A versatile reconfigurable antenna with integrated sensing mechanism

Abstract

An integrated reconfigurable antenna capable of spectrum sensing along with various reconfiguration features such as polarization, frequency, bandwidth, and radiation pattern is proposed here. The proposed antenna senses the spectrum by UWB antenna from 2 to 11 GHz to identify the spectrum conditions. After identifying the direction of maximum traffic or interference, the proposed antenna accordingly reconfigures its radiation pattern in order to mitigate the interference using switchable shorting posts. The antenna can reconfigure its polarization state using a switchable slot in the circular antenna. Frequency reconfigurability is obtained by using a varactor diode from 2 to 4 GHz. The antenna can reconfigure its bandwidth from UWB to NB by switching the active ports state. Measured and simulated results of the proposed antenna shows very good agreement, hence, validating the proposed design.