Dual-band reconfigurable antenna for base-station applications

A novel reconfigurable antenna for dual-band operation is proposed. This antenna is composed of two square patches for lower frequency (patch 1) and upper frequency (patch 2), patch 2 being embedded in the centre cavity of patch 1. Frequency control can be realised using a switching circuit placed in the backside of the radiators without any switching components and capacitor variable components such as varactors, thus the proposed antenna can overcome the structural fragility of general reconfigurable antennas and operate in wideband with high gain characteristic (23% bandwidth with 8.4% dBi gain for band 1 and 12.1% with 9.0% dBi for band 2). Using the electrical and structural characteristics, the proposed antenna can be applied in base-station antennas providing multiple communication services.