System and method for variable microwave phase shifter
AssigneeHuawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
InventorsKuangda Wang, Haiyan Jin, Ke Wu, Tarek Djerafi
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Abstract
A phase shifter and a method of making a phase shifter are disclosed herein. The phase shifter may include a housing, a dielectric, an electrode, and a liquid crystal layer. The housing includes first, second, third, and fourth conductive walls, each conductive wall being opposite one of the other walls. The dielectric is situated within the housing and defines a compartment within the housing. The electrode is aligned with the compartment. The liquid crystal layer fills the space of the compartment. A bias line is coupled to the electrode. The phase shifter may be integrated with as substrate integrated waveguide.
Claims19
An apparatus comprising:
- a housing having first, second, third, and fourth conductive walls, each conductive wall being opposite one of the other walls;
- a dielectric situated within the housing, the dielectric defining a compartment within the housing;
- an electrode aligned with the compartment;
- a liquid crystal (LC) layer filling the compartment;
- and
- a bias line coupled to the electrode.
A method of fabricating a microwave apparatus, the method comprising:
- providing a bottom metal layer;
- providing a first dielectric layer on top of the first metal layer;
- providing an electrode on the first dielectric layer, the first electrode being situated on a surface of the dielectric layer opposite the first metal layer;
- providing a second dielectric layer;
- creating a compartment in the second dielectric layer, the compartment having a dimension corresponding to the electrode;
- attaching the second dielectric layer to the first dielectric layer in a position that aligns the compartment with the electrode;
- filling the compartment with a liquid crystal (LC) layer;
- providing a top metal layer on top of the second dielectric layer;
- creating vias through the top metal layer, second dielectric layer, and first dielectric layer;
- and
- metallizing the vias to provide an electrical connection between the top metal layer and the bottom metal layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.