A frequency reconfigurable antenna design for UWB applications

This paper proposes a frequency reconfigurable antenna system designed for cognitive radio applications. The antenna structure consists of a sensing antenna and a frequency reconfigurable antenna system. The sensing antenna scans the channel to discover frequency bands while the reconfigurable section is tuning to communicate within these bands. A reconfigurable antenna consists of five different patches and there frequencies cover from 2.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. The frequency agility is achieved via a rotational motion of the patch antennas. The rotation is controlled by a stepping motor mounted on the back of the antenna structure and the motor's rotational motion is controlled by MEMS switch connected to a microcontroller. A frequency reconfigurable antenna offers many advantages such as easy fabrication, suitability for installation and coverage spectrum UWB (Ultra Wideband).