Burj Khalifa-inspired reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna for wireless solutions

This paper presents a new microstrip patch antenna inspired by the iconic Burj Khalifa, Dubai's world's tallest skyscraper. The antenna design focuses on being compact, lightweight, cost-effective, and versatile. Simulated through HFSS software, the patch antenna demonstrates a multi-frequency operation. Fabricated on a double-sided copper FR4 epoxy PCB (4 × 8 cm², 1.6 mm thickness) using a coaxial probe feeding method, it achieves a gain exceeding 7 dB at 7 GHz. Prototypes show excellent consistency between measured and simulated reflection coefficients and gains at 4.8, 5.7, and 7 GHz. Two additional designs are presented to adjust the resonance frequency, making it suitable for biomedical sensors, WIFI, and point-to-point microwave links. One design involves adding a short slot that is close to the feed point, while the other design includes a pair of varactors. Both designs create a reconfigurable microstrip antenna with electromagnetic characteristics that can be adjusted to increase its electrical length. The antenna resonates at 4.8 GHz. The slotted short patch shifts the resonance to 3.1 GHz, and the varactor patch shifts the resonance frequency to 2.1 GHz. When the DC reverse bias voltage of the varactors varies from 0 to 6 V, the gain improves to 15.2 dB.