Tunable Leaky-Wave Antennas With Rf Mems

RF MEMS switches are nowadays based on more and more mature technology and therefore have become components to introduce tunability into established devices. In this contribution it will be shown, how RF MEMS can be combined with conventional leaky-wave antennas. Either to enable an active beam steering and thus to reduce the number of phase shifters needed. Or to correct the beam squinting over frequency and so to create a broadband structure.