A novel frequency agile beam scanning reconfigurable antenna

A new and novel design methodology is introduced for a frequency agile planar reconfigurable antenna capable of 360/spl deg/ beam scanning in the azimuthal plane. The versatility of the reconfigurable antenna is demonstrated through several design examples. A similar approach is then used to design a volumetric antenna which is capable of beam steering in three dimensions. Tuning of both 2D and 3D reconfigurable antenna designs is accomplished by means of variable capacitors, whose values are determined via a genetic algorithm optimization process.