Abstract
Means of reducing the conductor loss of a liquid crystal millimeter-wave beam former were studied. The conductor loss is caused by surface currents flowing on electrodes of the beam former for applying control voltages to the liquid crystal layers. By making the electrode thickness comparable to or thinner than the skin depth, the surface currents that flow on both sides of the electrode in opposite directions cancel each other; consequently, the conductor loss can be reduced. Simulation results proved that doing so can effectively reduce the conductor loss.
