Space Radiation Environment Testing of Liquid Crystal Phase Shifter Devices

This letter presents a reconfigurable phase shifter based on liquid crystal (LC) technology for use in space applications. A tunable phase shifter for the Ka-band is discussed and described in detail in terms of performance and functionality. The focus of this letter is placed on the performance of liquid crystals in lab-simulated space radiation conditions including surface charging, X-ray, and gamma radiation effects. Test results suggest that liquid crystal is quite resilient to adverse effects from the space radiation environment.