Impact of non-linear switch characteristics on the reconfigurated antenna properties

Modern telecommunication systems based on different data transmission standards are often built using reconfigurable antennas. The insertion of non-linear radio frequency elements into the antenna structure allows extending of its functional capabilities and it can also result in occurrence of some non-linear effects that can distort the transmitted data. It makes the problem examined in the article so important. The main questions considered are: the features of the non-linear RF switching elements applied in the antennas; numerical research of the influence of the volt-farad characteristic of the switch and the power of excitation upon the antenna characteristics are performed. The assessments and researches performed allow obtaining general representations and forecasting of non-linear distortions in the reconfigurable antennas as the result of the various types of RF switches used.