Bent monopole antennas on EBG ground plane with reconfigurable radiation patterns

The ability to change radiation patterns is one of the most challenging areas of antenna reconfigurability. It should be emphasized that the reconfigurability here refers to the capacity to change an individual radiator's characteristics. The single reconfigurable element brings more capability to array design for beam forming or steering. This paper presents a novel reconfigurable bent monopole antenna near an EBG ground plane. By controlling the switches integrated in the antenna structure, one can realize 1D or 2D beam switching.