Analysis of techniques to minimise the interference effects of metallic control lines on reconfigurable microstrip antennas

An analysis of techniques used to minimise the adverse effects of metallic control lines on reconfigurable antenna performance is presented in this paper. The paper addresses the impact of control lines and possible ways to incorporate them into radiating structures with minimal effects on the radiation characteristics of reconfigurable antennas. This is aided by a study performed on a simple reconfigurable printed dipole antenna operating between 1 and 3 GHz. Parametric studies were performed on the length and location of control lines printed on the substrate. Simulation results for different control line configurations are presented and discussed.