A low-cost, steerable, phased array antenna suitable for use in wireless fidelity
(WiFi) and other wireless telecommunication networks, in particular multi-hop ad
hoc networks, is disclosed. Various embodiments of an antenna assembly that includes
a plurality of linear phased array antennas fed by corporate feeds are disclosed.
The corporate feeds are implemented as parallel wire transmission lines, such as
a coaxial, stripline, microstrip, or coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line.
Selected branches of the corporate feed network include transmission line phase
shifters oriented and sized so as to allow a high-permittivity dielectric element
to control phase shifting. Thus, the corporate feed forms a phase shifting feed
whose phase shift is controllable. Phase shifting can be electromechanically controlled
by controlling the space between the high-permittivity dielectric element and the
phase shifting branches of the corporate feed or by electrically controlling the
permittivity of the high-permittivity dielectric element.