A waveguide is disclosed that shifts the phase of the signal passing through
it.
In one embodiment, the waveguide has an impedance structure on its walls that resonates
at a frequency lower than the frequency of the signal passing through the waveguide.
This causes the structure to present a capacitive impedance to the signal, increasing
its propagation constant and shifting its phase. Another embodiment of the new
waveguide has impedance structures on its wall that are voltage controlled to change
the frequency at which the impedance structures resonate. The range of frequencies
at which the structure can resonate is below the frequency of the signal passing
through the waveguide. This allows the waveguide cause a adjust the shift in the
phase of its signal. An amplifier array can be included in the waveguides to amplify
the signal. A module can be constructed of the new waveguides and placed in the
path of a millimeter beam. A portion of the beam passes through the waveguides
and the beam can be shifted or steered depending on the phase shift through each waveguide.