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7th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP 2013) - Convened Sessions

Challenges for Frequency Reconfigurable Electrically


Small Antennas
Jennifer T. Bernhard, Matthew W. Young, and Siwen Yong
Electromagnetics Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL, USA
jbernhar@illinois.edu
resistance and that of the line and this will be true over a larger
bandwidth. It has also been demonstrated that the match
bandwidth can be increased several times by using antennas
that have multiple, closely spaced resonances [e.g., 3-6] (see
Figure 1 for an example). Several authors have also considered
this behavior in light of the characteristic modes of the
structures [e.g., 7, 8]. However, while these techniques may be
useful in expanding the operating bands of electrically small
antennas over slightly wider frequency bandwidths, they alone
are likely not enough to make these devices useful for
application in practical wireless communication systems,
especially with extreme tuning ranges. Several research groups
around the world have demonstrated a number of frequencytunable small antennas with varying degrees of frequency
reconfigurability [e.g., 9-14] but the approaches taken in these
designs do not lend themselves easily to the unique challenges
posed by the combination of severe volumetric constraints
(e.g., miniaturization requirements) and extremely large
frequency reconfiguration ranges. Here we outline the unique
challenges posed by the development of frequency
reconfigurable electrically small antennas that need to surpass
the current state of the art in both antenna reconfigurability and
miniaturization.

AbstractWhile a great deal of attention has been paid to


achieving miniaturized antennas that approach the Wheeler\Chu
\Thal limits for size and bandwidth performance, few researchers
have addressed techniques for making these antennas frequency
reconfigurable. Here we outline the unique challenges faced by
designers who require extremely large frequency-reconfigurable
ranges while maintaining extremely small (both physically and
electrically) form factors.
Index
Termselectrically
small
reconfigurability; antenna tunability

I.

antennas;

antenna

INTRODUCTION

Over the past several years, many electronic


communication devices have been greatly reduced in physical
size. However, the sizes of the antennas associated with these
devices have not kept pace. The problem of reducing the size
of antennas is made difficult by two fundamental physical
principles: (a) objects that are much smaller than the
wavelength do not radiate much, and (b) when the loss due to
radiation is smaller than the loss due to dissipation, the
efficiency is poor. These principles lead to difficult problems.
Impedance matching, even in a narrow band, requires new
techniques, as also does maintaining high performance over a
broad band. Recently, new methods and analyses techniques
have been developed that promise to make solvable both the
matching and broadbanding problems in spite of the limitations
inherent in a size that is small compared to the wavelength [1].
However, these methods fall short of providing antennas with
extreme tuning bandwidths (typically specified over an octave
or more), which are now being required for new applications,
often specifically geared toward emerging cognitive radio
systems [2].
It has long been recognized that resonance is important in
small antennas. Near resonance the reactive part of the input
impedance is small so that the impedance is primarily resistive.
Often the antenna is located some distance from the port of
interest on the rest of the system and a low-loss transmission
line is used to connect the two. The characteristic impedance
of the line will be predominantly real, and the problem of
matching impedances in the vicinity of resonance reduces to
the problem of matching resistances. The slope of the antenna
reactance versus frequency depends upon how large the
antenna resistance is. Thus, increasing the antenna resistance
will usually reduce the difference between the antenna

978-88-907018-3-2/13 2013 IEEE

Figure 1: Multi-resonant electrically small sector antenna, after


[6].

II.

CHALLENGES

A. Bias arrangements and networks


Implementation of active frequency switching or frequency
tuning elements in electrically small antennas requires a much
more detailed understanding of both the candidate antenna
topologies and the switching/tuning elements than currently

430

7th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP 2013) - Convened Sessions

same operating bands over which the antennas are intended to


operate. In the ideal scenario, a functional frequency tunable
radio attached to the antenna in its intended deployment would
be used, but since these radios are also still in development, it
has as yet been difficult to combine the two systems together to
arrive at a straightforward measurement system in which
designers can be confident.

exists, especially with regard to design tradeoffs in control


circuitry complexity and antenna performance. This is because
most bias/control network designs, including those that have
been used at Illinois in the past (e.g., [15, 16], assume that the
high frequency impedance match presented by the antenna
structure is much better than that of the bias network so that the
bias network remains relatively invisible to the radiating
structure. However, in the case of electrically small antennas,
the impedance changes much more rapidly across the radiating
structure than on a traditional antenna, making the design and
placement of any tuning or switching elements much more
critical for success. This also makes designs of traditional
impedance matching networks more difficult and complex.

REFERENCES
[1]
[2]

Electrically small antennas also pose severe limitations on


the number and placement of tuning elements. Frankly, the
structures are just not that large (electrically or physically) so
that incorporation of numerous tuning elements is simply not
possible in some topologies. This situation requires novel and
clever implementation of reconfiguration control circuitry that
specifically delivers the desired tuning ranges while also
supporting practical fabrication and assembly approaches.

[3]
[4]

B. Tuning mechanism limitations and losses


Electrically small antennas are inherently more susceptible
to the limitations of any tuning mechanism than their
electrically larger counterparts. This is because the impedances
encountered on an electrically small structure can change
rapidly with frequency, and the relative impedances presented
by various tuning mechanisms create opportunities for
suboptimal performance. Often, typical tuning ranges of
commercially-available devices may not be adequate to
achieve the desired frequency reconfigurability. Additionally,
the ohmic losses inherent in any tuning mechanism affect the
efficiency of the final structures, which, in the case of
electrically small frequency reconfigurable structures, can be
extremely poor at the lower end of the operating range.
Finally, the effects of the generation of harmonics and
intermodulation products created by some reconfiguration
mechanisms in these particular structures, especially in regard
to efficiency and component lifetimes, has not been explicitly
addressed to date.

[5]

[6]

[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]

[11]

C. Packaging and validation/test


It is one thing to test an electrically small antenna in the
laboratory, where a large ground plane can be used to approach
the ideal monopole case typically targeted in electrically
small antenna designs. However, it is completely a different
thing to test these antennas over finite ground planes found in
most practical communication devices. In these cases, two
main problems arise. First, if not properly choked, cable
currents arising from any impedance mismatches can affect
both impedance and radiation properties in ways that make the
antennas appear to be operating better than they should. This
phenomenon is not unique to reconfigurable antennas, and
often arises in the evaluation of any antenna on small, finite
ground planes. Second, and even more confounding, however,
is the fact that in the case of frequency reconfigurable
electrically small antennas, the choking mechanism must be
broadband enough to prevent unwanted cable currents over the

[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]

[16]

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