Reconfigurable Circular Polarization Research Articles

A Frequency and Polarization Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Antenna Using Active EBG Structure for Satellite Navigation

This paper presents a broadband frequency tunable and polarization reconfigurable circularly polarized (CP) antenna, using a novel active electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure. The EBG surface employs identical metallic rectangular patch arrays on both sides of a thin substrate, but rotated by 90 $^{\circ}$ from each other. The active bias circuits are also orthogonal for each surface, enabling the reflection phases for orthogonal incident waves to be tuned independently in a wide frequency range. By placing a wideband coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed monopole antenna above the EBG surface, and properly tuning the bias voltages across the varactors in each direction, CP waves can be generated at any desired frequency over a broad band. In accordance with simulations, the measured 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth reaches 40% (1.03–1.54 GHz), with good input matching $(S_{11})$ and radiation patterns at six presented sampling frequencies. The polarization reconfigurability is verified by simulations and measurements, and shown to be capable of switching between left hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right hand circular polarization (RHCP).

Dual-band reconfigurable circularly polarized monopole antenna

A microstrip antenna with dual-band reconfigurable circular polarization (CP) characteristics in Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) bands is presented in this article. The proposed antenna has a symmetrical U-shaped slot with PIN diodes on the ground plane. The slotted ground generates a resonant mode for broad impedance-band width, and excites contrary CP state at 2.45 GHz for WLAN and 3.4 GHz for WiMAX, respectively. Because switching the states of PIN diodes on the slot can redirect the current path, the CP state of the proposed antenna can be simply switched between the right-handed CP and left-handed CP. The proposed antenna has a low profile and a simple structure. Measured results of the fabricated antenna prototype are carried out to verify the simulation analysis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:109–114, 2015.

Reconfigurable microstrip annular ring antenna for circular polarization diversity

ABSTRACTThis article presents a novel design of a microstrip annular ring antenna with reconfigurable circular polarization (CP) diversity by switching one corner perturbation segment. The proposed antenna has a construction of a single‐feed annular ring as a radiator and frequency perturbing elements at one diagonal edge. To achieve the condition with left‐ and right‐handed CP diversity, the perturbations of the proposed antenna uses the concept of positively and negatively slot‐loaded annular ring. By controls of two diodes' states in the perturbation, both of CP senses have been easily alternated. The simulated and measured results show good and symmetrical radiation patterns at each resonant frequency. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:1706–1709, 2014

Circularly Polarized Antenna With Steerable Dipole-Like Radiation Pattern

An omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna with a rotatable dipole-shaped radiation pattern is proposed. The antenna is realized using a back-to-back coupled microstrip patch arrangement. The pattern is rotated by means of a phase shift, enabling reception (or transmission) of signals from all angles around a sphere. The method enables continuous pattern steering without the need for semiconductor or MEMS components integrated into the antenna. It also allows the use of more than one radiation pattern simultaneously, potentially providing coverage for any spherical angle. The theory is supported by simulation and measurement of four typical antenna configurations. The maximum gains are between 1.9 and 4 dBic and average axial-ratio varies between 2.5 and 3.65 dB at 2.47 GHz. The impedance bandwidth is from 2.4 to 2.51 GHz and the reconfigurable circular polarization is achieved from 2.464 to 2.484 GHz.

A Coplanar Waveguide Fed Rectangular Reconfigurable Patch Antenna with Switchable Strips for Polarization Diversity

A compact single feed rectangular patch antenna with reconfigurable circular polarization has been proposed in this paper. The basic antenna structure is a rectangular patch of dimensions 10 mm x 15 mm printed on a thin FR4 substrate of thickness 3 mm. Two rectangular strips are connected through switches at sideways of the main patch to get polarization diversity. The polarization of the proposed antenna can be reconfigured between left hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right hand circular polarization (RHCP) by the current path, which is changed by operating the switches in ON and OFF modes. The antenna is designed and simulated using IE3D MoM based electromagnetic simulator. The simulated results show good return loss, radiation pattern, axial ratio and acceptable gain at the operating frequency. The antenna has around 15 % effective impedance bandwidth over 4.0 GHz - 4.8 GHz frequency band at a maximum gain of 3.0 dBi with polarization diversity. Defence Science Journal, Vol. 64, No. 1, January 2014, DOI:10.14429/dsj.64.4807

Dual‐Polarized Ultra Wideband CPW‐Fed Slot Antenna with Reconfigurable Circular Polarization Characteristic for Wimax and Wlan Applications

ABSTRACTA simple yet efficient ultra wideband coplanar waveguide‐fed slot antenna with dual polarization is presented. Antenna has reconfigurable circular polarization (CP) for WIMAX and WLAN applications and a pure linear polarization for rest of the operating band. A total CP bandwidth larger than 20% can be attained simply by sequentially creating a crooked T‐shape and two bent slots around the patch. The CP for each band can be created upon desired application simply by on/off operation of three pin diodes, designed between patch and strips. Novel and simple design of the radiating patch, UWB operating bandwidth, reconfigurable 3‐dB axial ratio operating band, stable gain, and compact size of the antenna are of the great merits of this work. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2023–2026, 2013

