Reconfigurable antenna with frequency and beam switching using transformer oil and PIN-diode for microwave applications

Abstract

This paper introduces a design and analysis of a four directional radiation pattern antenna operating at 5.1 GHz. The proposed antenna consists of four center-fed copper arms placed over a substrate of relative permittivity εr = 2.2. The substrate is backed with copper ground sheet. The design of this antenna is then modified to be frequency reconfigurable antenna by placing transformer oil (liquid which is operated at high frequency) within a container between the substrate and the ground. The modified antenna can be operated at different frequency ranges from 5.21 GHz to 6.56 GHz by varying the oil height in the container. Four PIN diodes are then added between the antenna’s four arms and the feeding point in order to add beam reconfigurability feature to the modified antenna. Finally, multiple reconfigurable antennas are obtained to radiate in different directions at different operating frequencies with different gain and HPBW values.