Ferrite waveguide phase shifter exhibiting negative phase shift

Claim 1

In a latching ferrite phase shifter, the combination of a rectangular wave guide section having broad side walls and narrow side walls and having disposed therein a rectangular ferrite dielectric body whose cross section has a major dimension and a minor dimension with its major dimension being parallel to and centered along said broad side walls and having its minor dimension orthogonal to said broad side walls, said minor dimension of said body and the dimension of said narrow side walls of said wave guide section being no greater than substantially 0.13 times the wavelength in said dielectric body, said minor dimension causing incident wave energy to experience a negative phase shift in passing through said ferrite dielectric body, said ferrite body extending between, and in contact with said broad walls, openings in at least one of said broad walls opposite the ends of said ferrite body, a generally U-shaped member of magnetically permeable material having legs extending through said openings and forming with said ferrite body a closed magnetic circuit, a latching coil encircling said U-shaped member to induce latched magnetic flux in said magnetic circuit.