A Pattern-Reconfigurable Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna

A pattern-reconfigurable magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna is proposed. The antenna consists of a pair of ME dipoles, two parasitic elements, two baluns, and a reflective ground plane. The ME dipole is the main radiator. These two parasitic elements can be reconfigured from directors to reflectors using PIN diodes, and the main radiation direction of the ME dipole can be switched. Simulation results show that the radiation beam can be switched from +20° to -20° within the operating bandwidth. The maximum gain of the proposed antenna is 8.2 dBi, the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is maintained to be more than 80°, and the radiation efficiency is above 85%.