Frequency-Agile Beam-Switchable Antenna

In this paper, a beam switching antenna with a novel active frequency selective surface (AFSS) is proposed at 5.2 GHz. The antenna is composed of an omnidirectional patch antenna and AFSS. The AFSS is made up of 6 columns, each with 2 unit cells, which are placed vertically around a patch antenna to form a hexagonal wall. To steer beam of the antenna, high frequency pin diodes are precisely inserted into the AFSS to reconfigure electromagnetic (EM) response of surfaces. The reflection and transmission characteristics of the proposed AFSS unit cell are investigated. The simulation results show that the transmission and reflection bands of AFSS unit cell can be changed by setting diodes on and off. This new AFSS can be used to implement a sweeping radiation pattern at all azimuth angles. The antenna can sweep the entire azimuth plane in six steps and effectively operate over a bandwidth of more than 500 MHz.

In this paper, an octahedron electronically beam-scanning antenna using a novel slot active frequency selective surface (AFSS) is presented. The antenna consists of eight panels of octagonal slot AFSS array and an omnidirectional feed antenna located in the center. The beam-scanning of the antenna is obtained by switching the states of the PIN diodes to reconfigure the AFSS as EM transparent or reflective to the incident electromagnetic waves. By controlling the DC bias voltages to PIN diodes which are grouped by columns, the directive beam of the antenna can be switched to cover the entire azimuth plane. A prototype is fabricated and measured. Simulation and measurement results of the antenna are presented to verify the design concept. It is shown that the designed octahedron electronically beam-scanning antenna can cover a full 360°horizontal angular range. The presented design shows obvious advantages in terms of low power consumption, low cost and easy fabrication.

A reconfigurable antenna with frequency agility and pattern-switching ability is presented in this paper. The proposed design comprises a planar and compact frequency reconfigurable monopole antenna and an active frequency selective surface (AFSS) with reconfigurable transmission and reflection properties in dual bands. The AFSS screen is divided into four sections and each section is composed of four FSS elements with only one PIN diode in each unit cell. The monopole antenna, which is situated at the center of the box-shaped AFSS to illuminate , can reconfigure its resonating frequency between 2.5 and 3.6 GHz with the help of only one PIN diode. With the help of this transformation ability of AFSS behavior electronically, the pattern can be steered across the entire X–Z plane in eight steps at two different operating frequencies independently. This antenna can be very useful in various wireless applications such as drones, small base stations, etc.

PurposeIn wireless communication system, use of multiple antennas for different requirements of system will increase the system complexity. However, reconfigurable antenna is maximizing the connectivity to cover different wireless services that operate different frequency range. Pattern reconfigurable antenna can improve security, avoid noise and save energy. Due to their compactness and better performance at different applications, reconfigurable antennas are very popular among the researchers. The purpose of this work, is to propose a novel design of S-shaped antenna with frequency and pattern diversity. The pattern and frequency reconfiguration are controlled via ON/OFF states of the PIN diode.Design/methodology/approachThe geometrical structure of the proposed antenna dimension is 18 × 18 × 0.787 mm3 with εr = 2.2 dielectric constant. Three S-shaped patches are connected to a ring patch through PIN diodes. The approximate circumference of ring patch is 18.84 mm and length of patch is 5 mm, so approximate length of radiating patch is 14.42 mm and effective dielectric constant is 1.93. Conductor backed coplanar waveguide (CPW) is used for feeding. The proposed antenna is designed and simulated on CST microwave studio and fabricated using photolithography process. Measurements have been done in anechoic chamber.FindingsAntenna shows the dual band operation at 2.1 and 3.4 GHz frequency. The first band remains constant at 2.1 GHz resonant frequency and 200–400 MHz impedance bandwidth. Second band is switched at seven different resonant frequencies as 3.14, 3.45, 3.46, 3.68, 3.69, 3.83 and 3.86 GHz with switching of the diodes. The −10 dB bandwidth is more than 1.4 GHz.Research limitations/implicationsPattern reconfigurability can be achieved using mechanical movement of antenna easily but it is not a reliable approach for planar antennas. Electronic switching method is used in proposed antenna. Antenna size is very small so fabrication is very crucial task. Measured results are deviated from simulation results due to fabrication error and effect of leads of diodes, connecting wires and battery.Practical implicationsThe reconfiguration of the proposed antenna is controlled via ON/OFF states of the three PIN diodes. The lower band of 2.1 GHz is fixed, while second band is switched at five different resonant frequencies as 3.27, 3.41, 3.45, 3.55 and 3.88 GHz, with switching of the PIN diodes with all state of diodes and exhibit pattern reconfigurability at 2.1 GHz frequency. At second band center frequency is significantly changed with state of diodes and at 3.4 GHz pattern is also changed with state of diodes, hence antenna exhibits frequency and pattern reconfigurability.Originality/valueA novel design of pattern and frequency reconfigurable antenna is proposed. Here, work is divided into two parts: first is frequency reconfiguration and second is radiation pattern reconfiguration. PIN diodes as switch are used to select the frequency band and reconfigure the radiation pattern. This proposed antenna design is novel dual band frequency and pattern reconfigurable antenna. It resonates at two distinct frequencies, i.e. 2.1 and 3.4 GHz, and has a pattern tilt from 0° to 355°. The conductor backed CPW feed technique is used for impedance matching.

