Reconfigurable Microwave Phase Delay Element for Frequency Reference and Phase-Shifter Applications

A technique was developed to provide a reconfigurable high-precision microwave electrical phase delay for resonators and phase shifters. The invention employs multiple branches of transmission lines with open-ended or ground-ended terminations as configurable bits or digits. This technique minimizes the errors due to limited precision of switching devices. In addition, the proposed linear analytical approach significantly produces a much simpler design than that of other prior inventions at the time of this reporting.