A Self-Structuring Patch Antenna:

Simulation and Prototype

Lynn Greetis, Raoul Ouedraogo, Brian Greetis, and Edward J. Rothwell
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2120 Engineering Building, Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824 USA
Tel: +1 (517) 355-5231; Fax: +1 (517) 353-1980; e-mail: rothwell@egr.msu.edu
Abstract
A self-structuring patch antenna (patch SSA) is proposed. It combines the operating principles of the original self-structuring
antenna with the desirable properties of a classic microstrip patch antenna. The patch self-structuring antenna has several
computer-controlled shorting pins inserted between the patch and the ground plane. By opening and closing these pins, the
antenna may be configured to operate at any arbitrary frequency within a very large bandwidth. Additionally, the patch self-
structuring antenna may be configured to operate at several simultaneous frequencies that when placed near each other can
be used to dramatically expand the instantaneous bandwidth of the antenna. A proof-of-principle study is undertaken both in
simulation and by performing measurements on a prototype antenna.
Keywords: Microstrip antennas; multifrequency antennas; adaptive systems, genetic algorithms; reconfigurable antennas
1. Introduction
A
self-structuring antenna (SSA) is a type of antenna that is
capable of altering its structure, shape, or configuration in
response to changes in its surroundings or its mission [1]. It thus
can be very useful in situations where traditional antenna design is
difficult. The first prototypes of the self-structuring antenna were
implemented on planar circuit boards, and consisted of a template
of wires connected by N computer-controlled switches. Since
each switch could be either open or closed, the self-structuring
antenna had 2
N
configurations, called states. The network of
wires and switches could be arranged in any pattern as chosen by
the designer, although designs with symmetry were typically
avoided, to reduce the number of repeated states in the system. The
self-structuring antenna has been investigated in the past for such
applications as an automobile antenna [2], a television antenna [3],
and a body-worn antenna [4], among others.
The number of states of the self-structuring antenna can
become very large very quickly, and the properties of each of these
states is generally unknown at the onset of operation. An efficient
binary search algorithm, such as a genetic algorithm (GA), is there-
fore used to find desirable configurations, based on information
from a sensor that measures the performance of the antenna. The
sensor measurement includes information about how the antenna
interacts with its surroundings. Coupling between the antenna and
nearby structures can therefore be automatically compensated for,
and perhaps used to advantage. In addition, the self-structuring
antenna can deal with structural damage due to abuse or misuse by
seeking compensating states [5].
Genetic algorithms have been used extensively by the electro-
magnetics community for many years. They have been applied to
optimization in such diverse areas as antennas, antenna arrays,
microwave circuits, communications channels, and absorbing
materials. Two excellent review papers listing a multitude of appli-
cations were written by Haupt [6] and by Weile and Michielssen
[7]. The book by Haupt and Haupt [8] was a particularly good
introduction to the use of genetic algorithms by practitioners in
electromagnetics. Genetic algorithms fall under the rubric of
"nature-based" optimization algorithms (particle swarm, ant-
colony, and simulated annealing being others), so named because
they are based upon processes found in nature. Genetic algorithms
mimic the evolutionary process, starting with an initial population
(generally, randomly established), and then using selection of the
fittest individuals to improve some specified quality as the popula-
tion evolves over the period of several generations. The parameters
being optimized are encoded into a binary string, called a chromo-
some. This is subjected to crossover and mutation as individuals
within the population are allowed to mate. The self-structuring
antenna is particularly amenable to being optimized using a genetic
algorithm. This is because each switch may be described using a
binary state (on/off or I/O), and thus is naturally encoded within the
chromosome. This allows for an efficient and straightforward
application of the genetic algorithm.
The microstrip patch comprises a number of widely used
antennas that have many desirable characteristics, such as ease of
design, low cost, and conformability. However, with these benefits
come a few drawbacks, such as narrow bandwidth, large size, and,
typically, single-frequency operation. Many approaches have been
conceived to compensate for these shortcomings. One of the most
114 ISSN 1045-9243/2010/$25 2010 IEEE IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
popular of these involves the use of shorting posts or pins that con-
nect the surface of the patch to the ground plane.
