In this paper, low profile frequency reconfigurable monopole antenna is designed on FR-4 substrate with a compact size of 30 mm(3) x 20 mm(3) x 1.6 mm(3). The antenna is tuned to four different modes through three pin diode switches. In Mode 1 (SW1 to SW3 = OFF), antenna covers a wideband of 3.15-8.51 GHz. ForMode 2 (SW1 = ON, SW2 to SW3 = OFF), the proposed antenna resonates at 3.5 GHz. The antenna shows dual band behavior and covers 2.6 and 6.4 GHzinMode 3 (SW1 and SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF). The same antenna covers three different bands of 2.1, 5 and 6.4 GHz when operating in Mode 4 (SW1 to SW3 = ON). The proposed antenna has good radiation efficiency ranges from 70%similar to 84%, providing adequate average gain of 2.05 dBi in mode 1, 1.87 dBi in mode 2, 1.4-1.75 dBi in mode 3 and 1.05-1.56 dBi in mode 4. The achieved impedance bandwidths at respective frequencies ranges from 240 to 5000MHz. The Voltage StandingWaves Ratio (VSWR) of less than 1.5 is achieved for all operating bands. To validate the simulation results, the proposed antenna is fabricated and experimentally tested in antenna measurement laboratory. Due to its reasonably small size and support of multiple bands operation, the proposed antenna can be used in modern communication systems for supporting various applications such as fifth generation (5G) mobile and wireless local area networks (WLAN).
In this paper, a printed low-profile antenna with frequency and pattern reconfigurable functionality is designed in three modes. Each mode operates at different frequency bands and has several options available for pattern reconfiguration in these bands. The proposed antenna consists of eight pin-diode switches (S1 to S8). The switches S1 and S2, installed in the radiating patch, are used for frequency reconfigurability to control the operating bands of the antenna. The rest of the six switches (S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, and S8), loaded in the stubs on the rear side of the antenna, are used for pattern reconfiguration to control the main lobe beam steering. When all switches are off, the proposed antenna operates in a wideband mode, covering the 3.82-9.32 GHz frequency range. When S1 is on, the antenna resonates in the 3.5 GHz (3.09-4.17 GHz) band. When both S1 and S2 are on, the resonant band of the antenna is shifted to 2.5 GHz band (2.40-2.81 GHz). A very good impedance matching with a return loss of less than -10 dB is attained in these bands. The beam steering is done at each operating frequency by controlling the on and off states of the six pin-diode switches (S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, and S8). Depending on the state of the switches, the antenna can direct the beam in seven distinct directions at 4.2 GHz, 4.5 GHz, and 5 GHz. The main beam of the radiation pattern is steered in five different directions at 5.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz, and 2.6 GHz operating bands for the given state of the mentioned switches. The proposed antenna supports several sub-6 GHz 5G bands (2.6 GHz, 3.5 GHz, 4.2 GHz, 4.5 GHz, and 5 GHz) and can be used in handheld 5G devices.
A low-profile frequency reconfigurable monopole antenna operating in the microwave frequency band is presented in this paper. The proposed structure is printed on Flame Retardant-4 (FR-4) substrate having relative permittivity of 4.3 and tangent loss of 0.025. Four pin diode switches are inserted between radiating patches for switching the various operating modes of an antenna. The proposed antenna operates in five modes, covering nine different bands by operating at single bands of 5 and 3.5 GHz in Mode 1 and Mode 2, dual bands (i.e., 2.6 and 6.5 GHz, 2.1 and 5.6 GHz) in Mode 3 and 4 and triple bands in Mode 5 (i.e., 1.8, 4.8, and 6.4 GHz). The Voltage Standing Waves Ratio (VSWR) of the presented antenna is less than 1.5 for all the operating bands. The efficiency of the designed antenna is 84 % and gain ranges from 1.2 to 3.6 dBi, respectively, at corresponding resonant frequencies. The achieve bandwidths at respective frequencies ranges from 10.5 to 28%. The proposed structure is modeled in Computer Simulation Technology microwave studio (CST MWS) and the simulated results are experimentally validated. Due to its reasonably small size and support for multiple wireless standards, the proposed antenna can be used in modern handheld fifth generation (5G) devices as well as Internet of Things (IoT) enabled systems in smart cities.
This work proposes a low-profile, printed antenna that offers pattern and frequency reconfiguration functionalities printed on FR-4 substrate with a size of 46 × 32 × 1.6 mm3. The proposed antenna can operate in five different frequency bands, each one identified as a Mode, wherein there are possibilities of pattern reconfiguration. The frequency and pattern reconfigurability are made possible through 12 p-i-n diode switches (S1 to S12). The former is enabled through the switches S1 to S4 within the radiating patch, hence effectively controlling the resonant bands of the antenna; the latter is made possible through main lobe beam steering, enabled by the rest of the eight switches (S5 to S12), loaded in split parasitic elements designed on both sides of the radiator. The proposed antenna operates in the 5 GHz (4.52–5.39 GHz) band when all switches are OFF. When S1 is ON, the operating band shifts to 3.5 GHz (2.96–4.17 GHz); it changes to a 2.6 GHz (2.36–2.95 GHz) band when S1 and S2 are ON. When S3 is also turned ON, the antenna shifts to the 2.1 GHz Band (1.95–2.30 GHz). When S1–S4 are ON, the operating band shifts to a 1.8GHz (1.67–1.90 GHz) band. In all these bands, the return loss remains less than −10 dB while maintaining good impedance matching. At each operating band, the ON/OFF states of the eight p-i-n diode switches (S5 through S12) enable beam steering. The proposed antenna can direct the main beam in five distinct directions at 3.5GHz, 2.6 GHz, and 2.1 GHz bands, and three different directions at 5 GHz and 1.8 GHz bands. Different 5G bands (2.1, 2.6, 3.5, and 5) GHz, which fall in the sub 6GHz range, are supported by the proposed antenna. In addition, GSM (1.8 GHz), UMTS (2.1 GHz), 4G-LTE (2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz), WiMAX (2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz) and WLAN (5 GHz) applications are also supported by the proposed antenna, which is a candidate for handheld 5G/4G/3G devices.