling through the conductor line and into said ferro-electric element by matching the impedance of said microwave signal to that of said ferro-electric element;
• and
• a high-impedance, low pass filter coupled to said ground plane wherein said filter prevents microwave energy from entering the DC voltage applying means.

A ferro-electric phase shifter comprising:

• a conductor circuit;
• a ground plane;
• a means for applying a DC current between said conductor line and said ground plane;
• a ferro-electric element of a material possessing a high dielectric constant that can be varied by applying a DC voltage, wherein said ferro-electric element, said conductor circuit and said ground plane are arranged to form a slotline circuit, said ferro-electric element being interposed between said conductor circuit and said ground plane;
• a means integral to said ground plane for blocking DC voltage from traveling through said conductor circuit, said ferro-electric element, and said ground plane;
• and
• a means for preventing microwave energy from entering said DC voltage applying means.