Schaubert et al. achieved the ability to tune frequency by add-
ing one or more posts to a traditional microstrip patch antenna,
demonstrating a tuning range of up to 500/0 [9]. Lo and his col-
leagues were able to achieve dual-band performance by using
varying numbers of shorting posts [10]. They found that as more
shorting posts were used (up to six), the two frequencies of opera-
tion could be moved closer together. Other researchers have pro-
duced dual-band patches incorporating geometry changes such as
slots, wings, or notches to improve performance [11, 12]. Another
well-researched topic for performance enhancement is the addition
of shorting posts to increase instantaneous bandwidth. Zavosh and
Aberle found that the key to bandwidth enhancement in the case of
stacked patches was merging two resonances into one wideband
resonance [13]. This allowed them to produce bandwidths of up to
15%, greatly improving the performance of a typical patch
antenna.
While both the self-structuring antenna and the traditional
patch antenna have many advantages, they each have characteris-
tics that limit their potential applications. The self-structuring patch
antenna (or patch SSA) combines the best qualities of both anten-
nas by wedding a patch with dynamically adjustable shorting pins,
attached to the ground plane through computer-controllable
switches. Different states of the antenna are achieved by selectively
connecting or disconnecting different combinations of shorting
pins. Each arrangement alters the cavity field of the patch antenna
in such a manner that potentially beneficial antenna characteristics
are produced. By using a genetic algorithm, the states that produce
a favorable result are found from among the many states that have
less-than-acceptable performance. One possible layout of shorting
pins is shown in Figure 1. Note that the asymmetry of the pin lay-
out precludes any duplicated states.
The patch self-structuring antenna has several advantages
over both the original self-structuring antenna and the traditional
microstrip patch antenna. Since the self-structuring patch retains
the geometry of a traditional patch antenna, it can be incorporated
into any situation in which a traditional patch would be employed.
This includes conformal applications, such as on an airplane,
where the surface is not planar. However, one self-structuring
patch antenna could be used to replace several traditional antennas,
due to its ability to operate simultaneously at several distinct fre-
quencies, which may be tuned throughout a wide band. The patch
self-structuring antenna further improves upon the traditional patch
by providing the option of significant bandwidth enhancement. By
moving several operational frequencies close together and thereby
combining several narrow resonances into one broad resonance, the
patch self-structuring antenna is able to achieve bandwidths much
greater than those provided by a traditional patch.
The basic concept of a patch self-structuring antenna was pre-
sented in 2008 at the IEEE International Symposium on Antennas
and Propagation [14]. The limited simulation results presented
there provided a proof of principle, suggesting that further investi-
gations were warranted. A prototype antenna was subsequently
constructed and further simulations were undertaken. Both simula-
tion and experimental results are presented here to demonstrate the
feasibility and potential of the self-structuring patch antenna.
Simulation results showed that the patch self-structuring antenna
can be tuned for single-frequency operation over nearly a decade,
and can be used in a multiple-frequency mode to achieve band-
widths of up to 150/0. A tunable operating band of nearly 2: 1 was
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
achieved with the prototype antenna, which was shown to have an
instantaneous bandwidth comparable to a traditional patch antenna.
2. Simulation of the
Self-Structuring Patch Antenna
To investigate the feasibility of the patch self-structuring
antenna, a sequence of simulations was performed using FEKO
[15]. A patch with dimensions of 30 mm by 46 mm was placed
above an infinite substrate and ground plane, using a substrate with
thickness 2.87 mm and a relative permittivity of 2.2. Both the
metal and the dielectric were assumed lossless. A feed pin and
thirty-two shorting pins were inserted at the locations shown in
Figure 1. Since the shorting pins operated in a binary state (open or
closed), they provided the antenna with 2
32
or 4.3 billion possible
states. The shorting pins were modeled as wire segments in FEKO.
To model a switch attached to the shorting pin as closed, the wire
segment was given the same length as the height of the substrate,
shorting the surface of the patch to the ground plane. To model a
switch set as open, the wire segment was given a length 0.1 mm
less than the height of the substrate, leaving the patch surface and
the ground plane disconnected. With all of the shorting pins dis-
connected, the lowest two resonant frequencies found by FEKO
were 3.06 GHz and 4.12 GHz. These two frequencies are referred
to as the "open-pin" resonance frequencies of the patch self-struc-
turing antenna.
Due to the extremely large number of states of the patch self-
structuring antenna, a genetic algorithm was used to search for
states associated with acceptable antenna performance. For these
simulations, the genetic-algorithm optimizer GA-FEKO [16] was
used to optimize the voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) of the
antenna. Initially, the program was set to find states of the antenna
that had a VSWR of less than 1.1 relative to 50 n. The genetic
algorithm parameters were set to a population size of 70, a cross-
over probability of 0.7, a mutation probability of 0.01, and a gen-
eration gap of 0.95; these parameters were maintained for all of the
simulations considered here. If the optimizer reached 200 genera-
tions without finding a state with a VSWR less than the target
value, it terminated. The program would also stop when it had
shorting pin


surface
of patch

X
edge of
ground
feed pin
plane
Figure 1. An example of the placement of the feed pin and
shorting pins for a patch self-structuring antenna.
