A multifunctional smart field-programmable radio frequency surface

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Antenna Theory

Background:

• Operating antennas across multiple communication standards presents significant challenges.
• Existing antenna designs often compromise reconfigurability for efficiency or vice versa.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a Field-Programmable Radio Frequency Surface (FPRFS) for enhanced antenna performance.
• To demonstrate high radiation efficiency and reconfigurability in antennas implemented on the FPRFS.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing asymmetric excitation to direct current flow on a low-loss surface.
• Dynamically manipulating imaged return current on a segmented ground plane using switches.
• Experimental validation of FPRFS antenna performance.

Main Results:

• Substantial enhancements in radiation efficiency achieved.
• High reconfigurability of antenna structures preserved.
• FPRFS antennas demonstrated efficiencies comparable to traditional antennas.
• Adaptable performance with weak dependence on the number or loss of RF switches.

Conclusions:

• The FPRFS enables adaptable antenna performance with real-time reconfigurability.
• FPRFS technology can be effectively used as a productive antenna and impedance-matching network.
• This approach overcomes limitations of multi-standard antenna operation.