Compact Linear Lead/Lag Metamaterial Phase Shifters for Broadband Applications

A compact one-dimensional phase shifter is proposed using alternating sections of negative refractive index (NRI) metamaterials and printed transmission lines (TL). The NRI metamaterial sections consist of lumped element capacitors and inductors, arranged in a dual TL (high-pass) configuration. By adjusting the NRI-medium lumped element values, the phase shift can be tailored to a given specification. Periodic analysis is applied to the structure and design equations are presented for the determination of the lumped element parameters for any arbitrary phase shift. To validate the design, various phase shifters are simulated and tested in coplanar waveguide (CPW) technology. It is demonstrated that small variations in the NRI-medium lumped element values can produce positive, negative or 0 degrees phase shifts while maintaining the same short overall length. Thus, the new phase shifter offers some significant advantages over conventional delay lines: it is more compact in size, it exhibits a linear phase response around the design frequency, it can incur a phase lead or lag which is independent of the length of the structure and it exhibits shorter group delays.