Electronically reconfigurable microstrip antenna with steerable beams

Abstract

This article presents the design of a 2 × 1 reconfigurable beam steering array. We have used a simple and cost-effective technique to implement the concept of reconfigurability by applying the phase difference between the two elements of the antenna array using the RF PIN diodes. A demonstration antenna has been simulated, fabricated, and measured to verify the proposed concept. This antenna array is designed on an FR4 substrate in which the two elements are fed through a microstrip line. The measured results indicate that the proposed antenna can rotate its radiation pattern between −36° to +36° with respect to the antenna broadside within the overlapping bandwidth from 5.12 GHz to 5.41 GHz. The simulated and measured results are found in good agreement. The advantage of the proposed design is that it provides a larger steering angle using the same profile as other references with minimal design complexities due to its planar structure. © 2022 Elsevier GmbH