CPW-fed small slot antenna with reconfigurable circular polarization and impdeance bandwidth characteristcis for DCS/WiMAX applications

A novel printed reconfigurable square slot antenna with switchable right/left-handed circular-polarization (CP) and switchable dual-band performances for use in DCS/WiMAX applications is designed and manufactured. In the proposed antenna, in order to create a reconfigurable structure with switchable dual-band performance, a meander-line shaped radiating stub is utilized. This radiating stub can select between two operating frequency bands with respect to the number of its steps, and also right- or left-handed circular polarization at one of the operating bands (WiMAX) is determined by the growth direction of this meander-line structure. Moreover, through embedding an L-shaped slot on the ground section, circular polarization can be provided for the other operating frequency band (DCS). Having right- or left-handed circular polarization at this frequency band can be determined by the location and orientation of the L-shaped slot on the ground plane. In order to achieve a reconfigurable antenna structure with simultaneous switchable dual-band and circular polarization functions, six PIN diodes were utilized. The designed antenna has a small size of 30×30 mm. Simulated and experimental results obtained for the designed antenna reveal good radiation behavior within the DCS (1.85GHz) and WiMAX (3.5 GHz) frequency ranges. © 2015 Electromagnetics Academy. All rights reserved.