Wideband Frequency Tunable Concentric

Circular Microstrip Patch Antenna With

Simultaneous Polarization Reconfiguration
Behrouz Babakhani and Satish K. Sharma
Antenna and Microwave Laboratory (AML), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-1309 USA
E-mails: behrouz.babakhani@gmail.com; ssharma@mail.sdsu.edu

Abstract

A wideband frequency tunable concentric circular microstrip patch antenna with simultaneous polarization reconfigu-
ration is demonstrated by using four varactor diodes between a circular patch and a concentric ring patch around it.
Both frequency tunability and polarization reconfigurability are controlled by a proposed feed network. Varying the
capacitance value of the varactor diodes varies the operating frequency of the antenna from 1.17 to 1.58 GHz
(around 30% tunability) with impedance matching better than S11 ¼ S22 ¼ 10 dB. Each set of the two varactor
diodes provides vertical and horizontal linear polarizations excited using one of the feed ports at a time. Similarly,
the right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) and left handed circular polarization (LHCP) radiation patterns are re-
alized by employing all four varactor diodes and both feed ports with 90 time phase difference. The antenna is
fabricated on a 120-mil-thick (3.05 mm) Arlon AD450 dielectric substrate ("r ¼ 4:5, tan  ¼ 0:0035). The proposed
feed network to control the excitation of ports for each of the polarizations is fabricated on 62-mil-thick (1.58 mm)
FR-4 substrate material ("r ¼ 4:4, tan  ¼ 0:02). A single-pole 4 through radio-frequency switch and two single-pole
double through switches are used in this feed network for realizing the control circuitry. Simulated and measured
impedance matching and radiation pattern results show good agreement with acceptable gain over the tunable fre-
quency bands.

Keywords: Frequency tunable; microstrip patch; polarization reconfigurable; control feed network

1. Introduction selectivity, which relaxes the requirements of the receiver

M ultifunctional antennas, such as the frequency tunable
and reconfigurable antennas, are the new trends in
modern wireless communication system, which tend to re-
duce the number of the overall antennas in communication
devices, thereby, reducing overall cost. However, it adds
complexity in the antenna analysis and design. In addition, to
complete the antenna design, a suitable feed network is re-
quired that can control both the frequency tunability and po-
larization reconfigurability. Frequency tunable antennas are
investigated in several research publications [1–3]. This kind
of antenna provides continuous sweep of frequency using a
narrow-band antenna. Therefore, it provides frequency
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MAP.2015.2414666
Date of publication: 24 April 2015
filters. Many investigation results are reported in [4–12] on
frequency-agile antennas using varactor diodes. In these
designs, varactor diodes are mostly placed between radiating
element(s) and ground plane, causing complicated fabrication
procedure. In addition, this would increase quality factor of
the antenna and reduce the radiation efficiency, as well as the
matching bandwidth.
In [8], a frequency reconfigurable annular slot antenna
with circular polarization is described. By controlling the
dc bias of the varactor, the circular polarization (CP) oper-
ating frequency of the slot antenna can be switched
between two frequencies. In [9], a circularly polarized slot
antenna with frequency reconfigurability is presented. The
operating frequency of the slot antenna can be tuned be-
tween 1.58 and 2.59 GHz by varying the capacitance values
of four capacitors, which are symmetrically placed along

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015 1045-9243/15/$26.00 © 2015 IEEE 203
the circumference of the ring slot. In [10], a printed slot- verification results for the antenna along with the feed net-
ring antenna with switchable polarization at 2.4 GHz is work are included in Section 5. Finally, Section 6 concludes
presented, where it was shown that using pin diodes the po- this paper.
larization can be switched between circular and linear polari-
zations or between two CPs. In [13], a linear dual-polarized
slot-ring ring antenna with independent tuning of both polar-
izations is presented. A differential linear dual-polarized cav- 2. Analytical Modeling and
ity-backed microstrip patch antenna with independent Design Guidelines
frequency tuning is shown in [14]. In [15], an annular slot
antenna backed with a reflector with switchable frequency 2.1 Antenna Geometry
and a quasi-lumped coupler for polarization-diversity recep-
tion is described. The proposed antenna geometry with two feed ports is
shown in Figure 1. This figure does not include feed network
Similarly, in [16], a dual-band reconfigurable slot an- for simultaneous frequency tunability and polarization recon-
tenna is presented. Dual-frequency operation is achieved by figurability and will be discussed in coming sections. The
loading a slot antenna with two varactors placed in proper patch antenna consists of a microstrip circular patch ðR1 ¼
locations along the slot. In [17], a frequency-agile microstrip 18 mmÞ and a concentric circular ring (outer R2 ¼ 35 mm)
patch antenna is described. By integrating three pairs of var- separated by very narrow gap (0.6 mm) to place the varactor
actor diodes with the patch antenna, and tuning them in uni- diodes. The antenna is simulated on a 120-mil-thick
son, frequency tuning ratios of almost 2 is possible. This is (3.05 mm) Arlon AD450 dielectric substrate ("r ¼ 4:50,
made possible by the intrinsically broadband nature of the tan  ¼ 0:0035) of size 150  150 mm2 . This antenna along
differential feeding scheme. The authors in [18] have pre- with the varactors is modeled and simulated using Ansys
sented a compact reconfigurable multiband microstrip an- High-Frequency Structure Simulator version 15. Skyworks
tenna. The multiplicity of bands is achieved by the use of varactor diode (Model # SMV 1139-011LF) is selected due
concentric external metallic semirings around a central inter- to its low parasitic resistance (0.6
) and adequate capaci-
nal semicircular microstrip patch. tance variation (1.9 to 8 pF) with low reverse bias voltage
(12 to 0 V). The varactors are modeled as RLC series-
In this paper, a wideband frequency tunable concentric lumped components, which has been verified and used in
circular microstrip patch antenna with simultaneous polariza-
tion reconfiguration is investigated. In the proposed geome-
try, varactors are placed between a patch and a ring. Smaller
capacitance value would cause the patch and the ring to be
decoupled and make the antenna radiate in higher frequen-
cies. As we increase the capacitance value, the coupling be-
tween the patch and the ring increases, which makes the
whole radiating element electrically bigger. This would lower
the resonant frequency and make the proposed geometry a
better radiator in the sense of quality factor, which, in turn,
increases the efficiency of the antenna comparatively. Two
feed ports are considered in this design, one for the horizontal
polarization and the other one for the vertical polarization.
Combining these linear cuts with 90 phase difference leads
to right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) or left-handed
circular polarization (LHCP). Later on, to control the ex-
citation of the feed ports for achieving both the tunability
and polarization reconfiguration, a feed network consisting
of 3 radio-frequency (RF) switches, one single-pole 4
through (SP4T), and 2 single-pole double through (SPDT)
along with a quadrature hybrid coupler is designed. The an-
tenna along with this feed network was fabricated and exper-
imentally verified for both the impedance matching and
radiation patterns.