115
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/
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I
V)
V)
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E
~
Q) -30
0::
-35
-40
-45
--Self-Structuring Patch
. - . - . Traditional Patch
-50
4.5 4.55 4.6 4.65 4.7 4.75 4.8 4.85 4.9 4.95 5
Frequency (Hz)
x 10
9
Return Loss Comparison of Traditional and Self-Structuring Patch Antennas
O . - - - - ~ - ~ - - , - - - - r - - - - - . - - - - - - , - - - - - - y - - - - - , - - - - - . - - - - ,
The radiation patterns of both antennas were also computed,
and it was found that the pattern of the patch self-structuring
antenna, shown in Figure 3, was very similar to that of the tradi-
the length of a side was determined to be 19.8 mm for a relative
permittivity of the substrate of 2.2. The feed pin was placed
6.6 mm from the left edge of the patch, and 6.6 mm from the bot-
tom edge of the patch. When this antenna was simulated in FEKO,
it was found to have a fundamental resonance at 4.768 GHz with a
return loss of -33 dB, corresponding to a VSWR of 1.05. GA-
FEKO was then used to optimize the patch self-structuring antenna
at 4.768 GHz to see if a state with performance comparable to the
traditional patch could be found. The target VSWR was set to
1.001 to see if GA-FEKO could find a state with a very low return
loss. A state was indeed found with a VSWR of 1.001, corre-
sponding to a return loss of -55 dB. The return losses for both the
traditional and the optimized self-structuring patches is shown in
Figure 2. While the patch self-structuring antenna achieved a lower
return loss, the traditional patch antenna had a greater bandwidth
( 5.5%, compared to 3.1% for the self-structuring patch). This was
due to the larger size of the self-structuring antenna patch, resulting
in a larger amount of stored energy in the patch cavity for a given
radiated power (thus producing a higher Q). Recall that losses were
not included in the simulations.
2.1 Single-Frequency Simulations
To get a feeling for how the patch self-structuring antenna
compares to a traditional patch antenna, a square traditional patch
was simulated in FEKO. Choosing the fundamental resonance fre-
quency to be 5 GHz, and using the design formula [17]
Twelve frequencies were arbitrarily chosen between 1 GHz
and 12 GHz, and GA-FEKO was run to see if a state with a VSWR
less than 1.1 could be found at each frequency. These frequencies
were 1,2,3, 3.5,4.3, 5, 6.2, 7.4, 8.0,9.2, 10.6, and 11.4 GHz. At
1 GHz and 11.4 GHz, the genetic algorithm failed to find a state
with a VSWR less than two. At 10.6 GHz, the lowest VSWR value
found after 200 generations was 1.34. However, at all other fre-
quencies investigated, the genetic algorithm found states with
VSWR values no greater than 1.087, and the patch self-structuring
antenna thus had a tunable bandwidth of nearly a decade. Table 1
shows the VSWR, return loss, input impedance, and -10 dB
(VSWR = 2) instantaneous bandwidths for these frequencies.
While the bandwidth in GHz increased as the operating frequency
increased, the percentage bandwidth remained roughly constant for
all the states considered. However, it should be noted that the per-
centage bandwidth decreased when the operating frequency was
below the 3.06 GHz open-pin resonant frequency of the patch, as
well as when the operating frequency was well above its second
open-pin resonant frequency of 4.12 GHz. While the self-structur-
ing patch has instantaneous bandwidths that are very similar to a
traditional patch at all frequencies across this band, the highest
percentage bandwidths were seen closest to its open-pin reso-
nances. In any case, these simulations demonstrated that the patch
self-structuring antenna has the potential for an extremely wide
tunable bandwidth, extending to frequencies well below the fun-
damental resonance frequency of a traditional patch of the same
dimensions.
found the first state with a VSWR less than the target value. It is
important to note that this does not mean that there were no states
of the antenna with lower VSWR values. The genetic algorithm is
not intended to find the global minimum, but rather a state that
meets the criteria set by the user. To find states with lower VSWR
values, one could easily lower the target VSWR. However, there
was a tradeoff, since the simulations would often require longer
runtimes.
L =0.49.t1
j;;'
(1)
Figure 2. The return losses of a traditional patch antenna, and
of a self-structuring patch antenna optimized at the resonance
frequency of the traditional patch.
