Terahertz Phase Shifters for Electronic Steering of Radars and Radiometers, Year 2

Submillimeter-wave spectrometer and radar instruments provide essential information for remotely studying atmospheric composition, measuring the surface properties of cold bodies and the understanding of interstellar formation and dynamics. All of these instruments require high power and bulky mechanical systems to scan the beam and perform the observation, due to a lack of phased arrays at these frequencies. This project leveraged existing MEMS technology developed at JPL to develop a low-loss phase shifter, applicable to electronic beam steering at 200GHz and beyond. By using a large-deflection MEMS actuator to load a waveguide with dielectric, the phase can be controlled with minimal losses at frequencies above where most active devices can operate (e.g. SiGe integrated circuits). The phase shifters and phased array antenna geometries developed on this task will enable an integrated low-power and low-volume beam scanning systems at submillimeter-wave frequencies for spectrometers and radars. The next step will be to integrate these capabilities into an instrument concept.