Reconfigurable gap-coupled back-to-back truncated rhombus-like slotted patch antenna with steerable beams

The paper presents an innovative antenna structure by incorporating a reconfigurable planar array antenna with parasitic elements, in which it comprises of two truncated rhombus-like slotted patch antennas in back-to-back configuration. The antenna emphasizes on these two design elements: slotted patch and parasitic elements to reconfigure its frequency and radiation pattern, respectively. On top of that, the deployment of an aperture coupling technique which separates feed network from the antenna radiating elements help to reduce spurious effects from the feed work. The main focus of this work is to design a reconfigurable antenna structure that is capable of operating at two different frequencies with steerable beams. In other words, both frequency and radiation pattern can be reconfigured by using the same antenna. A `state-of-the-art' design of rhombus-like slotted patch with truncated edges is also introduced in this paper. The integration of PIN diodes as RF switches with the feed network and parasitic elements enables the antenna to activate at two different frequencies with six different steerable beam directions at each frequency mode, F1=5.3GHz (0°, 10°, 170°, 180°, 190° and 350°) and F2=5.9GHz (0°, 20°, 160°, 180°, 200° and 340°). Both simulation and measurement results are presented and they agree well to each other. The antenna is compatible to be embedded with other mobile devices owing to its small and compact size. Furthermore, it has the potential to be applied in multiple applications based on 5.3GHz and 5.9GHz bands.