Table 1. The properties of the simulated self-structuring patch antenna.
Frequency
Return
Bandwidth Bandwidth
Input
VSWR Loss Impedance
(GHz)
(dB)
(GHz)
(%)
(0)
2.0 1.037 -35.0 0.04 2.0
51.8- jO.44
3.0 1.087 -27.6 0.12 4.0
53.3- j2.90
3.5 1.082 -28.2 0.14 4.0
54.1+ jO.42
4.3 1.079 -28.4 0.21 4.9
49.3 + j3.85
5.0 1.058 -31.2 0.18 3.6
51.8- j2.27
6.2 1.054 -31.8 0.20 3.2
48.1- j1.68
7.4 1.087 -27.8 0.24 3.2
53.3+ j2.74
8.0 1.078 -28.6 0.24 3.0
53.0- j2.44
9.2 1.061 -30.7 0.26 2.8
47.1- jO.12
116 IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
90
120
" '. "
180
210
.:' ,'.
", .
o
set of simulations, the two arbitrary frequencies of 5 GHz and
6 GHz were chosen, and GA-FEKO was run to find states that
simultaneously had a low return loss at both frequencies. The
objective function used with GA-FEKO in these simulations was
the sum of the VSWR values at each individual frequency. The
target VSWR sum was set to 2.2, but if the target was met, there
was no guarantee that the antenna would have a VSWR less than
1.1 at each frequency. Indeed, the result of the simulation was a
state with a VSWR of 1.09 at 5.0 GHz and 1.13 at 6.0 GHz. The
return-loss plot for this state is shown in Figure 4, and the two dis-
tinct resonances could clearly be seen. The patterns at the two fre-
quencies are shown in Figures 5 and 6. At 5.0 GHz, the pattern was
similar to that of a traditional patch, although somewhat asymmet-
ric. At 6.0 GHz, the pattern no longer showed maximum gain near
the patch axis. This is typical for frequencies well above the open-
pin resonance frequency, and was due to the longer electrical
lengths of the radiating edges.
o
- - - E-Plane
--H-Plane
300
90
......: .
_____10
120
240
210
180
270
Figure 5. The gain patterns at 5 GHz of the simulated self-
structuring patch antenna, optimized to operate simultane-
ously at both 5 and 6 GHz. The scale is in dBi.
6.5
x 10
9
6
300
270
5 5.5
Frequency (Hz)
240
4.5
-5
-35
-40 '-------'-- ---'- ~ .......1- --L..-----.I
Return Loss of Self-Structuring Antenna
m-15
~
(/)
(/)
-9 -20
E
~
~ -25
-10
-30
or----,------y----.,..----....,.-------.--..
Figure 3. The gain patterns of the self-structuring patch
antenna, simulated at 4.768 GHz. The scale is in dBi.
270
Figure 6. The gain patterns at 6 GHz of the simulated self-
structuring patch antenna, optimized to operate simultane-
ously at both 5 and 6 GHz. The scale is in dBi.
90
Figure 4. The return loss of the simulated self-structuring
patch antenna, optimized to operate simultaneously at both 5
and 6 GHz.
tional patch, with an on-axis gain of 7.3 dBi. However, the beam of
the patch self-structuring antenna was slightly asymmetric, due to
the influence of the asymmetrically-placed pins.
2.2 Multiple-Frequency Simulations
Dual and multiple-band patch antennas have significant
advantages over those patch antennas that can only operate effec-
tively at a single frequency. The previous section explored the tun-
able bandwidth of the patch self-structuring antenna, but each state
was optimized to operate at a single frequency, with a relatively
narrow instantaneous bandwidth. To explore the potential for a
patch self-structuring antenna to be used in dual and multiple-band
applications, a set of simulations was run to optimize the antenna
for simultaneous operation at more than one frequency. In the first
120
240
5
~ - - ~
o
60
300
- - - E-Plane
--H-Plane
o
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010 117
Figure 8. The return loss of the simulated self-structuring
patch antenna, optimized to operate simultaneously at 4.8, 5,
5.2, and 5.4 GHz. Note the enhanced bandwidth.