This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, the

proposed antenna geometry, mechanism of operation and
analytical model is presented. Simulation results, including
necessary parametric study, are discussed in Section 3.
Section 4 presents feed network design for realizing tuna-
bility and polarization reconfiguration. Experimental
Figure 1. Proposed concentric circular microstrip patch
antenna geometry showing feed points (where feed net-
work, not shown, connects) and varactor diode placement
position. (a) Top view and (b) side view.

204 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
other articles [19, 20]. The parasitic values are extracted
from the Skyworks data sheet.
2.2 Mechanism of Operation
The antenna is excited at two feed points 90 apart
from each other. Exciting one port at a time, whereas the
other port is match terminated, the antenna radiates in either
vertical or horizontal linear polarization. Similarly, exciting
the antenna using both ports together, and using equal ampli-
tude and 90 time phase difference, leads to the right-
handed circular polarization (RHCP) or left-handed circular
polarization (LHCP) radiation patterns.
Considering the dominant mode (TM11) operation of
the circular patch, surface current direction related to a port
is along the line that connects that port to the center of the
patch. Figure 2 shows the surface current distribution for
two different capacitance values, i.e., C ¼ 1:9 pF and
C ¼ 8 pF. Resonant frequency of the antenna for varactor
capacitance, i.e., C ¼ 1:9 pF, happens at 1.58 GHz, whereas
for C ¼ 8 pF, the resonant frequency is 1.17 GHz.
Figure 2. Surface current distribution for different capaci-
tance values with their associated frequencies of operation
(a) C ¼ 1:9 pF (1.58 GHz) and (b) C ¼ 8 pF (1.17 GHz).
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
Considering the impedance of capacitor, z ¼ ðj=2fcÞ, C ¼
1:9 pF shows higher impedance than C ¼ 8 pF. For the case
C ¼ 1:9 pF, the surface currents are mostly confined to the
inner patch [see Figure 2a]. High impedance value of capaci-
tor would prevent the inner patch coupling to the outer ring,
therefore, maintaining dominant mode of operation. The C ¼
8 pF case [Figure 2b] shows that the capacitor’s lower im-
pedance value would let the inner patch and outer ring to
have a strong coupling. Therefore, the patch and ring would
radiate almost as a single radiating element while operating
in the dominant mode. This combined bigger patch structure
radiates at lower frequency.
2.3 Analytical Modeling
A radial transmission line terminated by load admit-
tance has been used to model circular patch and circular an-
nular ring antennas [21, 22]. This same model can be used
to analyze the proposed antenna. The analysis is based on
the transmission line mode with a single index, which is de-
noted by TMn mode. In this paper, only dominant mode
(TM11 ) is considered, which means index n ¼ 1 with m ¼ 1
always.
Figure 3a shows the geometry of the proposed antenna
considering an infinite ground plane and substrate material.
Furthermore, it is fed by ideal current courses. In Figure 3b,
transmission line equivalent circuit of the antenna is given.
The first transmission line section models the feed point to
the edge of the circular patch. The end of this line is loaded
with admittance due to the circularly cylindrical radiating ap-
erture of radius ðY1s ðÞÞ. The other end is connected to the
excitation source. The region 0 G  G 0 (feed point) can be
modeled as a shorted line at  ¼ 0 because the electric field
is zero there. The ring section (a ¼ R1 þ gap G  G b ¼ R2 )
is modeled as a transmission line connected to two admit-
tances at both ends (Y1s ðaÞ and (Y1s ðbÞ). A mutual coupling
admittance between these two admittances has also been
considered (Y1m ða; bÞ).
To simplify the circuit, we can replace each section of
transmission line by an equivalent -network, as shown in
Figure 3c. For this purpose, the admittance matrix for the
two-port network is obtained first. Then this is used to deter-
mine the g parameters of -network. Using network theory,
g1 , g2 , and g3 are determined in [21, 22] and are given in the
terms of field quantities as follows:


i 2
g1 ¼  k 1 r1 1 ðr1 ; r2 Þ þ (1)
!ðr1 ; r2 Þ 
where, r1 and r2 define the lengths of the line, k1 ¼
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
! 0 "0 "r and
ðr1 ; r2 Þ ¼ J1 ðk1 r1 ÞY1 ðk1 r2 Þ  Y1 ðk1 r1 ÞJ1 ðk1 r2 Þ (2)
1 ðr1 ; r2 Þ ¼ J10 ðk1 r1 ÞY1 ðk1 r2 Þ  Y10 ðk1 r1 ÞJ1 ðk1 r2 Þ (3)
205
Then

