Metamaterial based, radio frequency and millimetre wave phase shifters for future generation phased array antenna applications

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In the modern world everything goes wireless and everyone goes mobile. To sustain this trend, higher frequency, smaller, more complex analogue electronics with beam steering capabilities are becoming ubiquitous. SMARTWAVE capitalizes on a newly identified technology combination to reinvent, design, fabricate and commercialize the main building block of any beam steering capable system, the phase shifter. A novel phase shifting mechanism based on reconfigurable metamaterials promises to enable phase shifting technology with excellent performance characteristics, increased speed and reduced power consumption. SMARTWAVE technology is easily implemented in existing semiconductor fabrication lines and is inherently compatible with both III-V as well as Si and SiGe fabrication process. This ensures easy adoption of the novel idea into existing markets. To prove this, SMARTWAVE aims at demonstrating the phase shifting prototype in both technological platforms building a III-V based, K-band version to be included in a demonstrator phase array antenna for Satcomm and / or Radar applications as well as an advanced radar chipset fabricated in SiGe BiCMOS technology operating at 120GHz. SMARTWAVE capitalizes on that technology and an agile consortium made of 1 large company, 3 SME’s with unique high tech knowledge and an academic partner with extensive III-V fabrication experience in radar modules to provide a fast track to commercialization from the design board all the way to Radar and Satcomm systems.