Reconfigurable Beam-Steering Antenna Using Dipole and Loop Combined Structure for Wearable Applications

This paper proposes a reconfigurable beam-steering antenna using a bended dipole and a loop. The radiation patterns of the two antennas are cancelled or compensated, and headed towards a specific direction when the dipole and loop antenna are combined at a reasonable ratio. The proposed antenna can steer the beam directions by controlling the operation of two artificial switches. The proposed antenna was manufactured on a PCB (FR-4) and a flexible PCB (polyimide). In the case of the antenna that was fabricated on a PCB, the maximum beam directions were +50 degrees, 0 degrees, and -50 degrees in the azimuth direction using the two artificial switches, and the antenna gain was 1.96 dBi to 2.48 dBi in the operation bandwidth of 2.47 GHz to 2.53 GHz. Also, the antenna was fabricated on a flexible PCB and measured under various bending conditions for wearable applications.