Reconfigurable Arrays by RF-MEMS Technology

Kagan Topalli, Omer Bayraktar, Ozlem Aydin Civi, Simsek Demir, Tayfun Akin

RF-MEMS phased array and reflectarray antennas designed and produced by METU RF-MEMS group are presented in this paper. Electronically scanning array system is designed at 15 GHz employing 3-bit Distributed MEMS Transmission Line (DMTL) type phase shifters. Measurement results show that main beam can be rotated to required directions by suitable setting of RF-MEMS phase shifters. Reconfigurable reflectarray consisting of aperture coupled patch antennas is designed at 26.5GHz to rotate the beam to 40 degrees from broadside. Furthermore, 4-element reconfigurable dual-frequency slot dipole array is presented. Resonant frequency of the array is controlled via MEMS switches placed on the slots. The measurement results of the fabricated components and arrays using a custom process developed in microelectronics fabrication facilities of METU are given and compared with simulations.