5.6
X 10
9
6 6.5
X 10
9
5.4
5.5
5 5.2
Frequency (Hz)
4 4.5 5
Frequency (HZ)
3.5
Return Loss of Self-Structuring Patch Antenna
Return Loss of Self-Structuring Patch Antenna
0
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2.5 3
While it may be very useful to merge the resonances of the
self-structuring patch, there are applications where it is desirable to
have distinct, widely separated resonances. To assess the ability of
the patch self-structuring antenna to operate in a multi-band mode,
a simulation was undertaken to simultaneously optimize the patch
for operation at 3, 4, 5, and 6 GHz. The return loss for the state
Additional simulations revealed that any two frequencies
could be chosen within the tunable bandwidth of 2-10 GHz, and a
state of the antenna could be found to satisfy the target VSWR
sum. The ability to configure the patch self-structuring antenna to
operate at any two frequencies suggested a method for increasing
the instantaneous bandwidth of the antenna. A simulation was run
with the two frequencies chosen to lie near each other, at 5 and
5.2 GHz. A state was found with a VSWR of 1.13 at 5 GHz and
1.07 at 5.2 GHz. The return loss for this state is shown in Figure 7.
Distinct resonances were seen very near the target frequencies, but
the resonances merged so that the -10dB bandwidth was
0.44 GHz, or approximately 8.6%. This was an improvement on
the simulated bandwidth of any self-structuring patch discussed
previously in this paper, as well as almost twice the bandwidth of
the traditional patch. Zavosh and Aberle [13] were able to achieve
a bandwidth of up to 15% by merging the two resonances of a
stacked patch antenna, but their stacked-patch structure was limited
to combining two resonances. In comparison, the self-structuring
antenna patch has the ability to achieve several resonances within a
chosen band, and so the potential for bandwidth enhancement is
very promising. For instance, a simulation run to optimize the
patch self-structuring antenna at 4.8, 5.0, 5.2, and 5.4 GHz returned
VSWR values of 1.2 at 4.8 GHz, 1.61 at 5.0 GHz, 1.23 at 5.2 GHz,
and 1.39 at 5.4 GHz. The return loss for this state is shown in Fig-
ure 8. It was seen that the -10 dB bandwidth of the antenna was
increased to 0.78 GHz, or approximately 15.3%. This was nearly
three times the bandwidth of the traditional patch, and comparable
with the results of Zavosh and Aberle without needing stacked
patches. Also, unlike a stacked patch, the center frequency of the
combined resonance may be moved anywhere within the operating
band of the patch self-structuring antenna. While four frequencies
were the maximum used in the authors' simulations, there is no
reason that the antenna may not be optimized at even more fre-
quencies to produce further enhancements in bandwidth.
Figure 7. The return loss of the simulated self-structuring
patch antenna, optimized to operate simultaneously at both 5
and 5.2 GHz.
Return Loss for Self-Structuring Antenna
0
-5
-10
al -15
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II)
.3 -20
E
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~ -25
-30
-35
-40
4.6 4.8 5 5.2
Frequency (Hz)
5.4 5.6
X 10
9
Figure 9. The return loss of the simulated self-structuring
patch antenna, optimized to operate simultaneously at 3, 4, 5,
and 6 GHz.
found by GA-FEKO is shown in Figure 9. Four distinct resonances
were seen (with an additional resonance near 5.2 GHz), each of
which had a VSWR less than two.
3. Self-Structuring
Patch Antenna Prototype
3.1 Design and Construction
A prototype was constructed for the purpose of validating the
patch self-structuring-antenna concept. A 22.86 em by 32.81 em
(9 in by 15 in) patch was etched in the center of a 38.1 em by
45.72 em (15 in by 18 in) Taconic TLY-5 circuit board. The board
had a thickness of 5 mm, and a dielectric constant of 2.2. The feed
118 IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
pin and shorting pins were placed in an arrangement identical to
that used in the simulations (see Figure 1). A hole was drilled
through the board to accommodate each pin. On the bottom of the
board, copper pads were created by removing a small ring of cop-
per around each hole. This allowed these copper pads to be electri-
cally isolated from the rest of the ground plane. A wire was fed
through the hole, and soldered both to the patch surface on the top
of the board and to the copper pad on the bottom of the board. This
wire was then soldered to one of the outer legs of a Coto Technol-
ogy SIP reed relay (series 9011-05-10), and the other outer leg was
soldered to the ground plane. These switches were the same as the
switches used to construct previous self-structuring antenna proto-
types. A diagram of the switch connection is shown in Figure 10.
As in the simulations, when the switch was open, the patch's sur-
face was disconnected from the ground plane. When the switch
was closed, the patch's surface and the ground plane become
shorted through the switch. The other two legs of the switch were
used to energize the relay, and were connected to a digital control
board and then to the computer card via a 64-line ribbon cable.
Photographs of the top and bottom of the self-structuring antenna
prototype are shown in Figures 11 and 12, respectively.
Figure 12. A photograph of the bottom of the prototype patch
self-structuring antenna, showing the control wires and switch
connections.
