Reconfigurable microstrip stacked array antenna

The project examines the novel structure of a frequency-reconfigurable microstrip stacked array antenna by using the aperture-coupled feeding technique and the stacked patch methodology. The aperture slot positions are determined by the bottom patches and top patches (layer 1 & layer 2), respectively. To achieve the property of frequency reconfigurability, four PIN diode switches are placed on the feed line layer which is in turn below the ground layer. The frequency of operation is obtained at 2.5GHz and 4.5 GHz used for the applications of LTE and satellite communication. The major advantage of the proposed antenna is that it can minimize the surface area usage of the antenna, with different size of the patch having different operating frequencies, thereby achieving the frequency reconfigurability also simultaneously. The simulated results were found to have acceptable gain, return loss, directivity and bandwidth.