In this article, a transmission and reflection states switchable Luneburg lens (LL) reflector based on active frequency selective surface (AFSS), namely LL-AFSS reflector, is proposed. The reflector is composed of a miniaturized AFSS reflector, which can change the working state, and a LL composed of six layers and five media from inside to outside. By changing the bias voltage of the PIN diode loaded on the AFSS reflector, the transmission and reflection working states of the LL reflector can be freely switched in the frequency range of 3.5–5 GHz. When the PIN diodes are in ON state, the incident electromagnetic wave will not be reflected through the LL reflector. When the PIN diodes are in OFF state, the radar cross section (RCS) generated by the LL reflector to the incident electromagnetic wave reaches about 15 dB within the angle range of −30 ≤ φ ≤ 30°. The electromagnetic numerical simulation and experimental sample verification of LL-AFSS reflector are carried out. The results show that the proposed design method is feasible and the RCS changes of transmission and reflection characteristics of LL reflector are obvious.

This paper presents a working state switchable Luneburg lens (LL) reflector, based on active frequency selective surface (AFSS). By changing the bias voltage of PIN diodes loaded on AFSS, the working state of LL and radar cross section (RCS) can be switched in the frequency range of 6 GHz-8 GHz. When the PIN diode is in ON state, the AFSS working in a reflective state, and the LL reflector’s RCS can be improved to at least 15dB, the effect is the same as the metal plate. When the PIN diode is in OFF state, the AFSS working in a transmission state, and the RCS of the LL reflector can decreased by about 2-3dB in all OFF state, 5-22dB in OFF-ON strate.

This study proposes an ultra-wideband radar cross section (RCS) reduction technique based on reflection phase interference cancellation and tunable absorption. The operational frequency band of the combined structure is enhanced by uniting two overlapped frequency ranges effectively. As proof of concept, a demonstration structure is designed with a stacked chessboard and an active frequency selective surface (AFSS) absorber. The upper chessboard constructed of a square loop and circular patch unit cells can realize destructive phase interference performance at higher frequencies, while the bottom AFSS absorber achieves tunable absorption at a lower frequency range. Three-dimensional scattering patterns at low and high frequencies are analyzed to verify these two different RCS reduction mechanisms. The combined fabrication structure can obtain an ultra-wideband RCS reduction of more than 10 dB from 4.4 to 36.5 GHz, compared to a metallic plate of the same size, indicating good agreement between full-wave simulation and measurements.

A novel symmetric anchor-shaped active frequency selective surface (AFSS) with a wide tuning frequency range is proposed. Varactor diodes are used as the active tuning components at the center of each AFSS unit. The equivalent circuit model of the AFSS unit is extracted. SPICE-based circuit simulation and full-wave simulation are compared to predict the resonant frequency. A wide tunable frequency range from 1.76 to 2.45 GHz with a relative bandwidth of 33% is achieved. A prototype of AFSS is fabricated and tested. The measurement result is consistent with the simulation. The design has low power consumption and is potentially used for selectively shielding or reusing of GSM, TD-SCDMA, or Wi-Fi spectrums.

In order to analyze the effects of changing the value of PIN diodes and variodes on the resonant frequency and the depth of the resonance, we firstly use electromagnetic simulation solver to simulate frequency selective surface (FSS) loaded with PIN diodes and variodes respectively in this paper. Then, the equivalent circuit method (ECM) is used to validate correctness and prove rule of influence. Finally, active FSS loaded with DC bias line is also analyzed as a whole, and the influences of the DC bias line on the active FSS's electromagnetic property are illustrated.

The application of a novel biasing technique to tune frequency selective surfaces (FSS) made of patch elements is described. The methodology follows a recently developed technique where the biasing circuit of an active FSS is etched at the rear of a double sided substrate. On this occasion, the structure consists of dipole patches on one side of the thin polyester substrate and the biasing circuit at the rear, electromagnetically hidden by the patches. Varactor diodes are employed to modify the capacitance between the patches. The novel active FSS structure is able to tune a bandstop filter response over a wide frequency range, which could suit applications such as the time dependent modification of the EM architecture of buildings.