2i 1
g2 ¼  (4)
! ðr1 ; r2 Þ


i 2
g3 ¼ k1 r2 1 ðr1 ; r2 Þ þ (5)
!ðr1 ; r2 Þ 

In the transmission line model, which presents the ring

portion and connects Y1s ðbÞ and Y1s ðaÞ, g1 , g2 , and g3 can be
calculated by setting r1 ¼ R1 þ gap and r2 ¼ R2 in (1)–(5).
Similarly, the transmission line that connects the feed point
to the edge of the patch can be substituted with g10 , g20 and g30
by substituting r1 ¼ 0 and r2 ¼ R1 in equations (1)–(5). The
shorted transmission line can be simplified as a single ele-
ment with

k1 0 J10 ðk1 0 Þ
g4 ¼ (6)
j! J1 ðk1 0 Þ

To model a cavity, wall admittance has been evaluated using

the electric field distribution at the radiating edges. The total
wall admittance can be expressed in terms of the self-
admittance and mutual admittance. Self-admittance can be
decomposed into self-conductance g s ðÞ and self-susceptance
bs ðÞ ðY s ðÞ ¼ gs ðÞ þ jbs ðÞÞ. For the TM11 mode, the
self-conductance is as follows:

subH h i
g s ðÞ ¼ ðk0 Þ2 I1 þ I2 (7)
20
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where 0 ¼ 0 ="0 ,  is the radius, and Figure 3. Proposed antenna geometry and equivalent
circuit model based on the transmission line method,
Z (a) geometry of the proposed antenna considering infinite
 2
I1 ¼ J10 ðK0  sin Þ sinðÞd (8) ground and substrate (b) the equivalent circuit model
0
(c) -network equivalence of radial transmission line sec-
tion, and (d) simplified model by using a single active ad-
Z mittance representing ring portion.
ðcos Þ2 2
I1 ¼ J ðK0  sinðÞÞd (9)
sin  1
0
The expression for effective radius ae is obtained as

The expression for wall susceptance bs ðÞ for the TM11 s

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi
mode has been derived from the magnetic wall model. The 2subHx0
ae ¼ a 1 (12)
effective radius for a circular microstrip disk is used here to b"r
model the fringing field effect for the annular ring. The ef-
fective radius be is given by
where, x0 is obtained by replacing b with a in the equation
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
s ffi (11). Using this condition, we can find the following expres-
2subHx sion for wall susceptance:
be ¼ b 1þ (10)
b"r
 
k1  J10ðk1ÞY10ðk1e ÞY10ðk1ÞJ10ðk1e Þ
bs ðÞ ¼  (13)
where ! 1 ðe ; Þ
 
b h Similarly, the expression for mutual admittance has
x ¼ ln þ1:41"r þ1:77þ ð0:268"r þ1:65Þ (11)
2h b been derived based on the near field integration method. The

206 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
expression for n ¼ 1 mode is given by:

Z2
1 2 subHj
y ð1; 2Þ ¼
m
cos 
22 !
0
2
Z2
ejkr1
4 cos f2 cosð  Þð1 þ jkr1 Þ
r13
0

ð2 cosð Þ1Þð2 1 cosð Þ

þ
r12
3

ðk r1  3jkr1  3Þ d 5d
2 2
(14) Figure 4. Reflection coefficient magnitude of the proposed
antenna model for different capacitance value of the var-
actor diode evaluated using MATLAB code.
and
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2  where Z0 is the system impedance (50
). To calculate Zin ,
r1 ¼ 1 þ 22  221 22 cosð  Þ (15) we have

Figure 3d shows the simplified model. In this model, an YA ¼ g1 þ Y1s ðbÞ  Y1m ða; bÞ (17)
active admittance represents the annular ring equivalent cir- YB ¼ g2 þ Y1s ðaÞ  Y1m ða; bÞ (18)
cuit (Yring ). From this figure, when the varactor admittance is YC ¼ g3 þ Y1s ðaÞ  Y1m ða; bÞ (19)
relatively smaller than the ring admittance, as these two ad-
ðGA GB Þ
mittances are in series configuration, the varactors would act YRing ¼ þ GC (20)
as the dominant admittance and ring portion would have ðGA þ GB Þ
very little contribution in the total input impedance of the 1
Z^A ¼ ZCv þ (21)
model which results in the resonant frequency of the struc- YRing
ture. From the aforementioned argument, it can be concluded 1
YA0 ¼ g10 þ Yas ðÞ þ (22)
that by choosing a small capacitance, the patch and the ring Z^A
circuit models would be decoupled and the model would res-
ðYA0 g20 Þ
onate at a frequency, which is close to the small patch struc- Zin ¼ g30 þ g4 þ (23)
ture (highest resonant frequency). YA0 þ g20