Waveguide Antenna Feeders With Integrated Reconfigurable Dual Circular Polarization

Waveguide antenna feeders with reconfigurable circular polarization sense are proposed in this paper. They can be switched between right and left hand circular polarization, without any mechanical rotation between the feeder and the antenna. Two types of feeders are presented. The polarizer works with a single switchable polarization for each state. The dual feeder can work with both polarizations at the same frequency band simultaneously, each one associated with a different rectangular waveguide port. The polarization sense is controlled by metallic posts that block or open the signal paths connecting the rectangular ports with a septum-orthomode polarizer. These posts are automated with piezo-motors integrated in the structure, leading to a very compact layout, reduced size, and practical for applications with diverse switching speed. The proof of concept and the automation are shown with experimental Ku-band prototypes.

A Novel Slot-Ring Coupling Antenna with Switchable Polarization

In this paper, a novel slot-ring coupling antenna with reconfigurable circular polarization is presented. The antenna consists of Wilkinson power divider and a slot-ring with perturbations. By controlling the states of the switches, the antenna can achieve right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) in the same direction, respectively. The proposed antenna is designed and simulated using Ansoft HFSS. The measured results of the fabricated antenna are in good agreement with the simulated. Both measured and simulated results of the antenna are presented and discussed.

Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Microstrip Antenna on a Slotted Ground

A compact square patch antenna with reconfigurable circular polarization (CP) at 2.4 GHz is proposed. Circular polarization is generated by an arc-shaped slot on the ground plane. In order to switch the CP orientation, the current flow direction of the patch is reconfigured via the PIN diodes mounted on the slot. As the slot and bias circuit are not placed on the patch side, the proposed antenna radiates a CP wave without alteration in the main beam direction. From the experimental results, the impedance and CP bandwidths of the proposed antenna have been demonstrated for up to 80 MHz and 25 MHz, respectively.

Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Compact Short Backfire Antenna

Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Compact Short Backfire Antenna

A Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Microstrip Antenna With a Slotted Ground Plane

This letter describes a square patch antenna with a switchable circular polarization (CP) sense. The proposed antenna has four L-shaped slots on the ground plane, and the CP radiation can be generated by current perturbation due to the slotted ground plane. Because the CP sense of the proposed antenna is altered by the current path that is redirected with switched p-i-n diodes on the slots, the CP direction of the proposed antenna can be simply switched between the right-handed and left-handed CPs. As the slot and bias circuits are not placed on the patch side, the proposed antenna has a simple structure and can radiate a CP wave without altering the main beam direction. The experimental results show that antennas have excellent switchable radiation performance at 2.4 GHz.

New Proximity Coupled Feeding Method for Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Microstrip Ring Antennas

A new simple single-feed method for circularly polarized ring antennas has been investigated. Experimental and theoretical investigation show that either right-handed (RH) or left-handed (LP) circular polarization (CP) can be easily achieved by selecting one of the two input ports of the antennas. The proposed U-shaped microstrip feed line excites the fundamental TM <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</sub> mode of the ring radiating elements through proximity coupling along the semi-annular section of the line. The induced rotating surface currents on the ring radiators contribute to the circular polarization behavior of the antennas. Two types of rings have been investigated. Square ring prototypes operate at 2.7 GHz have been designed, fabricated and evaluated to show the basic operating principles of the antennas, while annular ring radiating elements operate at 2.255 GHz are realized to demonstrate the reconfigurable capability of the new feeding structure. In the reconfigurable design, a high isolation RF switch is used to direct the input signal between the two input ports. With suitable biasing arrangement of the RF switch, the antenna is capable to radiate at either types of circular polarization. The reconfigurable design is fed by a single microstrip line. Return losses, axial ratios, gains and radiation patterns of the prototype antennas have been measured for verifications. A parametric study of the new feeding structures with a square ring has been carried out for important design guidelines.

A novel reconfigurable circular polarization patch antenna

AbstractA novel design of a microstrip patch antenna with switchable branches is proposed to achieve circular polarization diversity. Two branches are incorporated into the patch and two switches are utilized to switch the branches on and off. By turning the switches on or off, this antenna can radiate with either right‐handed circular polarization or left‐handed circular polarization using the same feeding probe. Experimental results validate this concept. This design demonstrates useful features for wireless communication applications and future planetary missions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1921–1923, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23537

A Novel Reconfigurable Wideband Circularly Polarized Transmitter Implemented by Indirect-Controlled-Phased-Source

A novel reconfigurable circularly polarized (CP) transmitter implemented by the indirect-controlled-phased-source (ICPS) technique is proposed. The proposed transmitter has the advantages of switchable polarization and wide axial ratio bandwidth. A wideband CP transmitter, with a bandwidth of 31.33% ranging from 700 to 960 MHz, is demonstrated by integrating a dual L-probe-fed patch antenna and two ICPS elements. The simulation and experimental results are presented and show good agreement.