Reconfigurable Beam Steering Using a Microstrip Patch Antenna With a U-Slot for Wearable Fabric Applications

Reconfigurable beam steering using a microstrip patch antenna with a U-slot is proposed for wearable fabric applications. The proposed antenna was manufactured on a fabric substrate and designed to steer the beam directions at the operation frequency of 6.0 GHz. The U-shaped slot and a proximity-coupled feeding technique are applied to design the proposed antenna. By configuring two artificial switches between the proximity-coupled feed and the antenna patch, the antenna is given three beam directions (S0, S1, and S2). The maximum beam directions are steerable in the
yz
-plane (θ = 0° , 30° , and 331° , respectively), and the overall HPBW is 115°. The measured peak gains are 6.11-6.69 dBi.