Frequency Reconfigurable Multiband Handset Antenna Based on a Multichannel Transceiver

The upcoming standards of wireless communications result in additional and more stringent requirements for antennas in mobile phones. In this paper, we present a frequency-reconfigurable antenna that could potentially be suited for future mobile devices. Frequency reconfigurability is achieved through a cluster of mutually coupled antenna elements that is excited with frequency-dependent weights using a multichannel transceiver. We report a mobile handset antenna cluster measuring 15 x 15 x 1.6 mm(3) that covers the frequency bands of 1.7-2.7, 3.3-4.5, and 5.475-6.425 GHz with an antenna efficiency better than 90%. The operation of the antenna cluster is experimentally verified by feeding all the antenna elements with proper weights using tailor-made power splitters that represent a multichannel transceiver with adjustable amplitude and phase in each branch. The results obtained with the feed networks suggest the feasibility of the reconfigurability concept and pave way for codesign of the antenna and the transceiver.