Isoflux, Flat-Top, and Pencil-Beam Pattern Reconfigurable Circularly Polarized Antenna Using Liquid Dielectric

This communication proposes a radiation pattern reconfigurable circularly polarized antenna based on liquid dielectric. The antenna consists of a circularly polarized feeding antenna and a 3-D-printed dielectric container. By filling three independent cavities inside the 3-D-printed container with liquid dielectric, the antenna can achieve switching between isoflux beam, flat-top beam, and pencil-beam by controlling the aperture field distribution of the antenna. To demonstrate this idea, the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulation one. In the mode of isoflux beam, the coverage area is around 70°. In the flat-top radiation pattern mode, the flatness is better than 1 dB within the beamwidth of ±38°, and the maximum gain of the pencil-beam mode is 10.7 dBic. The measured results indicate that the liquid antenna has the function of reconfigurable radiation pattern and has good electrical performance, simple structure, and low manufacturing cost, making it a great potential in diversified communication environments.