Reconfigurable Beamforming Silicon Plasma Antenna with Vertical PIN Diode Array

Abstract

For the first time, this study demonstrates a reconfigurable antenna with electrical beamforming that is entirely integrated by semiconductor microfabrication technology. In this paper, a vertical structured array of solid‐state plasma which acts as a reconfigurable conducting wall to control the main beam direction of an antenna is proposed. In many conventional works, insufficient electrical conductivity of turned‐on plasma channels at the planar surface of PIN diodes causes an inherent large loss and low radiation efficiency of silicon‐based antennas. However, in this study, the overall performance of the antenna is notably enhanced by adopting the vertical plasma channels which solve the lower electrical conductivity problem of the surface‐type plasma structure. Accordingly, the proposed antenna achieves a high realized gain of more than 5 dBi over a frequency range of 27.5–29.6 GHz, even though it is comprised of lossy silicon with high permittivity. In addition, the low cost and electrically reconfigurable antenna, which benefits from the highly precise semiconductor fabrication process, is applicable to sub‐THz applications with a lightweight and compact sized feature. This work paves the way to make silicon antennas with commercial microfabrication technology a next‐generation antenna.

Frequency reconfigurable slot antenna utilizing solid-state plasma S-PIN diodes: simulation and experimental analysis

“…The operating frequency of the antenna can be adjusted from 6.3 GHz to 4.9 GHz, and the adjustable bandwidth is about 31%. In 2020, Hur et al [18] presented a beam-reconfigurable silicon-based plasma antenna employing a solid-state plasma structure based on vertical-PIN diodes (V-PIN). The study employed V-PIN diodes as reconfigurable conductive wall elements to achieve beam reconfiguration within the antenna system.…”

“…Based on the current research landscape of plasma antennas, it can be inferred that solid-state plasma frequency reconfigurable antennas primarily exist in three forms: oscillator type [17], reflection type [18], and slot type [19]. The oscillator type is constructed with multiple S-PIN diodes arranged either in parallel or in series, enabling the alteration of the antenna's radiation pattern through the reconfigurability of the solid-state plasma region.…”

Multiband and Low-Profile Frequency Reconfigurable Microstrip Patch Antenna Design Using Single PIN diode for WiFi/GPS applications

“…They are used in the applications such as Cognitive Radio System, Satellite Application, Biomedical Application, filters, etc [25] [26]. Among reconfigurable antennas, beam antenna has gained attention for data rate for the next generation of wireless communication technology used for 5G service, automotive radars [27]. The different slots in the antenna are designed for frequency and radiation using implemented PIN diodes.…”