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OwnerRobert M. Yandrofski, John C. Price +3inventors
InventorsRobert M. Yandrofski, John C. Price, Frank Barnes, Allen M. Hermann, James F. Scott
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The disclosure relates to ferroelectric and superconducting thin films used in combination to produce low-loss passive microwave and millimeter wave devices which are frequency tuneable. Various metal oxide superconducting and ferroelectric thin films can be deposited in numerous multilayer geometries via a variety of deposition techniques to produce devices which can manipulate microwave and millimeter wave signals through the application of voltage bias signals across the ferroelectric films. Numerous superconducting microwave and millimeter wave devices, including delay lines, phase shifters, resonators, oscillators, filters, electrically-small antennas, half-loop antennas, directional couplers, patch antennas, and various radiative gratings, are made frequency-tuneable by utilizing voltage-tuneable capacitor structures fabricated from voltage-biased ferroelectric thin films. Tuneable antenna arrays are also disclosed incorporating the combined superconducting and ferroelectric thin film structures and geometries which allow for electrical steering of beam patterns by the application of one or more voltage bias signals to ferroelectric thin film gratings.
A tuneable electrical component comprising a thin film of ferroelectric material having a surface and having a dielectric constant, the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric thin film being a variable function of a voltage applied to the ferroelectric thin film, the ferroelectric thin film enabling a circuit to which the thin film is connected to be tuned in response to the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric thin film, a thin film of superconductive material having a surface disposed contiguous with the surface of the ferroelectric thin film, and an element of conductive material connected to the ferroelectric thin film and spaced apart from the superconductive thin film, the superconductive thin film and the element of conductive material when connected to a source of a voltage enabling the voltage to be applied to the ferroelectric thin film for determining the dielectric constant thereof as a function of the applied voltage.
A tuneable electrical phase shifter comprising a thin film of ferroelectric material having a surface and having a dielectric constant, the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric thin film being a variable function of a voltage applied to the ferroelectric thin film, the ferroelectric thin film being adapted to generate a phase shift in response to a variation of the dielectric constant of the thin film of ferroelectric material, a thin film of superconductive material disposed contiguous with a surface of the ferroelectric thin film, and an element of conductive material connected to the ferroelectric thin film and spaced apart from the superconductive thin film, the superconductive thin film and the element of conductive material, when connected to an external biasing circuit enabling a voltage to be applied to the ferroelectric thin film, for determining the dielectric constant and thereby the phase shift thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.