Reconfigurable Orthogonal Antenna Array (ROAA) based on separated feeding network

A novel structure of Reconfigurable Orthogonal Antenna Array (ROAA) constructed with separated feeding network by air gap technique is introduced in this paper. In contrast to conventional antennas producing fixed directional radiation patterns, the ROAA studied here is able to scan the beam over 360° in the horizontal plane. The structures are consists of four Reconfigurable Planar Antenna Arrays (RPAA) operating around 5.8GHz. The main objective of this work is to design and analyze ROAA with its active feeding network (based on PIN diode switches) so as to steer beam at the resonant frequency. The integration of PIN diode switches with antenna enables to steer the antenna beams to the desired direction. This can be done by changing the switch state to either on or off mode for each RPAA. In this work, a number of parasitic elements have been proposed, namely reflector, placed between the patches to increase the beam steering angle. With such configuration, the main beam radiated by the array can be tilted due to the effect of mutual coupling between the driven elements and the parasitic elements (reflectors). The switches are used to select the port at feed network and supply the RF signal to the antenna for the purpose of changing the aperture's function during operation. The 16-PIC power controller output is used to control and supply the DC voltage to activate the RF switches mode. The antenna radiation characteristics have been determined using CST Microwave Studio. These results confirm that the main beam directions can be pointed in the following directions depending on the states of the PIN diodes: 0°, 20°, 70°, 90°, 110°, 160°, 180°, 200°, 250°, 270°, 290° and 340°. The experimental results of RPAA are represented. These results clearly show that the main beam for the antenna can be steered by changing the switch configuration.