Figure 10. A diagram of the feed and shorting-pin attachment
for the prototype patch self-structuring antenna.
-5
-30
s -15

f/)
f/)
-20
E

-25
-10
-40 __
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Frequency (MHz)
-35
Figure 13. The return loss of the prototype patch self-struc-
turing antenna with all shorting pins open. Note the presence
of three distinct open-pin resonances.
feed pin )
ground plane
surface of patch \
shorting pin
to computer
The antenna was connected to an HP 8753D vector network
analyzer with all the switches open. The return loss was measured
between 100 MHz and 1 GHz, which was the intended frequency
band of use (see Figure 13). Three resonances were detected with a
return loss of less than -10dB: 384.6 MHz with a return loss of
-17.7dB, 467.3 MHz with a return loss of -37 dB, and
Figure 11. A photograph of the top of the prototype patch self-
structuring antenna, showing the layout of the pins.
597.5 MHz with a return loss of -13.2dB. These three resonances
had bandwidths of 1. 7%, 3.7%, and 2.8%, respectively.
3.2 Random Search Results
The performance of the patch self-structuring antenna may be
characterized in a very broad sense using a statistical approach.
Since there were too many states to examine each one individually,
a random sample was used to get an idea of the proportion of states
that satisfied some operational criterion. Measurements were taken
of the antenna's VSWR at 75,000 random states for seventeen
arbitrarily chosen frequencies within the frequency band of inter-
est: 200, 285, 330, 400, 417, 450, 473, 513, 555, 597, 635, 670,
695, 715, 770, 840, and 900 MHz. Since the prototype had 32
switches, 75,000 states represented only 0.0017% of all the possi-
ble states. All of the measured VSWR values are shown in Fig-
ure 14. For many of the frequencies considered, there were states
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010 119
18000 __-----,...---------r-----,------r-----,
45,000
VSVVR
Figure 15. The distribution of the measured VSWR values for
75,000 random states of the prototype patch self-structuring
antenna, at 417 MHz.
50
25
40
20
30 20
10 15
VS\NR
10
5
4000
o
o
i 30,000
liS 25,000
(;
! 20,000
::::s
z
14000
12000
fI)
.!
a:II
(;j 10000
-
o
!aooo
E
::J
Z
6000
35,000
16000
In comparison, consider the behavior of the antenna at
597 MHz. The lowest VSWR found among the 75,000 random
results was 1.4. Of course, this doesn't mean that states with
smaller VSWR values didn't exist, but it does suggest that they
may have been much harder to find than at 417 MHz. A histogram
of the distribution of VSWRs is shown in Figure 16. There were
very few states with VSWR values less than five, and in fact there
were only two states with VSWRs less than 1.5. This result was a
little surprising, because 597 MHz was very close to one of the
open-pin resonance frequencies of the patch. Intuitively, one might
have expected good results in this case. However, it is likely that
many of the pins had little effect perturbing the field of a funda-
mental cavity resonance, and so far fewer states could be found to
"tweak" the field at this frequency. Note that the random search did
not examine the state where all switches were off.
3.3 Genetic Algorithm Optimization
It is useful to expound on the behavior of the antenna at each
individual frequency by examining the proportion of "good" states,
defined as those meeting a selected VSWR criterion. Consider
417 MHz. The lowest VSWR found at this frequency was 1.019. A
histogram of all the states with a VSWR value below 50 is shown
in Figure 15. It can be seen that a very large portion of the
antenna's states produced a VSWR less than five. In fact, a closer
examination revealed that there were 250 states with a VSWR
below 1.1. This corresponded to one-third of one percent of the
75,000 random states examined. This suggested that there were
around 14 million "good" states with a VSWR below 1.1. out of
the 4.3 billion total states of the antenna. It should not be difficult
for a search algorithm to find one of these states.
with VSWR values very close to one. On the other hand, at every
frequency there were also many states with very high VSWR. It is
interesting to note that as the frequency got farther from the open-
pin resonant frequencies of the self-structuring patch antenna, there
seemed to be fewer states with low VSWR values.
Past research with self-structuring antennas [18] has shown
that using an efficient binary algorithm provides a means for find-
Figure 16. The distribution of the measured VSWR values for
75,000 random states of the prototype patch self-structuring
antenna, at 597 MHz.
VSWR V5. Frequency
~
en
>
xx
xx
xx
x x x x
x x
x
x x
x x x x
x
~
i
I

I
I
I
I
ing good antenna states with far fewer looks than required by a
random search. A genetic algorithm was thus employed to see if
low VSWR values could be found for the prototype antenna with
fewer than the 75,000 looks used in the random searches.
