Reconfigurable antenna

Areconfigurable antennaisanantennacapableofmodifyingdynamicallyits
frequencyandradiationpropertiesinacontrolledandreversiblemanner.
Inordertoprovideadynamicalresponse,reconfigurableantennasintegrate
aninnermechanism(suchasRFswitches,varactors,mechanicalactuatorsor
tunablematerials)thatenabletheintentionalredistributionoftheRF
currentsovertheantennasurfaceandproducereversiblemodificationsover
itsproperties.
Reconfigurableantennasdifferfromsmartantennasbecausethe
reconfigurationmechanismliesinsidetheantennaratherthaninan
externalbeamformingnetwork.
Thereconfigurationcapabilityofreconfigurableantennasisusedto
maximizetheantennaperformanceinachangingscenarioortosatisfy
changingoperatingrequirements.
 Typesofantennareconfiguration

Typesofantennareconfiguration
Reconfigurableantennascanbeclassified
accordingtotheantennaparameterthatis
dynamicallyadjusted,typicallythe
frequencyofoperation,radiationPatternor
polarization.
 Frequency reconfiguration
Frequency reconfiguration
Frequencyreconfigurableantennascanadjustdynamically
theirfrequencyofoperation.
Theyareparticularlyusefulinsituationswhereseveral
communicationssystemsconvergebecausethemultiple
antennasrequiredcanbereplacedbyasingle
reconfigurableantenna.
Frequencyreconfigurationisgenerallyachievedby
modifyingphysicallyorelectricallytheantennadimensions
usingRF-switches,impedanceloadingortunablematerials.
 Radiation pattern reconfiguration
Radiation pattern reconfiguration
Radiationpatternreconfigurabilityisbasedonthe
intentionalmodificationofthesphericaldistributionof
radiationpattern.
Beamsteeringisthemostextendedapplicationand
consistsinsteeringthedirectionofmaximumradiationto
maximizetheantennagaininalinkwithmobiledevices.
Patternreconfigurableantennasareusuallydesigned
usingmovable/rotatablestructuresorincluding
switchableandreactively-loadedparasiticelements
 Polarization reconfiguration
Polarization reconfiguration
Polarizationreconfigurableantennasarecapableof
switchingbetweendifferentpolarizationmodes.
Thecapabilityofswitchingbetweenhorizontal,
verticalandcircularpolarizationscanbeusedto
reducepolarizationmismatchlossesinportable
devices.
Polarizationreconfigurabilitycanbeprovidedby
changingthebalancebetweenthedifferentmodesof
amultimodestructure
 Compound reconfiguration
Compound reconfiguration
Compoundreconfigurationisthecapabilityof
simultaneouslytuningseveralantennaparameters,for
instancefrequencyandradiationpattern.
Themostcommonapplicationofcompoundreconfiguration
isthecombinationoffrequencyagilityandbeam-scanning
toprovideimprovedspectralefficiencies.
Compoundreconfigurabilityisachievedbycombininginthe
samestructuredifferentsingle-parameterreconfiguration
techniquesorbyreshapingdynamicallyapixelsurface
 ACTIVEANTENNA
Itisanantennathatcontainsactiveelectronic
component.
Highgainamplifier
Italsoconsistsofanimpedancetranslating
stagesandanoptionalamplificationstages.
Powerforactiveantennaissuppliedby
batteriesandsignalfeeder.
 Passiveantennaisonlyanantennaelement,no
amplifier.
Activeantennaisanantennawithintegrated
circuit.
Activeantennausedfortransmittingand
receivingapplications.
Transmantenna-increasedtheRFpower.
Receiverantenna-integratedampboosttheRF
signalpickedbytheantenna.
 Dielectric resonator antenna
Adielectric resonator antenna(DRA)isaradioantennausedatmicrowave
frequencies.
Itconsistsofablockofceramicmaterialofvariousshapes,the
dielectricresonator,mountedonametalsurface,agroundplane.
Inmicrostripantennaradiatingpatchisreplacedbyceramicblock.
Itconsistsofdielectricmaterialsuchasceramicontopofgroundeddielectric
structure.
DRAismadeofadielectricmaterialwithlowpermitivitytoenhancethe
radiation.
Radiowavesareintroducedintotheinsideoftheresonatormaterialfromthe
transmittercircuitandbouncebackandforthbetweentheresonatorwalls,
formingstandingwaves.
Thewallsoftheresonatorarepartiallytransparenttoradiowaves,allowing
theradiopowertoradiateintospace.
 Anadvantageofdielectricresonatorantennasistheylackmetal
parts,whichbecomelossyathighfrequencies,dissipatingenergy.
Sotheseantennascanhavelowerlossesandbemoreefficient
thanmetalantennasathighmicrowaveandmillimeterwave
frequencies.
 Features

Smallsize
Highradiationeffieciency
Widebandwidth
Highpowercapability
Lowloss.
 Application

WirelessLAN
RADAR
ElectronicBandGapStructureAntenna
.Highpermitivitysubstratesarerequiredforpatch
antennadesigntomeetthedesignofsmallsize
dimensionantenna.
Unfortunatelytheuseofhighpermitivitysubstrates
introducestheproblemofsurfacewaves,which
decreasethepowerradiatedbytheAntenna.
Thedesignsolutionwastoimplement
ElectromagneticBandGap(EBG)structuresto
eliminatesurfacewavepropagation.
 EBGstructuresaredefinedasartificialperiodic
structuresthatavertorassistthepropagationof
electromagneticwavesinaspecifiedbandof
frequenciesforallincidentanglesandall
polarizationstates.
EBGstructuresarealwaysusedasapartof
microwavedevicesinordertoimprovethe
performanceofdevicesespeciallytoimprovethe
radiation/gainpatternsandtodecreasethenoise
/lossesintransmissions
 EBGstructuresareperiodicinnature,which
mayberealizedbydrilling,cuffing,andetching
onthemetalordielectricsubstrates.Theymay
beformedinthegroundplaneoroverthe
substrate.
Itisaperiodicstructurethatforbidsthe
propagationofallelectromagneticwaves
withinaparticularfrequencyband-calledthe
bandgap

 Applications

Electronicallyscannedphasedarrays
highprecisionGPS
Bluetooth
Mobiletelephony