A dual-band dual-polarized steerable pattern reconfigurable antenna

A novel low-profile dual-band steerable pattern-reconfigurable antenna (PRA) is presented in this paper. The antenna consists of two parallel fed radiating elements with a pair of varactors acting as a loaded-line phase shifter. A DC bias voltage applied to the varactors controls the phase delay between the currents feeding each element and the imbalance in current flow modulates the pattern. The design and full wave simulation of the antenna are presented. The proposed antenna provides dual polarized 25° beam steering in the elevation plane in both the 3.51-GHz and 3.67-GHz band. Unlike existing PRAs that employ multiple PIN diodes to switch through discrete radiation profiles, this antenna changes its pattern continuously using a single control signal while maintaining a good input response without the need for a sophisticated matching network.