The genetic algorithm used in the experiment was a standard
genetic algorithm written in Visual Basic, following the diagram of
Figure 17. At each frequency, an initial population of 200 switch
configurations was randomly selected. Each of the 200 switch con-
figurations was used to set the states of the switches on the
antenna, and the fitness at each switch configuration was computed
using the objective function
(2)
Figure 14. The measured VSWR values for 75,000 random
states of the prototype patch self-structuring antenna.
200 300 400 500 600 700
Frequency in MHz
800 900
Here, V
m
is the measured terminal voltage, and V
sc
is the reference
voltage measured when the antenna was replaced with a short cir-
cuit. Searching for small values of f is thus equivalent to
120 IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
Generate Initial
Population
Evaluate
Fitness
Fill New
Generation
IStop I
) ,
YES
Termination
Criteria met?
NO
Perform
Selection
Perform
Crossover
Perform
Mutation
minimizing the VSWR. Once the fitness values of all switch con-
figurations in the initial population were evaluated, the fitness val-
ues were ranked, and the lowest 20% were selected for crossover
and mutation. A simple two-point crossover and a random bit
mutation were performed on the selected 20% until the population
was filled, to yield a new pool of 200 switch configurations. This
new pool represented the next generation of switch configurations
to be evaluated. The process was repeated until the desired fitness
value was obtained, or a chosen maximum number of generations
was reached.
In each of the genetic-algorithm searches, 40 generations with
a population of 200 were used, representing 8000 looks, or about
12% of the 75,000 looks used in the random search. Table 2 shows
the smallest VSWR found by the genetic algorithm, along with the
smallest VSWR found from the random search. It could be seen
that for most of the frequencies examined, the genetic algorithm
found a VSWR smaller than that found using a random search,
even though far fewer looks were used. At a few frequencies, the
smallest VSWR found by the genetic algorithm was larger than
that found using a random search. At these frequencies, the optimi-
zation may represent a "hard" genetic-algorithm problem, where
the genetic algorithm did not prove to be dramatically more effi-
cient than a random search. This was probably due to the antenna
having a much smaller proportion of "good" states than at other
frequencies. However, verifying this speculation would have
required far more expansive random searches, which were not car-
ried out. Similar effects were seen with the original self-structuring
antenna, and it was found that good states were available, but took
more resources (i.e., more looks) to find.
Figure 17. A block diagram of the genetic algorithm used in the
measurements of the prototype patch self-structuring antenna.
After each genetic algorithm run was finished, the state pro-
ducing the smallest VSWR was set. The antenna was connected to
Table 2. The results of random searches and the genetic-algorithm optimizations for the self-
structuring patch antenna prototype. The return loss and input impedance are indicated
at the actual frequency of resonance found in the genetic-algorithm search.
Random Genetic Measured
Return Input
Frequency Search Algorithm Resonant
Loss
Bandwidth
Impedance
(MHz) VSWR VSWR Frequency
(dB)
(0/0)
(0)
Low Low (MHz)
200 1.022 1.009 200.3 -33.0 3.6
48.5 + j1.6
285 3.25 2.59 285.0 -5.3 - 18.2+ j21.6
330 2.81 2.56 330.0 -7.8
- 24.1+ j21.1
380 5.01 7.06 389.1 -19.5 1.9
52.3- j10.7
400 1.036 1.027 400.4 -21.5 1.6
49.2- j8.6
417 1.019 1.013 417.8 -29.9 2.0
49.8- j3.0
450 1.029 1.008 450.8 -26.3 2.0
49.1- j5.2
473 1.031 1.019 473.1 -43.3 1.1
50.6- j3.6
513 1.020 1.008 513.9 -38.6 2.0
49.0- j4.9
555 1.11 1.009 554.5 -27.6 2.0
49.0- j4.2
597 1.40 1.62 601.4 -36.3 2.2
50.1+ j1.5
630 1.004 1.010 632.1 -22.8 1.5
48.4- j6.8
670 1.020 1.027 672.7 -24.1 3.0
51.6+ j6.1
695 1.047 1.007 694.5 -38.0 2.4
51.1+ jO.5
715 1.80 1.59 717.8 -19.4 1.3
50.0+ j10.6
770 2.05 1.78 773.9 -10.7 0.9 58.6+ j32.0
840 3.53 5.16 840.0 -3.4 - 60.0+ jlOO
900 4.97 6.42 900.0 -4.5 - 99.3 +j93.6
IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010 121
a network analyzer to sweep through the resonance and determine
the position of the actual resonance frequency, the return loss at
resonance, and the bandwidth. The results are shown in Table 2. It
was seen that in many cases, the actual resonance was slightly off-
set from the target frequency, and that the return loss was much
lower at that resonance frequency than at the target frequency. For
instance, when the genetic algorithm was run at 597 MHz, a mini-
mum VSWR of 1.64 (a return loss of 12.3 dB) was found by the
genetic algorithm, but the actual resonance occurred at 601.4 MHz,
with a return loss of 36.3 dB and a bandwidth of 2.180/0 (see Fig-
ure 18). For those few frequencies where the minimum VSWR was
greater than two, the VSWR = 2 bandwidth could not be com-
puted.
