Investigation of smart antennas using RF-MEMS based tunable CRLH-transmission lines

In this contribution a tunable via-free microstrip composite right/left-handed transmission line (CRLH-TL) is designed and simulated for construction of a tunable leaky-wave antenna. To add tunability RF MEMS elements are implemented in the interdigital capacitors and stub inductors, which match the line impedance during tuning. The via-free design enables easy and low-cost fabrication. Additionally, tunable zero-order resonators (ZORs) using two and three-cell CRLH-TL units, which have the resonant frequency tuning capability, are designed and simulated to verify the size-independent characteristic of ZORs.