Patent attributes
A phase shifter that includes an RF splitter is disclosed. The RF splitter is arranged so that an RF input signal is provided to, and split over portions of, a feed line that connects an antenna element with a radio transmitter/receiver/transceiver, thus realizing a feed line splitter. Feed line splitters described herein are provided with switches that allow changing a point at which the RF input signal is fed to the feed line, where the switches may be semiconductor-based or MEMS-based switches. The point at which the RF input signal is provided to the feed line to be split defines the electrical path length that the RF energy will travel down each respective path of the feed line splitter, which, in turn, changes the phase shift realized at each output of the feed line splitter. Different antenna elements may be coupled to different outputs of the feed line splitter.
