Semi-Passive RFID-Enabled Reconfigurable Antenna Array

Reconfigurable antenna arrays have been shown to improve wireless communication reliability by dynamically adjusting the radiation pattern, bandwidth, polarization, and other antenna parameters. Pattern reconfiguration is particularly useful for applications that require wide angles of coverage, such as WiFi, in which high gain must be achieved regardless of the direction of an incoming or outgoing signal. However, reconfigurable systems can be complicated, power-hungry, and costly. We propose a 2.4 GHz architecture that leverages RFID-inspired technology, which is low-cost and low-power, to modulate the radiation pattern. The proposed array consists of a crown of three tag antennas that can be placed around a central active element to increase gain in various directions. Each tag hosts its own energy harvesting network so that up to 1.48 mW total can be collected to power load switching. The proposed system can be used with a power management IC (PMIC) and a rechargeable battery to operate in transmit and receive modes.