A Reconfigurable Coplanar Waveguide Bowtie Antenna Using an Integrated Ferroelectric Thin-Film Varactor

Abstract

A novel printed antenna with a frequency reconfigurable feed network is presented. The antenna consists of a bowtie structure patch radiating element in the inner space of an annulus that is on a nongrounded substrate with a ferroelectric (FE) Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) thin film. The bowtie patch is fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line that also includes a CPW-based BST shunt varactor. Reconfiguration of the compact 8 mm × 8 mm system has been demonstrated by shifting the antenna system’s operating frequency 500 MHz in the 7–9 GHz band by applying a DC voltage bias.

Printed planar tunable composite right/left‐handed leaky‐wave antenna based on a tunable polymer‐BST substrate

“…BST has been utilized in various reconfigurable devices as a BST-based varactor. [18][19][20][21] In most of these devices, BSTbased varactors are typically utilized in a coplanar-plate under the device or under Interdigitated Capacitors (IDCs) where IDCs are placed on top of a thin or thick BST film. 13 BST has been fabricated as a thick or thin film using conventional fabrication techniques including mask development and photo lithographic processes.…”

“…BST has been utilized in various reconfigurable devices as a BST‐based varactor 18‐21 . In most of these devices, BST‐based varactors are typically utilized in a coplanar‐plate under the device or under Interdigitated Capacitors (IDCs) where IDCs are placed on top of a thin or thick BST film 13 .…”

Influence of uncertainty in dielectric properties on the design performance of a tunable composite right/left handed leaky wave antenna

“…This property may also be used to develop tunable antennas, with most realizations focusing on tuning elements within a patch structure [2,3,4]. Tunability in antennas enables multi-functionality without multiplication of components [5].…”