Phased array antennas incorporating voltage-tunable phase shifters

A phased array antenna comprising:

• an input;
• a feed network electrically coupled to the input;
• a plurality of radiating elements;
• a plurality of voltage tunable phase shifters for receiving signals from the feed network and providing phase shifts for the signals prior to transmitting the signals to the radiating elements, each voltage tunable phase shifter includes:
• a microstrip line mounted on a first side of a first layer of tunable dielectric material;
• first and second ports adjacent first and second ends of the microstrip line;
• a biasing electrode for applying control voltage to the tunable dielectric layer, the biasing electrode mounted on a second side of a first layer of tunable dielectric material;
• a second layer of dielectric material having a first surface positioned adjacent to the biasing electrode;
• a ground electrode positioned adjacent to a second surface of the second layer of dielectric material;
• and
• a radio frequency block circuit coupling the microstrip line to the ground electrode;
• a feed line assembly coupled to receive the phase shifted signals from the voltage tunable phase shifters;
• a slot matrix positioned between the feed line assembly and the plurality of radiating elements for transferring the phase shifted signals from the feed line assembly to the radiating elements;
• and
• a controller for controlling the phase shift provided by the phase shifters.