A Printed Monopole Antenna with Radiation Pattern Reconfiguration

This paper presents the design and analysis of a pattern reconfigurable monopole antenna intended for WLAN applications. A parasitic element that is connected to the ground plane by a PIN diode is placed parallel to the radiating monopole. When the diode is switched between the ON and OFF states, the function of the parasitic element changes from a reflector to a director, thus offering the capability to control the direction of the main beam. The two states of the reconfigurable antenna can also be changed at the initial design stage by choosing the distance between the monopole and the parasitic element. The simulations using the CST software proved the feasibility of the proposed antenna.