Design actuation and control of active patch antennas

Edward Kiely; Gregory N. Washington; Jennifer Bernhard

doi:10.1117/12.320164

20 July 1998 Design actuation and control of active patch antennas

Edward Kiely, Gregory N. Washington, Jennifer Bernhard

Proceedings Volume 3328, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Electronics and MEMS; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.320164
Event: 5th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The major drawback of a microstrip patch antenna is it's narrow bandwidth characteristics. One method that has been investigated to increase bandwidth is the addition of a parasitic element to the microstrip patch antenna. In an active microstrip patch antenna, variable bandwidth can be achieved by varying the spacing between the antenna and the parasitic element, which is fixed to a dielectric plate. In this study, an actuator is developed, tested and employed on an actual microstrip patch antenna and it's parasite. Since a relatively large displacement (1 cm) is needed, this mesoscale actuator is comprised of stacked Rainbow actuators. This study takes advantage of the fact that, for antennas operating at higher frequencies, smaller absolute displacements will result in significant percentage changes in antenna bandwidth. The use of the parasite and the active system accounted for up to a factor of five increase in antenna bandwidth. Various control techniques were employed to counteract the effects of hysteresis and creep on the actuator. Because the use of metal components can degrade antenna performance, emphasis was placed on synergy in the design process.

Citation Download Citation

Edward Kiely, Gregory N. Washington, and Jennifer Bernhard "Design actuation and control of active patch antennas", Proc. SPIE 3328, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Electronics and MEMS, (20 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.320164

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available