Phase and Amplitude Controlled Micropatch Antenna
Abstract
As the wireless communications industry in the U.S. stands poised for an explosion of new commercial and military applications(e.g. the Radio Mall, the Airlink), reducing the high cost of phased array antennas becomes ever more important. Reducing these antenna costs is the primary objective of this research. We will describe an effort that to date has produced a working prototype of a micropatch antenna incorporating a single dollar per bit phase shifter. Since 1987, when we have been involved in designing antenna systems using micropatch elements, early work led to our discovery of the Smart Electromagnetic Structure concept which resulted in the development of a neural controlled, frequency agile antenna element capable of following the frequency of incoming radiation, and tuning the antenna center frequency to that of the incoming signal. This can be applied to systems like frequency-hop radios. In this paper we will describe a method of controlling a micropatch antenna to provide phase only variation of the antenna characteristics using a similar device to that used for the frequency control experiments. We have successfully varied the phase of the antenna element without significantly changing the operating frequency. This work has led us to pursue further the design and fabrication of an array of such phase adjustable element to test the hypothesis that such phase controlled micropatch elements can be used to fabricate a low cost phased array antenna. MicroStrip antennas, Frequency agile, Phase shift, Tuning, Varactors, Phased arrays, Adaptive antennas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 28, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA284191
Entities
People
- Michael H. Thursby
Organizations
- Florida Institute of Technology