Contents I. Introduction
Nowadays multifunction radar and communication systems demand multiband or multifrequency (i.e., wideband) phased array antennas. These phased array antenna systems play a major role in defense applications [1] and wireless satellite communication systems [2]–[4]. Phased array antenna design, especially wideband design, results in an expensive system using present day technology. This is due to the fact that there are typically several thousands of elements in an array and each element requires a phase shifter and a driver. Therefore, reducing the cost and complexity of the phase shifters is an important consideration in the design of phased arrays. The phased array reported here uniquely incorporates a multiline configuration with progressive phase shifts [5], [6]. The array does not individually contain traditional diode (PIN) or ferrite phase shifters but includes a new phase shifter controlled by a piezoelectric transducer (PET) or piezoelectric actuator. The PET is a piezoelectric ceramic, deflected by an applied voltage. A dielectric perturber attached to the PET moves vertically on the microstrip lines with the DC bias voltage. The dielectric perturbation changes the propagation constant and phase [7]. The new method will reduce the number of phase shifters from () to () where is the number of columns and is the number of rows in a two-dimensional (2-D) planar phased array [8].
