Pattern reconfigurable antenna for mobile handsets

A low profile and compact printed pattern reconfigurable antenna for mobile handsets is presented in this paper. The antenna is capable of covering GSM 1800(1710-1880 MHz), GSM 1900(1850-1990 MHz), UMTS (1920-2170 MHz), WLAN (2400-2480 MHz) and LTE frequency bands in the range of 1.7-2.7 GHz when referenced to a return loss of 6dB. The antenna is composed of a coupled fed meandered monopole antenna with an extended metallic branch for pattern re-configurability. The extended metallic branch is connected and disconnected by using the p-i-n diode switch which changes the path for current flow thereby achieving pattern re-configurability. When the p-i-n diode is `ON´, the metallic branch is activated and the current start flowing through it and pattern is shifted to the left. When the p-i-n diode is in `OFF´ state, the metallic branch is disconnected and the pattern is shifted to the right. The substrate used for the circuit board is FR-4 with the relative permittivity of 4.35, loss tangent of 0.02 and a volume of 65 × 110 × 0.8 mm³. The antenna inhabits an area of 24 × 14.5 mm². The simulation and measurement results corroborate a good performance of the antenna.