Beam‐switching antenna implemented by reconfigurable slots on cylindrical cavity. Issue 15 (4th October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Eric S.; Cheng, Jui‐Ching; Lee, Shin‐Chih; Kuo, Yu‐Hsuan
• Is Part Of: IET microwaves, antennas & propagation. Volume 12:Issue 15(2018)
• Page Start: 2338
• Page End: 2344
• Publication Date: 2018-10-04
• Subjects: conformal antennas -- antenna radiation patterns -- slot antenna arrays; beam‐switching antenna -- cylindrical cavity -- reconfigurable conformal slot array -- reconfigurable feature -- diode switch -- integrated bias scheme -- gain value -- conformal array -- antenna gain -- beam switching -- frequency 5.8 GHz; Microwaves -- Periodicals; Microwave antennas -- Periodicals; Antennas (Electronics) -- Periodicals; Radio wave propagation -- Periodicals; Microwave communication systems -- Periodicals; 621.381305
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-map.2018.5282
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8725

Abstract

Abstract : A design for beam‐switching antennas is proposed in this study. A cylindrical cavity with a reconfigurable conformal slot array distributed evenly along the middle of its side wall is presented. The reconfigurable feature of the slots is achieved by placing a diode switch across each slot. An integrated bias scheme is introduced for the diode switches to activate and disable the slots. By properly selecting the dimensions for the cavity and the number of activated slots, the optimum values for the gain and front‐to‐back ratio (FBR) of the antenna can be obtained. The gain value is further increased by adding a skirt‐like structure to both the top and bottom of the cavity. A design example is presented with the operating frequency set at 5.8 GHz. The conformal array comprises 24 slots to provide a 15° resolution for main beam switching. The simulation results indicate that the design can offer an antenna gain up to 8.62 dBi and a FBR above 10 dB. These results and the corresponding radiation patterns have gone through experimental verification, from which good agreement is observed.