This paper presents a reconfigurable antenna operating in three modes at different frequency bands with pattern reconfiguration. Frequency and pattern reconfigurability are achieved using four PIN diodes. In particular, two diodes are mounted in the radiating part of the hexagon shape to perform the frequency reconfiguration of the antenna. The other two PIN diodes are connected with the inverted L‐shaped and CPW ground by changing the main lobe beam steering to achieve the pattern reconfiguration. An antenna has been designed, fabricated, and numerically and experimentally assessed. The prototype of the antenna is fabricated on a commercially available FR‐4 substrate of thickness 1.6 mm (εr = 4.3). Thus, the proposed antenna supports several 5G sub‐6 GHz bands (3.1 GHz, 4.1 GHz, and 3.8 GHz), WiFi (2.45 GHz), as well as (7.8 GHz, 9.5 GHz) X‐Band Satellite applications. The obtained results are quite promising. In particular, it is observed that the measured results are in close agreement with the simulation results, and the proposed (compact) antenna prototype can be a prospective candidate for future portable devices, sensor networks, and telecommunication applications.

A simple pattern reconfiguration approach of an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) monopole antenna is presented. By inserting a VIVALDI shape in the Coplanar-Waveguide (CPW) ground plane, the pattern reconfiguration is achieved without changing the original size and form of the monopole. Only two switches were used, thus the main beam is controlled depending on the state of these switches. Therefore, in the band of reconfiguration, the antenna radiates in three different directions (two directive states and one omnidirectional state). Switches were inserted in specific locations so that to eliminate currents to distribute and to radiate from that side, hence the main pattern is shifted in the other side. The proposed approach can be applied to different CPW-Fed monopoles, consequently, it may be suitable for domains were dynamic pattern reconfiguration is needed such as tracking, cognitive radio etc. Our approach is applied to two monopoles: printed stepped rectangular monopole and circular disc antenna. Furthermore, realized prototype and measurements are carried out.

A Ka-band microstrip antenna based on PIN diodes with accurate extraction of equivalent circuit parameters for pattern reconfigurability is proposed in this work. With the increase in operation frequency, the parasitic effect introduced by PIN diodes has tremendous influence on the performance of reconfigurable antennas; hence, the conventional equivalent circuit parameters of the PIN diodes are not applicable for higher-frequency applications, such as millimeter-wave circuits and antennas. Therefore, accurate equivalent circuit models of the conventional PIN diodes are essential in the millimeter-wave reconfigurable antenna design. Based on the combination of simulation and experimental results, accurate equivalent circuit model parameters for the millimeter-wave range of the PIN diode are extracted, with a pattern-reconfigurable antenna being developed afterwards. The proposed antenna consists of two PIN diodes, two interdigital capacitors, an L-shaped slot, and their bias networks. Particularly, the interdigital capacitors are utilized to isolate direct current (DC) from radio frequency circuits, which is able to improve the economic efficiency of the antenna notably as compared with conventional chip capacitors in the Ka-band. By combining a suitable arrangement of the diodes’ location and the DC bias networks, the main beam direction of the proposed antenna can be switched between −60° and 60°. To demonstrate the proposed idea, a prototype antenna is fabricated and measured. The measured results agree with the simulation quite well, with a good performance around 30 GHz and a gain greater than 5 dBi for both modes being achieved.

This paper presents the design and analysis of a reconfigurable microstrip slot antenna using RF PIN diodes as switching device for S and C band. Here pattern and frequency reconfigurable microstrip antenna is designed by changing the slot length on ground plane through six MPP4203 PIN Diodes. These six PIN diodes are used to electrically connect and disconnect the slot to alter the total slot length 76 mm in x axis and 56 mm in y axis. Here three switches are positioned in slot which is cut along the x-axis and another three switches are positioned in the slot along the y-axis. The analysis of reconfigurable antenna using PIN diode is done using the simulation performed on Ansys HFSS. The pattern and frequency reconfigurability of proposed antenna is analyzed for S (2–4 GHz) and C band (4–6 GHz) in terms of return loss and radiation pattern. The microstrip antenna design shows the pattern and frequency reconfigurability at 11 resonating frequencies. The proposed reconfigurable antenna is capable to resonate at three resonating frequencies (2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 GHz) in S band and 8 resonating frequencies (5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6, 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5 GHz) in C band. The simulated radiation patterns at various resonating frequencies shows pattern reconfigurability with acceptable gain in xz and yz plane of microstrip patch antenna. Furthermore the re-configurable antenna reduced the front end system's size and offers pre-filtering at the receiver. The proposed microstrip patch slot antenna is quite suited to be integrated with WLAN and Bluetooth devices with less structure complexity.

This paper presents a multi-functional frequency selective surface (FSS)based on varactor diode and PIN diode loading. It can be realized that when the varactor diode is not loaded with voltage and the PIN is in the on state, the frequency selective surface(FSS) exhibits strong transmittance at 4 GHz, and when the PIN is in the off state, the frequency selective surface(FSS) exhibits strong reflectivity at 4 GHz. In addition, when the PIN is turned on, stable transmission of electromagnetic waves in a wide frequency range from 1.37GHZ-5.66GHZ can be achieved by changing the capacitance of the loaded varactor diode.