Design of an Electronically Continuous Tunable Phased Array Antenna

Authors

  • Chang-Keng Lin Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan
  • Ding-Bing Lin Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan
  • Chang-Ching Lin Department of RF2 HONGBO Wireless Communication Technology Co. Ltd., 113, Sec. 1, Jiafeng 11th Rd., Hsinchu, Taiwan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2026.ACES.J.410405

Keywords:

Circularly polarized, phased array antenna, right hand circular polarization (RHCP), side lobe level (SSL), unequal power divider

Abstract

In this paper, an electronically continuous tunable phased array antenna is proposed, which integrates a 1-port to 4-ports unequal power divider, four electronically continuous tunable phase shifters, and a 4×3 right hand circularly polarized patch array antenna. The unequal power divider is designed with a power ratio of 1:2.25:2.25:1 to achieve a side-lobe level suppression of 20 dB. The phase shifters provide electronically linear and continuously tunable phase control within ±180. Their phase difference can be easily controlled by adjusting the direct current voltage. The array antenna consists of 12 hexagon patches, providing right hand circular polarization within the operating bandwidth and achieving a high gain of 13.68 dB. Furthermore, the proposed phased array antenna is capable of continuously steering the main beam over a range of −50 to 55 in the Y-Z plane at 3 GHz. Finally, the measurement results show good agreement with the simulations, confirming that the proposed electronically continuous tunable phased array antenna exhibits excellent performance.

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Author Biographies

Chang-Keng Lin, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan

Chang-Keng Lin was born in New Taipei City, Taiwan. He received his M.S. degree in Electronic Engineering from the National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, in 2016. He received his Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, in 2026. His research interests include phase shifters, phased-array antennas, microwave components, antennas, wireless power transfer, RF circuits, and electronic circuit integration.

Ding-Bing Lin, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan

Ding-Bing Lin (S’89–M’93–SM’14) received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, in 1989 and 1993, respectively. From August 1993 to July 2016, Lin was on the faculty of the Electronic Engineering Department, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, where he was an Associate Professor, a Professor, and a Distinguished Professor in 1993, 2005, and 2014 respectively. Since August 2016, he had been with National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, where he is currently a Professor of the Electronic and Computer Engineering Department. His research interests include wireless communication, antennas, high-speed digital transmission, and microwave engineering. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the Taipei Chapter Chair, IEEE EMC society. Since 2022, he serves as Taipei Chapter Chair, IEEE AP Society. Since 2019, he serves as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions of Electromagnetic Compatibility and since 2014 as Editorial Board member of International Journal of Antennas and Propagation. He has published more than 250 papers in international journals and conferences. Lin was the recipient of the Annual Research Outstanding Award of the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2004, 2006, and 2008. After he had received these three awards, the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science awarded him the College Research Outstanding Award to highlight his research achievements. He was also the recipient of the Taipei Tech Annual Outstanding Research Award in 2008. Lin is the recipient of the Annual Research Outstanding Award of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in 2024.

Chang-Ching Lin, Department of RF2 HONGBO Wireless Communication Technology Co. Ltd., 113, Sec. 1, Jiafeng 11th Rd., Hsinchu, Taiwan

Chang-Ching Lin was born in Yun Lin County, Taiwan. He received his M.S degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering from Yuan Ze University in 2010. From 2004 to 2008, he worked at Amphenol Antenna Taiwan Center. From 2008 to 2017, he worked at Foxconn FIT Antenna Team. Since 2017, he has been working at Hong-Bo Wireless Technology, mainly focusing on the design of commercial embedded antennas.

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Published

2026-04-30

How to Cite

[1]
C.-K. . Lin, D.-B. . Lin, and C.-C. . Lin, “Design of an Electronically Continuous Tunable Phased Array Antenna”, ACES Journal, vol. 41, no. 04, pp. 334–342, Apr. 2026.