Electrically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR) antennas

A novel ground-plane shape to improve the horizontal gain for electrically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR) antennas is investigated. The peak directivity of a monopole antenna with a finite ground plane, such as a circular or rectangular ground plane is at a higher angle from the horizon. Thus, the horizontal gain is lower than that of a dipole antenna. Using a circular ground plane of a half-wavelength radius with a skirt of a quarter wavelength wound around it, the angle of the peak directivity and the horizontal gain for the ground-based communication system were improved. For an ESPAR antenna - one of the monopole arrays - the horizontal gain was also improved. It was confirmed that it was possible to form the main-beam radiation and a beam null in the horizontal plane, each in an arbitrary direction, by changing the control voltage to the passive element. This was shown by an experiment with an ESPAR antenna with a finite reflector, a feed element, and seven passive elements.