It was observed that the measured bandwidths for the proto-
type were smaller than predicted in the simulations. This was
expected for two reasons. First, the simulated antennas were ana-
lyzed with infinite ground planes to minimize computational
90
120
,
, .'
,:
'>, :::>~ ~ " o ; . ~ .._.. ~
240 300
270
- - - E-Plane
--H-Plane
o
Or-----.------,---------r-----r--------.
After good antenna states were found using the genetic algo-
rithm, the far-field radiation patterns of the antenna configured to
those states were measured in an anechoic chamber. Figure 19
shows the pattern measured for the patch self-structuring antenna
optimized at 450 MHz, and Figure 20 shows the pattern for the
antenna optimized at 670 MHz. The behavior of these patterns was
similar to what was observed from the simulations. At 450 MHz,
the pattern behaved much like a tradition patch. However, at
670 MHz, which was much higher than the fundamental open-pin
resonant frequency, the pattern was more complicated, with the
main beam no longer centered on the patch's axis.
expense, while the ground plane of the prototype was finite in size.
Second, the ratio of the thickness of the dielectric layer to the size
of the patch was smaller for the prototype than was used in the
simulations.
Figure 20. The measured gain pattern of the prototype self-
structuring patch antenna, optimized at 670 MHz. The scale is
in dBi.
620 610 580
-40 ~ - - - . . . . . L . . . - - - - _ _ _ L _ ___l.. .L._______J
570
-30
~ -15
(/)
(/)
~ -20
c
:5
~ -25
-35
-10
-5
590 600
Frequency (MHz)
Figure 18. The measured return loss of the prototype patch
self-structuring antenna, optimized at 597 MHz. Note that the
resonance actually occurred at 601.4 MHz.
90
120
5
60 - - - E-Plane
--H-Plane
4. Conclusions
270
Figure 19. The measured gain patterns of the prototype self-
structuring patch antenna, optimized at 450 MHz. The scale is
in dBi.
150
180
..... : .
240 300
o
The self-structuring patch antenna combines the operating
principles of the original self-structuring antenna with the conven-
ient geometry of a traditional patch antenna by adding a number of
computer-controlled shorting pins. Simulations revealed that the
patch self-structuring antenna has the potential to overcome several
of the drawbacks of the traditional patch. In single-frequency
mode, the patch self-structuring antenna can be tuned to any fre-
quency within nearly a decade of bandwidth. When operated in a
multiple-frequency mode, the patch self-structuring antenna can be
configured to have simultaneous resonances at several arbitrarily
chosen frequencies within the same band. If those frequencies are
chosen to be adjacent, the instantaneous bandwidth of the patch
can be increased, with a bandwidth of 15% demonstrated in
simulations. Additionally, the center frequency of this wideband
implementation may be adjusted to any frequency within the near-
decade-wide operational band of the antenna.
Promising results were also obtained from a first prototype of
the patch self-structuring antenna. In single-frequency mode, the
patch could be tuned to any frequency within an octave of the
122
IEEEAntennasand Propagation Magazine, Vol. 52, No.1, February 2010
operational bandwidth, while maintaining a return loss of 20 dB.
With some reduction in performance, the antenna could be oper-
ated within a 4:1 band. It is anticipated that with improved search
algorithms, or with a different layout of the shorting pins, the per-
formance of the prototype will approach that shown in the simula-
tions.
The multiple-frequency capabilities of the prototype have not
yet been explored. The authors intend to perform additional meas-
urements in the near future to determine if the prototype may be
operated simultaneously at several frequencies, or if the instanta-
neous bandwidth of the antenna can be increased.
5. Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to John Ross, who generously pro-
vided the optimization program GA-FEKO. Also appreciated is the
help with antenna-pattern simulations provided by Korede
Akinlabi-0ladimej i.
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