By increasing the capacitance value of the varactor, its
admittance would increase, which leads to the ring equiva-
lent admittance to contribute more in the total input imped-
ance. This would decrease the model resonant frequency.
After a certain capacitance value, the ring admittance would
become dominant (patch and ring fully coupled as a single
radiating element) and increasing the capacitance value
would have negligible effect on the resonant frequency. This
capacitance value would enforce the lowest resonate fre-
quency of the model.
Using the program, the proposed antenna geometry was
evaluated for the reflection coefficient magnitude (S11, dB) as
varactor capacitance varied between 1.9 to 8 pF (see
Figure 4). From Figure 4, one can see that the frequency tun-
ability range is from 1.75 down to 1.18 GHz; however, im-
pedance matching level is only better than 6 dB, which
limits the tunability range compared with S11 ¼ 10 dB.
Thus, this analytical model offers physical insight about
working of this antenna and can also be used to predict fre-
quency tunability before full-wave analysis is performed.

A MATLAB program was used to evaluate the total in- 2.4 Design Guidelines
put impedance for the antenna geometry shown in Figures 1a
and 3a ("r ¼ 4:50, tan  ¼ 0:0035, h ¼ 3:05 mm, 0 ¼
Following guidelines can be used to design a frequency
15 mm,  ¼ R1 ¼ 18 mm, a ¼ R1 þ gap ¼ 18:6 mm, b ¼
tunable antenna with polarization reconfiguration.
R2 ¼ 35 mm) as the varactor capacitance is varying between
1.9 and 8 pF. In this program, the value for each component
1. Choose an appropriate radiating element that can
in the equivalent circuit model can be calculated at different
offer a specific radiation response such as broad-
frequency. Then, using circuit theory for the parallel and se-
side pattern.
ries admittances, the total input impedance value can be cal-
culated. Knowing the total input impedance, the reflection
2. Amount of matching bandwidth (S11 ¼ 10 dB)
coefficient magnitude can be evaluated as
in a radiating element can dictate possible individ-
ual tuning bandwidths when implemented in a tun-

¼ jðZ0  Zin Þj=jðZ0 þ Zin Þj (16) able antenna.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015 207
3. Identifying how a tuning element (such as a varac-
tor diode) can be incorporated in the antenna con-
figuration, for example, at the radiator level or
between the radiator and the ground plane. Proper
bias network placement should be part of the tun-
ing component; thus, its effect is taken in the an-
tenna response.

4. By varying tuning component values (capaci-

tance), investigate frequency tuning response.
5. To achieve simultaneous polarization reconfigura-
tion, the radiating element should include appro-
priate feed points and feed network that can be
automatically controlled by applying proper bias
voltage at the control lines. If possible, feed net-
work should be placed below the ground plane;
thus, feed network radiation can be eliminated
from the antenna radiation.
3. Simulated Antenna Performance Results
3.1 Parametric Studies
Figure 6. Effect of different patch radius (R1) on resonant
frequency of antenna for C ¼ 1:19 pF (defining the upper
limit of the frequency band) and C ¼ 8 pF (defining the
lower limit of the frequency band).
constant. The ring inner radius is inevitably changing with
the change of patch radius. Figure 6 shows that changing the
patch radius (R1 ) would change the upper frequency bands
and has negligible effect on the lower frequency bands.
Thus, it can be concluded that, by changing the ring outer ra-
dius (R2 ) and patch radius (R1 ), tunability bandwidth can be
controlled. The tradeoff for having wider tunability range is
deteriorated impedance matching level.

Ring radius has very important role on the frequency 3.2 Wideband Tunability Performance
tunability performance of the proposed antenna. Figure 5
shows the effect of changing the ring outer radius (R2 ) on the
Figure 7 shows the effect of different varactor capaci-
frequency of operation of the antenna for two different capac-
tance values on the frequency of operation of the antenna
itance values, i.e., C ¼ 1:9and 8 pF. The circular patch radius
when port 1 is excited (S11). Operating frequency is changing
and ring inner radius were kept constant while performing
from 1.17 GHz to 1.58 GHz as the capacitance value is varied
this parametric study. The C ¼ 1:9 pF defines the upper limit
from C ¼ 8 pF to 1.19 pF. Because of the complete symme-
of the frequency tunability band, whereas C ¼ 8 pF repre-
try in the antenna structure, capacitance variation has the
sents the lower limit of the frequency tunability band. It is ev-
same effect on the frequency of operation when port 2 is ex-
ident from Figure 5 that increasing the ring outer radius
cited (S11 ), hence is not shown here for the sake of brevity.
moves the frequency band toward lower level, since the an-
Although simulation results only for some selected capaci-
tenna structure gets bigger. However, the changes for lower
tance values are included, in reality, varactors diode capaci-
limit are more severe than the upper limit.
tance variation is continuous and can have any values
between C ¼ 1:9 and 8 pF. Thus, the resonant frequency
The same investigation is repeated for the patch radius
can be tuned at any desired frequency between 1.58 and
(R1 ) on the frequency of operation for two different capaci-
1.17 GHz based on relevant capacitance values. This design
tance values. In this case, the ring outer radius (R2 ) is kept
also covers L-band communication frequencies. It was

Figure 5. Effect of different ring outer radius (R2) on res-

onant frequency of antenna for C ¼ 1:19 pF (defining the Figure 7. Simulated reflection coefficient magnitude
upper limit of the frequency band) and C ¼ 8 pF (defin- (S11 , dB) of the antenna for different capacitance values
ing the lower limit of the frequency band). of the varactor.

