A Simple Planar Pattern-Reconfigurable Antenna Based on Arc Dipoles

A simple compact planar pattern-reconfigurable antenna based on arc dipoles is proposed in this letter. The antenna consists of four identical arc dipoles and a broadband reconfigurable feeding network, which are printed on the bottom and top layers of the substrate, respectively. By switching the on/off states of the p-i-n diodes, which are integrated in the reconfigurable feeding network, four different modes with endfire radiation patterns can be obtained in the azimuthal plane. The antenna is simulated, fabricated, and measured. Experimental results indicate that the proposed antenna achieves a bandwidth of 33.6% (2.25-3.16 GHz) for impedance matching better than 10 dB. The measured average gain is 4.11 dBi. Furthermore, the radiation efficiency is up to 60%. The proposed antenna is suitable for WLAN applications in wireless communications.