A novel tunable transmission line and its application to a phase shifter

This letter describes the design of a novel transmission line, where characteristic impedance can be adjusted electronically, and its application to a phase shifter. A tunable transmission line enables microwave circuit designers to have flexibility and better return loss which can enhance its tuning range. A UHF band distributed analog phase shifter, as well as a tunable transmission line, is presented. The characteristic impedance of a fabricated novel transmission line varies from 10 to 69.5/spl Omega/, which demonstrates its tunability, and the fabricated UHF phase shifter using this novel line shows the possibility of better reflection coefficient and wider tuning range over the conventional capacitively-loaded distributed phase shifter.