208 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
chosen because at this frequency range, physical size of the
radiating element is of reasonable size, which eases the sol-
dering and placement of varactor diodes. Interestingly, this
frequency also covers Global Positioning System (GPS)
bands, but it was not the sole reason for choosing the fre-
quency range. Design offers around 30% tunable range with
respect to S-parameter ðS11 =S22 Þ  10 dB. The bandwidth
for each tunable band is between 20 and 30 MHz, which is
sufficient for communication applications such as the GPS
communications. Additional tuning range can be obtained by
using much thicker substrate material and complex fabrica-
tion but is not preferred here [22]. Figure 7 also implies that
the impedance matching level changes for different capaci-
tance values because input impedance of the antenna varies
as the varactor capacitance is varied. The position of the in-
put ports are selected for the best matching level at the cen-
ter of the frequency band, which is around 1.37 GHz. By
going to higher or lower frequencies, the matching level
would become worse, which limits the frequency tunability
of the antenna. Furthermore, by implementing active imped-
ance matching circuits, one can improve matching levels of
unmatched frequency tunable bands.

3.3 Gain and Efficiency Performance

Figure 9. Simulated (a) RHCP realized gain (dBic) and
(b) total antenna efficiency for different varactor capaci-
Figure 8a shows broadside realized gain (with all possi-
tance values when both ports 1 and 2 are excited with
ble sources for loss) when port 1 is excited and port 2 is
90 time phase difference and equal amplitudes.
matched terminated for different varactor capacitance values

over the frequency band. Results with port 2 excitation are

similar hence only port 1 results are presented. This excita-
tion refers to either of the linear polarizations. The maximum
gain within a tunable band changes from tunable band to
band. The peak gain drops from around 5.7 dBi at the higher
frequency end (1.58 GHz) to less than 4.3 dBi at the lower
end (1.17 GHz). It is reasonable because effective aperture
size of the antenna reduces as the operating frequency de-
creases. Figure 8b shows the corresponding total antenna ef-
ficiency for the aforementioned tunable bands, which
includes all the losses in the antenna and varactor diodes.
The maximum efficiency varies between 66% toward the
higher end (1.58 GHz) to 55% at the lower end (1.17 GHz).
It should also be noted that within matching bands
ðS11  10 dB) for each of the tunable bands, the gain and
total antenna efficiency is close to the corresponding maxi-
mum values as aforementioned.

Figure 9a shows the RHCP realized gain performance

Figure 8. Simulated (a) realized gain (dBi) and (b) total an-
tenna efficiency for different varactor capacitance values
when port 1 is excited and port 2 matched terminated.
when both ports 1 and 2 are excited with equal amplitude
and 90 time phase difference between them. The plot shows
that the peak gain drops from around 5.7 dBic at higher fre-
quency end (1.58 GHz) to less than 4.3 dBic toward the
lower frequency end (1.17 GHz). Again, this is because ef-
fective aperture size of the antenna reduces as the operating
frequency decreases. Figure 9b shows the total antenna effi-
ciency for the RHCP case. The maximum efficiency varies
between 66% at the higher end (1.58 GHz) to 55% at the
lower end (1.17 GHz), which is almost the same as in the

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015 209
Figure 10. Simulated AR (dB) with equal amplitude applied
to ports 1 and 2 with 90 phase difference between them.

linear polarization case. In conclusion, the main reason for

the drop in the efficiency is the parasitic resistor of the varac-
tor [see Figures 8b and 9b]. The varactors parasitic resistance
is increasing as capacitance value increasing (lower frequen-
cies). This is a known property of the varactor diodes and has
been addressed in some of the references [20], [23]. Addi-
tionally, in the next section, we will show effect of varactor
resistance on antenna gain and efficiency. Figure 10 shows
axial ratio (AR) performance when both ports 1 and 2 are ex-
ited with equal amplitude and 90 time phase difference. The
AR is shown for the frequencies, which meet 10-dB imped- Figure 11. Simulation result for the effect of varactor resis-
ance matching criteria within the tunable ranges. The AR is tance (R) on (a) peak realized gain, and (b) total antenna
below 1 dB throughout the frequency tunability range. efficiency of the antenna over the tunable range when only
port1 is excited and port 2 is match terminated.

3.4 Effect of Varactor Resistance (R)

4 through (SP4T) and two single-pole double through
(SPDT) switches, along with a 3-dB quadrature hybrid cou-
To investigate the effect of varactor resistance on peak
pler to control the port excitations, and consequently, the po-
realized gain and total antenna efficiency, simulations for
larization of the antenna. One way of connection is routing
different varactor resistance values were performed. Figure 11
the input port through the SP4T switch to one of the SPDT
shows the results for the peak realized gain [see Figure 11a]
switches and then connect that SPDT switch to its relevant
and total antenna efficiency [see Figure 11b] for different
output ports 1 and 2. This will provide linear polarization
varactor diode resistance values. It can be seen that increas-
because the power will transfer to one port only, whereas
ing the resistive value of the varactor decreases the effi-
ciency [see Figure 11b] and gain [see Figure 11a] of the the other port will see no signal. The other combination is
routing the SP4T switch to the hybrid coupler with outputs
antenna. This effect is more severe toward the lower fre-
labeled as “direct” and “coupled.” These “direct” and
quency end than the higher frequency for both the gain and
“coupled” ports are connecting to the SPDT switches, which
efficiency performance. Although not shown here, this effect
is more severe in CP because, in this case, all four varactor
diodes are used; whereas in case of the linear polarization,
only two varactors are used at a time.

