Affiliation:
1. Sahand University of Technology, Iran
Abstract
In recent years, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology has seen a rapid rate of evolution because of its great potential for advancing new products in a broad range of applications. The RF and microwave devices and components fabricated by this technology offer unsurpassed performance such as near-zero power consumption, high linearity, and cost effectiveness by batch fabrication in respect to their conventional counterparts. This chapter aims to give an in-depth overview of the most recently published methods of designing MEMS-based smart antennas. Before embarking into the different techniques of beam steering, the concept of smart antennas is introduced. Then, some fundamental concepts of MEMS technology such as micromachining technologies (bulk and surface micromachining) are briefly discussed. After that, a number of RF MEMS devices such as switches and phase shifters that have applications in beam steering antennas are introduced and their operating principals are completely explained. Finally, various configurations of MEMS-enabled beam steering antennas are discussed in detail.
Reference49 articles.
1. Agrawal, V. (2004, September). A latching MEMS relay for DC and RF applications. In Proceedings of the 50th IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts and the 22nd International Conference on Electrical Contacts (pp. 222-225). IEEE.
2. 2-D mechanical beam steering antenna fabricated using MEMS technology;C. W.Baek;Microwave symposium digest,2001
3. A V-band micromachined 2-D beam-steering antenna driven by magnetic force with polymer-based hinges
4. Introduction to Smart Antennas