Pattern reconfigurable cubic slot antenna

Abstract

In this paper, a cubical 3D folded slot antenna array with reconfigurable radiation pattern is reported. The proposed antenna is capable of switching between omnidirectional and broadside radiation pattern. The hollow nature of the design is beneficial for applications such as wireless sensor networks, where electronic circuits can be installed inside the antenna, producing a small overall packaged device. A robust feeding mechanism is also proposed that utilizes electronic switches to shift between the two offered radiation patterns, namely, omnidirectional and directional. A cubic prototype at 2.4 GHz having a gain of 2.85 dBi and 4.2 dBi along with input matching bandwidth of 21% and 2.7%, for the omnidirectional and broadside radiation case, respectively, has been presented. Whereas, the final antenna dimensions are 39.5× 39.25× 30 mm3. 3D and printable nature of the architecture makes the antenna a good candidate for the industry.