posted on 2018-06-27, 15:10authored byC.J. Panagamuwa
With the rapid expansion of wireless communication services such as Bluetooth and
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), the ability of the antenna in a
communications device to cover multiple bands is growing in importance. Using
many antennas to cover an ever increasing number of bands is becoming impractical
with restrictions imposed by available space and cross-interference. It is in this
environment that frequency reconfigurable antennas are becoming a more attractive
option. Much work has already been presented on tuneable antennas using varactor
diodes, PIN diodes and more recently Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
devices, but each of these solutions require metal biasing lines that may interfere with
the radiation patterns and can suffer from low power handling capabilities.
In this study, a novel approach is presented where near infra-red light delivered
through glass fibre optic cables is used to activate simple photoconductive switches
embedded in a planar dipole antenna. [Continues.]
Funding
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC). Antrum Ltd.
History
School
Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publication date
2004
Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy at Loughborough University.