Title :
The GTRI prototype reconfigurable aperture antenna
Author :
Pringle, L.N. ; Harms, P.H. ; Blalock, S.P. ; Kiesel, G.N. ; Kuster, E.J. ; Friederich, P.G. ; Prado, Ron J. ; Morris, Joel M. ; Smith, G.S.
Author_Institution :
Georgia Tech. Res. Inst., Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
In this paper, we describe a prototype antenna resulting from a three-year effort to design, build, and test a reconfigurable aperture (RECAP). The antenna consists of a planar array of electrically small, metallic patches that are interconnected by switches. The antenna can be reconfigured to meet different performance goals, e.g., bandwidth requirements and steering, by changing the switches that are open and closed. The switch configuration for a particular goal is determined using an optimizer, such as the genetic algorithm, with a full FDTD simulation. In previous papers, we presented the basic concept for the GTRI RECAP antenna along with several possible methods for controlling the switches. Here, we give the details for a prototype antenna that uses FET-based electronic switches with optical control.
Keywords :
aperture antennas; circuit optimisation; field effect transistor switches; finite difference time-domain analysis; genetic algorithms; microstrip antennas; optical control; planar antenna arrays; switched networks; FDTD; FET-based electronic switches; RECAP; bandwidth requirements; electrically small metallic patches; genetic algorithm; optically controlled switches; planar metallic patch array; reconfigurable aperture antenna; steering; switch configuration optimizer; switch interconnected patches; Aperture antennas; Bandwidth; Finite difference methods; Genetic algorithms; Optical control; Optical switches; Planar arrays; Prototypes; Testing; Time domain analysis;
Conference_Titel :
Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2003. IEEE
Conference_Location :
Columbus, OH, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7846-6
DOI :
10.1109/APS.2003.1219328
