Raytheon Company

Robert W Bierig

Robert A Pucel

S Robert Steele

James L Vorhaus

A transceiver element for controlling the phase of a microwave signal passing therethrough. The transceiver element includes a plurality of switching means arranged to steer a microwave frequency signal provided by a radar system through a nonreciprocal phase shifter to a phased array antenna during a transmit mode, and to steer a microwave frequency signal received by the phased array antenna through the nonreciprocal phase shifter to the radar system during a receive mode. The microwave frequency signal passes through the phase shifter in the same direction during both the transmit and receive modes. A set of control signals is fed to such switching means and the phase shifter of the transceiver element to provide collimated and directed beams of microwave energy during the transmit mode and the receive mode.

Transceiver element for phased array antenna

A n-bit digitally controlled phase shifter for controlling the phase of an applied signal over the range of 0.degree. to 360.degree. includes n, cascade interconnected phase shifter stages. Each phase shifter stage is formed on a semi-insulating substrate having a pair of field effect transistors and a pair of transmission lines formed thereon. Each field effect transistor (FET), includes a pair of gate electrodes, a drain electrode, and a source electrode, connected in a common (grounded) source configuration. Each transmission line is coupled between a corresponding one of the drain electrodes and a common output port. The lengths of the transmission lines are selected to provide two paths having an electrical pathlength corresponding to a phase shift of .phi..sub.1 or a phase shift of .phi..sub.1 +.DELTA..phi..sub.1 where .DELTA..phi..sub.i is the phase shift increment of the i.sup.th stage. A first one of the gate electrodes of each field effect transistor is fed by the applied signal. A pair of control signals representative of one of the bits, and its compliment, is fed to the second gate electrodes of the field effect transistors, and is used to selectively couple the applied signal to one of the drain electrodes of such field effect transistors. The phase of the applied signal is shifted by propagation through the transmission line selected through control signals. Each one of the n stages, has a predetermined electrical pathlength difference for providing a selected phase shift increment (.DELTA..phi..sub.i).

N-bit digitally controlled phase shifter

A modified Read-type diode having an extremely thin doping spike and with the electric field in the drift region terminated before the buffer zone. The buffer zone and a drift region are first grown upon a doped semiconductor substrate using epitaxial vapor deposition growth techniques employing a furnace tube within a multiple temperature zone reaction furnace. The doping spike is produced by injecting under pressure a fixed predetermined volume of dopant into the furnace tube. An avalanche region is grown over the doping spike and a Schottky barrier contact or semiconducting material of the opposite conductivity type grown over the avalanche region. Avalanche regions having a length less than 15% of the total active length of the device and doping spikes having a width of 500 A or less are disclosed in a high-efficiency device.

Process for making a negative resistance diode utilizing spike doping

A fusing technique whereby a fuse is fabricated upon a substrate by integrated circuit techniques. Three or more layers of chemically dissimilar metals are deposited upon the region where the fuse is to be formed. The top layers are then etched away from the region where the fusible link is to be formed leaving the lower two layers, the top one of which forms the actual fusible link. The lower layer is then etched away leaving the fusible link suspended from the underlying substrate. The current necessary to cause such a fuse to blow is consistent from fuse to fuse since the physical dimensions of the fusible link can accurately be controlled with the integrated circuit techniques used and, since the fusible link is not in contact with the substrate, the rate at which heat is conducted away from the fusible link cannot vary from fuse to fuse. The method is used to advantage in microwave power and oscillator diode circuits such as those used in phased array radar systems and in read only memories and memory reconfiguration applications, as well as other semiconductor fusing applications.

Integrated circuit fusing technique

A fusing technique whereby a fuse is fabricated upon a substrate by integrated circuit techniques. Three or more layers of chemically dissimilar metals are depositedupon the region where the fuse is to be formed. The top layers are then etched away from the region where the fusible link is to be formed leaving the lower two layers, the top one of which forms the actual fusible link. The lower layer is then etched away leaving the fusible link suspended from the underlying substrate. The current necessary to cause such a fuse to blow is consistent from fuse to fuse since the physical dimensions of the fusible link can accurately be controlled with the integrated circuit techniques used and, since the fusible link is not in contact with the substrate, the rate at which heat is conducted away from the fusible link cannot vary from fuse to fuse. The method is used to advantage in microwave power and oscillator diode circuits such as those used in phasedarray radar systems and in read only memories and memory reconfiguration applications, as well as other semiconductor fusing applications.

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Sudbury, MA, United States of America

Robert W Bierig