Reconfigurable antennas and apertures: state of the art and future outlook

Abstract

The future proliferation of truly high-speed wireless systems will require more functionality from antennas than can be provided by classic designs. One approach to this challenge is to develop reconfigurable antennas. The goal of a reconfigurable radiator -one that can adjust its operating frequency, bandwidth, and/or radiation pattern to accommodate changing requirements -poses significant challenges to both antenna and system designers. This paper highlights some of the recent advances in the area of antenna reconfiguration, at the University of Illinois and elsewhere, as well as discusses some of the barriers that still need to be overcome to arrive at realizable technologies. These barriers include the development of reliable, mass-manufacturable RF MEMS switches, the design of switch bias networks that will not interfere with antenna operation, and the expansion of signal processing and feedback algorithms to fully exploit this new antenna functionality.

High-gain triple-band reconfigurable Vivaldi antenna

“…Frequency reconfigurable antennas are a feasible solution since they can operate in one frequency band while rejecting other bands, thereby increasing signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) [1]. Although some work has been done in the field of reconfigurable antennas, most of the designs can only operate in a narrow range of frequencies [2]. The use of a Vivaldi antenna allows working in a wide range of frequencies.…”

Reconfigurable antennas for very wide spectrum monitoring

“…• ultrawideband (UWB) or multiband antennas integrated with tunable filters In this paper, we present two high-gain triple-band reconfigurable antennas with stable radiation patterns across the passbands. Although some reconfigurable antennas have been reported, most of them are for narrow band operation [2]. The use of travelling wave antennas, such as Vivaldi antennas, allows working in a wide range of frequencies.…”

Polarization-Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Planar Antenna Using Switchable Polarizer

“…Because of the geometrical symmetry, and . So, (2) Similarly, the bottom ring and diagonal are divided into d1b, d2b, r1b and r2b. Z1 is given by (3) C0-off is the capacitance of PIN diode when it is off.…”

“…Hence, it attracted much research interest recently. It can enable more reliable wireless connection in dynamic communication environmental conditions [2].…”