Investigation of novel architectures for tunable antennas based on optically generated plasmas

This paper investigates the use of superstrate structures for creating optically tunable planar antennas. The radiation from antenna elements made entirely out of an optically generated electron hole plasma patch is investigated first. The second part of the paper investigates the radiation characteristics of antennas formed using optically transparent conducting layers. The radiation patterns in both cases are made tunable either by varying the shape of the plasma or by illuminating certain regions of the structure. Simulation and measurement results for the antenna gain achievable from these architectures is shown. The antennas are designed to be used with individually addressable vertical emitting laser arrays which create the varying illumination patterns required for tuning.