4. Proposed Feed Network for Tunability

and Polarization Control

To simultaneously control the frequency tunability and

polarization reconfiguration of the antenna, a feed network
using RF switches is proposed and designed. This tech-
nique to provide polarization reconfiguration is independent
of any radiator type and could apply to any dual feed an- Figure 12. Feed network schematic showing one single-pole
tenna configuration. Figure 12 shows the schematic of the 4 though (SP4T) switch, two single-pole double through
feed network, which includes 3 RF switches: one single-pole (SPDT) switches and one quadrature hybrid coupler.

210 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
 Table 1. State of each switch with ideal values in
schematic (see Figure 12) for different polarizations.
then results in the output ports of the feed network where an-
tenna feed ports are connected. This way, the power will be
divided between the ports with 90 time phase difference.
The phase sign can be set by switching the “input” and “iso-
lation” port of the coupler by using SP4T switch. In Table 1,
the desired polarization combinations and their ideal values
are summarized.
The designed feed network is laid out and simulated
using AWR’s Microwave Office software on 62-mil-thick
(1.58 mm) FR4 substrate (150  150 mm2 , "r ¼ 4:4, tan  ¼
0:02). Figure 13 shows the circuit layout, which consists of
RF lines and dc control lines in addition to the RF switches.
Skyworks AS204-80 and AS186-302 RF switches are mod-
eled as the SP4T and SPDT switches. Both switches have
low actuation and control voltage (5 V), good insertion loss
(G 1 dB) and good isolation (> 45 dB) between ports
and are match terminated. DC blocking capacitors are re-
quired at each output ports of the switches. A dual in-line
package (DIP) switch is included to apply dc voltage to con-
trol the state of the switches. As mentioned before, to bias
the varactors for tunability, the central patch is connected to
the positive pole through the feed network circuit. For this
Figure 13. Layout of the feed network to control the exci-
tation of the antenna ports for tunability and polarization
reconfigurability.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
reason, a pad is included, which is connected through a RF
choke inductor to one of the ports.
5. Experimental Verifications
The antenna and control feed network were fabricated and
experimentally verified for impedance matching and radiation
performance in the Antenna and Microwave Laboratory (AML)
at San Diego State University. An LPKF milling machine was
used for fabricating the antenna and feed network. Surface
mount component soldering station was used for populating the
RF components on the antenna and feed network. Anritsu’s
vector network analyzer (Model L 37269D) was used for veri-
fying S-parameters.
5.1 Feed Network Fabrication and
Measurements
Figure 14 shows photograph of the prototype feed net-
work, as per the layout shown in Figure 13, on a 1.58-mm-
thick FR4 substrate material. A 50
end-launched sub-miniature
adapter (SMA) is used to connect to the feed network. Figure 17
shows the measured S-parameters (S11 , S21 , S31 ) response for
the RHCP and LHCP and linear polarization cases. In these
S-parameters, port 1 refers to the input port, port 2 refers to the
output #1 and port 3 refers to the output #2 of the feed network
(see Figure 12). From Figure 15, it is evident that the S21 and
S13 are almost equal, whereas S11 is less than 10 dB except
for the LHCP case between 1.5 and 1.58 GHz, where it is
slightly higher (9 dB). The difference between the S21 and S31
is less than 1 dB throughout the desired frequency tunability
range. This nonzero difference would affect the AR purity and
CP gain of the antenna. Figure 16 shows the phase response of
the output ports for the CP cases. The measured phase values
for the RHCP and LHCP cases are varying between 93.5 and
85 and 80 and 97 , respectively. This phase deviation
would also deteriorate the measured AR and quality of CP
Figure 14. Photograph of the feed network with RF and
DIP switches, dc control lines, and bias pads. Antenna
feed ports are connected through the output ports.
211

Figure 15. Measured S-parameter response (dB) of the
feed network for the LHCP and RHCP cases.
Figure 16. Measured phase response (degree) of the feed
network for the LHCP and RHCP cases.
radiation patterns of the antenna. The measured S-parameters
(S11 , S12 , S13 ) for the linear polarizations are shown in
Figure 17. Again, port 1 refers to the input port, port 2 refers to
the output #1 and port 3 refers to the output #2 of the feed net-
work (see Figure 12). For the vertical polarization, output #2 is
isolated (S13 G  10 dB), whereas power is going to the output
#1 (S12 9  2 dB). For the horizontal polarization, output #1 is
isolated (S12 G  10 dB), whereas power is going to the output
#2 (S13 G  2 dB). For both linear polarizations, antenna shows
impedance matching (S11 G  10 dB). In coming sections, we
present antenna performance with this control feed network.
Figure 17. Measured S-parameter response (dB) of the
feed network for the linear horizontal and linear vertical
polarizations.
212
Figure 18. Photograph of the fabricated antenna with feed
ports, varactor diodes, and bias pads. The polarization and
tunability control feed network is placed on the backside of
the antenna connected through short flexible coaxial cables.
5.2 Antenna Fabrication and Impedance
Matching Measurements
Figure 18 shows photograph of the fabricated antenna
along with the feed network. The antenna was milled on a
60-mil (1.524 mm) double-sided Arlon AD450 substrates
(150  150 mm2 , "r ¼ 4:5, tan  ¼ 0:0035). Then, an un-
coated Arlon AD450 60-mil-thick (1.524 mm) sheet was
added below the patch substrate to get the overall substrate
height h ¼ 120 mil (3.05 mm). Plastic screws were used to
keep these two substrate sheets together. The antenna and
feed network are connected using two 4-in-long flexible ca-
bles through the SMA ports. A dc-regulated voltage source
was used for actuating the varactor diodes in reverse bias for
the measurement of S-parameters.
Figure 19 shows the measured S-parameters (S11 and
S22 ) of the antenna when the same reverse bias voltage is ap-
plied to the varactors through the feed network for the two
linear polarization cases. For the horizontal polarization, in-
put port of the feed network is connected to port 1 of an-
tenna; therefore, S11 (dB) is measured. For the vertical
polarization, input port of the feed network is connected to
port 2 of the antenna, therefore S22 (dB) is measured. For the
S11 , the matching level shows better response compared with
Figure 19. Measured S-parameters of the antenna con-
trolled through feed network (S11 and S22 ) for different
applied reverse bias voltages.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
 5.3 Radiation Pattern Measurements

