A K-Band Broadband Binary Phase Shifter

Abstract

In this paper, a K-Band binary phase shifter that utilizes the architecture of a 180° rat-race coupler is presented. This structure takes advantage of the phase delay inherent in the coupler, along with fast switching PIN diodes, to create a binary system that has constant power usage and low insertion loss in its active states. The relative phase shift between states is controlled by forward and reverse diode bias voltages and the coupler exhibits binary phase states with absolute phase errors of ±10° over a 5.72 GHz bandwidth, making it suitable for use in K-band applications such as PMCW radar.