Dual Strip-Excited Dielectric Resonator Antenna with Parasitic Strips for Radiation Pattern Reconfigurability

A novel pattern reconfigurable antenna concept utilizing rectangular dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) placed over dielectric substrate backed by a ground plane is presented. A dual strip excitation scheme is utilized and both excitation strips are connected together by means of a 50 Ω microstrip feed network placed over the substrate. The four vertical metallic parasitic strips are placed at corner of DRA each having a corresponding ground pad to provide a short/open circuit between the parasitic strip and antenna ground plane, through which a shift of 90° in antenna radiation pattern in elevation plane is achieved. A fractional bandwidth of approximately 40% at center frequency of 1.6 GHz is achieved. The DRA peak realized gain in whole frequency band of operation is found to be above 4 dB. The antenna configuration along with simulation and measured results are presented.