Monolithic integrated re-configurable antenna with RF-MEMS switches fabricated on printed circuit board

A re-configurable antenna providing scan-beam capability with a single antenna is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna system includes a re-configurable rectangular spiral antenna with a set of MEMS switches, which are monolithically integrated onto the same substrate printed circuit board (/spl epsiv//sub r/=3.27 and tan /spl delta/=0.004). The system is based on a single-arm rectangular spiral antenna, capable of changing its radiation pattern using RF-MEMS switches. The spiral is made out of multiple segments, which are interconnected by RF-MEMS switches strategically located along the spiral. On activating these switches, the spiral overall arm length is changed and consequently its radiation beam direction is changed. The antenna radiates right hand circular polarization (RHCP). The gain of the antenna varies between 3/spl sim/6 dBi, and satisfies the 3-dB axial ratio criterion at the operating frequency band of 10 GHz. The excellent performance of the proposed system emphasizes the importance of being able to integrate MEMS switches into the same low loss substrate for antenna applications.