Reconfigurable Antenna Using Liquid Metal Vias

Abstract

This paper presents a moderately high directivity (~10 dBi) antenna having a reconfigurable radiation pattern. Specifically, the direction of the main beam can be altered. The radiation pattern control is achieved with the aid of a single-pole triple-through (SPTT) radio frequency (RF) switch. In turn the switch can be reconfigured with the aid of Gallium-based liquid metal. The proposed antenna operates at 5.8 GHz and it radiates in the End-fire direction with reconfigurable patterns in the azimuth plane. The proposed antenna and the SPTT switch are designed to operate on an RO4003 substrate and they are based around substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology.