Planar reconfigurable antenna with integrated switching control circuitry

In this paper we propose a pattern reconfigurable planar antenna with integrated control circuitry, for flexible applications with Software Defined Radio (SDR) platforms. The antenna's layout is made by four folded microstrip elements placed symmetrically on a low cost FR-4 substrate. By using PIN diodes, the metallic elements can be switched to generate a single omnidirectional beam or six directional beams around the azimuth plane. The design includes MOSFET based control circuitry for switching the PIN diodes. The RF performance has been experimentally evaluated under different levels of control voltage. The radiation of omnidirectional and directional beams along with an integrated control board, allows for convenient utilization of the antenna in numerous SDR MIMO platforms.