Switchable Composite Right/Left-Handed (S-CRLH) Transmission Line Using MEMS Switches

This letter presents a novel switchable composite right/left-handed (S-CRLH) metamaterial transmission line (TL) using MEMS switches. The proposed TL is based on a general CRLH TL with switchable capacitors and switchable shunt inductive stubs. The LH mode of the S-CRLH TL ranges from 7.5 GHz to 10.4 GHz. In these frequencies, the S-CRLH TL is able to switch from a negative phase response (phase lag) to a positive phase response (phase lead), or vice versa. This phase modulation can be obtained through a voltage, due to the use of MEMS switches. The size of the fabricated S-CRLH TL, including bias networks, is 4941 mum times 2076 mum and is compact thanks to the LH mode.