Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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DF: Fachverband Dielektrische Festkörper

DF 16: Focused Session on GHz Dielectrics: Materials for Mobile Communication I (DF with HL/MM)

DF 16.8: Topical Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2015, 12:30–13:00, EB 407

Tunable GHz-components with ferroelectric and liquid crystal technologies for mobile terrestrial and satellite-based systems — •Rolf Jakoby — Institute of Microwave Engineering and Photonics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Merckstr. 25, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany

Recent progress in Liquid Crystal (LC) technology made in Darmstadt is very promising for next-generation reconfigurable/tunable microwave and millimeter wave devices because they exhibit excellent properties at high frequencies above 15 GHz, since LC losses generally decrease with increasing frequency. This opens up new low-cost LC applications beyond optics. In contrast, ferroelectric material, particularly Barium Strontium Titanate (BST), is well suited at frequencies below 15 GHz, using screen and inkjet printing of BST layers. Hence, with these two material classes, we can cover a frequency range from 1 GHz up to 1 THz for tunable components such as varactors, tunable delay and loaded lines, phase shifters, tunable filters, adaptive matching networks, tunable frequency selective surfaces, tunable multiband antennas, polarization-agile antennas, phased-scanning reflect- and phased arrays. This contribution presents an overview of the both technologies, BST and LC, including basic principles, tuning mechanisms, processing technologies, device concepts and design, packaging and integration issues as well as functional tests with focus on frequency-agile multiband antennas and filters as well as electronically beam-steering antennas for mobile terrestrial and satellite-based applications.