Radiation pattern measurements were performed at

SDSU’s Antenna and Microwave Laboratory (AML), which
includes an anechoic chamber and Orbit/FR Spectrum Anal-
ysis tool capable of processing measured linear and circular
polarized radiation patterns including sense of rotation, AR,
and CP gain. For the radiation pattern measurements in the
anechoic chamber, varactor diodes were biased with a
Jameco Electronics dc–dc boost converter. This dc booster is
capable of converting input dc voltage of 3 V to a variable
dc output voltage between 3 and 30 V. Now, we present a
comparison between the simulated and measured radiation
patterns of the antenna for the four polarization cases at se-
lected frequencies within the tunable range.

Figure 20. Comparison between the measured and simu-

lated horizontally polarized gain radiation patterns (i.e.,
only port1 is excited) for three different bias voltages
with their associated frequencies of operation (a) 0 V for
1.17 GHz, (b) 4 V for 1.36 GHz, and (c) 12 V for 1.58 GHz.

the S22 . There is a slight shift between the simulated and

measured resonant frequencies for the tunable bands. This is
attributed to dissimilarities of the varactor diodes in their
electrical values and sharing of one bias voltage source by
diodes. In [14], it is recommended that, separate biasing
voltages should be used for each of the varactors to compen-
sate such a shift. However, it complicates the packaging and
measurement process because of the several battery place-
ments with the antenna; hence, it was not implemented here.
The measurements conducted with variable bias voltages are
equivalent to the capacitance values in the simulation results Figure 21. Comparison between the measured and simu-
(see Figure 7). Therefore, Figures 7 and 19 are comparable, lated vertically polarized gain radiation patterns (i.e.,
which shows a good agreement between simulated and mea- only port2 is excited) for three different bias voltages with
sured results. Particularly, the upper and lower frequency their associated frequencies of operation (a) 0 V for
tunable band limits are maintained. 1.17 GHz, (b) 4 V for 1.36 GHz, and (c) 12 V for 1.58 GHz.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015 213
 Table 2. Comparison between the simulated and
measured gain for horizontal linear polarization.

5.3.1 Horizontal and Vertical Polarized

Radiation Patterns

Figures 20 and 21 show comparison of the measured

and simulated radiation patterns of the antenna for hori-
zontal and vertical polarizations, respectively, when three
different bias voltages are applied at varactor diodes caus-
ing three different frequencies of operation. Selected volt-
ages are 0, 4, and 12 V because these generate the start
(1.17 GHz), middle (1.36 GHz), and end (1.58 GHz) of the
tunable frequency bands, respectively. For the copolarization
components, there is good agreement between the simulated
and measured radiation pattern results. Tables 2 and 3 show
the comparison between the simulated and measured gain
results for the two linear polarizations for the three different
applied voltages and their relevant resonant frequencies. Dif-
ference between the simulated and measured gain is between
0.7 and 0.4 dB for all the cases. The worst case measured
peak cross-polarization patterns are 15 dB below the mea-
sured peak copolarization patterns but are higher than the
simulated ones. The disagreements are attributed to fabrica-
tion errors in antenna and feed network, which include RF
components and varactor diodes, and anechoic chamber’
noise floor level limit around these frequencies. Overall, the
simulated and measured data are in reasonably good
agreement.

Figure 22. Comparison between the measured and simu-

5.3.2 LHCP and RHCP Radiation Patterns
The LHCP and RHCP radiation patterns of the antenna
were also measured for three different bias voltages of 0, 4,
and 12 V, which correspond to the start (1.17 GHz), middle
(1.36 GHz), and end (1.58 GHz) of the frequencies within
the frequency tunability range, respectively. The simulated
and measured LHCP and RHCP radiation patterns are shown
in Figures 22 and 23, respectively.
Table 3. Comparison between the simulated and
measured gain for vertical linear polarization.
lated left-handed circularly polarized gain radiation pat-
terns for three different bias voltages with their
associated frequencies of operation (a) 0 V for 1.17 GHz,
(b) 4 V for 1.36 GHz, and (c) 12 V for 1.58 GHz.
Difference between the peak copolarization and peak
cross-polarization is better than 15 dB. Like in linear polari-
zation cases, the measured peak cross-polarization is higher
than the simulated ones. Tables 4 and 5 compare the mea-
sured and simulated gain and AR values. As observed in the
linear polarization measurements, measured CP gain has 1 to
0.5 dB difference compared with the simulated values.
Again, this is attributed to the fabrication errors in antenna
and feed network, which includes RF components and varac-
tor diodes, and sensitivity level in the chamber. In simu-
lations, considering the feed network response, AR less than
1 dB was observed for the different varactor capacitance
values at the relevant frequencies. Compared with this, the
measured ARs are only better than the 3-dB acceptable AR
criteria. The differences between the simulated and measured

