Reconfigurable broadband microstrip antenna fed by a coplanar waveguide

Abstract

In this paper, a novel reconfigurable two-layer microstrip antenna fed using a coplanar waveguide through a slot/loop combination is investigated. The slot/loop combination allows for easy reconfigurability of the frequency band of operation by incorporating switches in the feed network. Furthermore, broad impedance bandwidths were obtained by using two substrate layers consisting of a high-εr substrate that contains the feed network and a low-εr substrate that contains two patches, one patch on either side of the substrate. The two substrates are not separated by a ground plane. Impedance bandwidths of about 23% were obtained for two selectable frequency bands using two switches. The two frequency bands obtained for the parameters chosen in this paper are 8.73-10.95 GHz and 7.68- 9.73 GHz.