The synaptic antenna for reconfigurable array applications-description

The authors describe the physical structure of a synaptic antenna that may be used for reconfigurable applications. The synaptic antenna is a matrix of thin conductive line segments joined (synapsed) at nodes with photoconducting cells (Photistor) that can be switched on by optical energy alone. The entire matrix rests on a perfectly conducting ground plane, through which the nodes are switched by an optical fiber feed configuration. The conducting segments between switched-on nodes are excited through synaptically configured transmission lines. Typical realizable thin-wire antenna configurations include broadside and collinear horizontal dipole arrays and crossed dipole arrays. The electromagnetic behavior of various synaptic antennas is analyzed by a thin-wire version of the Numerical Electromagnetics Code.<>