Ferroelectric barium strontium titanate thin-film varactor based reconfigurable antenna

Date of Award

2011

Degree Name

M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Guru Subramanyam

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to develop an antenna that can shift its frequency of operation over a band of frequencies. A novel printed antenna for frequency reconfigurable applications is presented. A coplanar waveguide (CPW) antenna was designed on a non-grounded substrate, with the center conductor of the CPW transmission line connected to a bowtie patch. The bowtie structure is the radiating element and lies in the inner space of the annulus created by the CPW ground lines. The antenna has a compact structure with the total area 6x6 mm2. The frequency of this antenna can be reconfigured from 5.75 GHz to 6.19 GHz by tuning a varactor loaded with the antenna. Applying a DC bias voltage to the ferroelectric (FE) Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) varactor alters the S-parameters of the antenna. The return loss of the antenna in the frequency of operation is below -10 dB, which fits the requirement of a working antenna. The frequency of operation shifts from a lower frequency to a higher frequency by increasing the DC bias voltage. This reconfigurable antenna was designed, simulated, and fabricated, and the test and measurement results are shown.

Keywords

Antennas (Electronics) Design and construction, Ferroelectric thin films

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2011, author

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS