Active Antenna Bandwidth Control Using Reconfigurable Antenna Elements

Reconfigurable antennas represent a recent innovation in antenna design that changes from classical fixed-form, fixed-function antennas to modifiable structures that can be adapted to fit the requirements of a time varying system. Advances in microwave semiconductor processing technologies have enabled the use of compact, ultra-high quality RF and microwave switches in novel aspects of antenna design. This dissertation introduces the concept of reconfigurable antenna bandwidth control and how advances in switch technology have made these designs realizable. Specifically, it details the development of three new antennas capable of reconfigurable bandwidth control. The newly developed antennas include the reconfigurable ring patch, the reconfigurable planar inverted-F and the reconfigurable parasitic folded dipole. The relevant background work to these designs is described and then design details along with computer simulations and measured experimental results are given.