A 3-D Pattern-Reconfigurable Antenna Array With Multipolarization

Abstract

In this letter, a 3-D pattern reconfigurable antenna array with multi-polarization is presented. It comprises four vertically placed reconfigurable end-fire dipole-pair elements and a compact four-path switchable feed network. By utilizing switchable operating dipoles of each element and appropriate pathways on the feed network, the antenna can achieve adaptive control of broadside patterns and backfire patterns with independent left-handed/right-handed circular polarization (LHCP/RHCP) and ±45° linear polarization (LP) in the elevation plane. Moreover, four end-fire patterns with vertical polarization (VP) can be adaptively controlled in the azimuth plane. The proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. With a compact 3-D structure of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math>$0.49\lambda_0 \times 0.49\lambda_0 \times 0.39\lambda_0$</tex-math></inline-formula> , the measured -10 dB overlapped impedance band for the twelve operating states is 2.3 GHz-2.75 GHz (17.8%). Besides, the corresponding crosspolarization discrimination (XPD) is more than 17.4 dB.