Reconfigurable antenna for mobile communication

Abstract A low profile and compact reconfigurable antenna for mobile communication is presented in this article. The antenna is capable of covering GSM 1800(1710- 1880 MHz), GSM 1900(1850-1990 MHz), UMTS (1920-2170 MHz), and LTE frequency bands in the range of 1.7-2.4 GHz when considered to a return loss of 10dB. The antenna is composed of a patch with microstrip feeding meandered monopole antenna with an extended metallic branch for re-configurability. The extended metallic branch is connected and disconnected by using the p-i-n diode switch which changes the path for current flow thereby achieving re-configurability. When the p-i-n diode is ‘ON’, the metallic branch is activated and the current start flowing through it and pattern is shifted to the left side and return loss is less. When the p-i-n diode is in ‘OFF’ state, the metallic branch is disconnected and the pattern is shifted to the right side and return loss is slightly more than ON state. The substrate used for this antenna is FR-4 having the relative permittivity of 4.4, loss tangent of 0.02 and a volume of 60 x 100 x 1.6 mm3. The antenna inhabits an area of 22 x 13.5 mm2. The simulation and measurement results confirm a good performance of the antenna. Keywords: Reconfigurable Antenna, reliable data transfer, mobile communication