214 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015

Figure 23. Comparison between the measured and simu-
lated right-handed circularly polarized gain radiation
patterns for three different bias voltages with their associ-
ated frequencies of operation (a) 0 V for 1.17 GHz, (b) 4 V
for 1.36 GHz, and (c) 12 V for 1.58 GHz.
ARs are attributed to phase and amplitude variations ob-
served with the feed network measurement, as discussed ear-
lier. This also results in higher measured cross-polarization
Table 4. Comparison between the simulated and
measured gain and AR for RHCP.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015
Table 5. Comparison between the simulated and
measured gain and AR for RHCP.
level than the simulated ones and slightly lower peak gain in
copolarization patterns than the simulated gain.
6. Conclusion
A frequency tunable and polarization reconfigurable cir-
cular patch antenna along with its feed network has been pre-
sented with the capability of tuning the operating frequency
between 1.17 and 1.58 GHz. This covers the whole L-band
GPS communication frequencies. The frequency tuning is
achieved by employing four varactor diodes in the antenna
structure and setting the capacitance values between 1.9 and
8 pF by varying the reverse bias voltage from 12 to 0 V. By
applying appropriate excitation through the feed network,
this design is capable of radiating in different polarization
modes: linear vertical, linear horizontal, RHCP, and LHCP.
The feed network uses RF and DIP switches and hybrid
coupler to automatically control the port excitations and con-
sequently, simultaneous tunability and polarization reconfigu-
ration of the antenna. A prototype antenna along with the
feed network was fabricated and experimentally verified for
the impedance matching and radiation patterns. Measured
and simulated results compare reasonably very well. This
antenna can find applications in L-band communications
offering multifunctional features.
7. Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by National Sci-
ence Foundation (NSF)’s CAREER grant # ECCS-0845822.
The authors would like to thank “Arlon Materials for Elec-
tronics Division” for providing free samples of AD450 and
“Skyworks Solutions” for free samples of varactor diodes.
The authors also thank S. Fernandez and N. Labadie for their
help in fabrication and measurement of the antenna.
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Behrouz Babakhani (S’13) was born in Iran
in 1985. He received the B.Sc. degree in
electrical engineering from Ferdowsi Univer-
sity of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran, in 2009,
and the M.Sc. degree from Sharif university
of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2011. Since
fall 2012, he has been working toward the
Ph.D. degree.
His research interests are in tunable and
reconfigurable antennas and arrays.
216
Satish Kumar Sharma (M’00–SM’04) re-
ceived the B.Tech. degree from Kamla
Nehru Institute of Technology, Sultanpur, In-
dian, and the Ph.D. degree from the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), Banaras Hindu
University (BHU), Varanasi, India, in 1991
and 1997, respectively, both in electronics
engineering.
From March 1999 to April 2001, he was a
Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Uni-
versity of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
From May 2001 to August 2006, he was a
Senior Antenna Engineer with InfoMagnetics Technologies Corporation in
Winnipeg, MB. Simultaneously, from June 2001 to August 2006, he was
also a Research Associate with the University of Manitoba. In August
2006, he joined San Diego State University (SDSU), San Diego, CA, USA,
as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering. Here, he has developed an Antenna Laboratory, teaches
courses in applied electromagnetics, and advises several M.S. and Ph.D.
graduate students. Currently, he is a Professor and Director of the Antenna
and Microwave Laboratory (AML). He is author/coauthor of more than 150
research papers published in the referenced international journals and con-
ferences. Recently, he coedited three volumes of Handbook of Reflector An-
tennas and Feed Systems, Volume 1: Theory and Design of Reflectors,
Volume II: Feed Systems, and Volume III: Applications of Reflectors (Artech
House, USA), which also has several coauthored chapter contributions by
him. He is the holder of 1 U.S. and 1 Canadian patents. His main research
interests are in the microstrip antennas, ultrawide, wideband, multiband and
broadband antennas, reconfigurable and tunable antennas, feeds for reflector
antennas, waveguide horns and polarizers, electrically small antennas, mul-
ti-input–multi-output antennas, phased array antennas, wire antennas, active
antennas, and microwave passive components.
Dr. Sharma was the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s presti-
gious faculty early development (CAREER) award in 2009 and the Young
Scientist Award of URSI Commission B, Field and Waves, during the
URSI Triennial International Symposium on Electromagnetic Theory, Pisa,
Italy, in 2004. He was recognized as the Outstanding Associate Editor (AE)
for the IEEE TRANSACTION ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION (IEEE TAP)
journal in July 2014. He is serving as the AE for the IEEE TAP since 2010.
He was Chair/Cochair of the several Student Paper Contests in different
conferences and symposia and served on the sub-committee of the Educa-
tion Committee for the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society for the or-
ganization of the Student Paper Contests. He is a full member of the
USNC/URSI, Commission B, Fields and Waves.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 2, April 2015