Polarization-Reconfigurable Single-Port Patch Antenna with Switchable Horizontal and Vertical Modes for Mid-Band 5G Applications
Main Article Content
Abstract
With the growing demand for compact, high-performance and reconfigurable antenna systems in mid-band 5G communication (3.3–6 GHz), polarization agility has become essential for improving link reliability and spectral efficiency. This paper presents the design, simulation and experimental validation of a polarization reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna capable of dynamically switching between vertical (VP) and horizontal (HP) linear polarization states using a single RF excitation port. The antenna employs two orthogonal microstrip feedlines connected via PIN diode switches to a common feed, enabling selective excitation of adjacent patch edges. This facilitates activation of the fundamental TM01 or TM10 mode, producing vertical or horizontal polarization, respectively. Fabricated on an FR4 substrate, the antenna features a low-profile, planar configuration ideal for compact RF systems. Simulated and measured resonances occur at 5.31/5.40 GHz (VP) and 5.27/5.33 GHz (HP), respectively. The antenna achieves –10 dB impedance bandwidths of 3.52% (VP) and 6.01% (HP), peak gains of 2.48 dBi and 2.76 dBi and axial ratios above 48 dB, confirming high polarization purity and low cross-polarization. Radiation patterns show good agreement with simulations. The proposed design offers a compact and efficient solution for applications demanding polarization reconfigurability, making it well-suited for advanced wireless communication systems.
Downloads
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
References
L. Malviya, J. Malik, R. K. Panigrahi, and M. V. Kartikeyan, "Design of a compact MIMO antenna with polarization diversity technique for wireless communication," in Proc. Int. Conf. Microwave, Optical and Communication Engineering (ICMOCE), Bhubaneswar, India, pp. 21-24, 2015.
M. Hussain, W. A. Awan, A. Alwabli, et al., "A PIN diode-enabled compact size antenna for transition between UWB and notched UWB modes," Arab. J. Sci. Eng., vol. 50, pp. 17759-17768, 2025.
M. Hussain, W. A. Awan, S. M. Abbas, and Y. Zhu, "Advanced engineering materials-based antenna design," Adv. Eng. Mater., vol. 27, e202502127, 2025.
M. Hussain, S. M. Abbas, and Y. Zhu, "Multi-stub loaded tri-band flexible antenna based on PDMS for heterogeneous applications," in Proc. URSI Asia-Pacific Radio Science Meeting (AP-RASC), IEEE, 2025.
T. Itoh, G. Haddad, and J. Harvey, RF Technologies for Low Power Wireless Communications. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 2001.
S. Gao, A. Sambell, and S. S. Zhong, "Polarization-agile antennas," IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag., vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 28-37, 2006.
Y. J. Sung, "Reconfigurable patch antenna for polarization diversity," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 56, no. 9, pp. 3053-3054, 2008.
M. Khaleghi and M. Kamyab, "Reconfigurable single port antenna with circular polarization diversity," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 555-559, Feb. 2009.
Y. Sung, "Investigation into the polarization of asymmetrical feed triangular microstrip antennas and its application to reconfigurable antennas," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 1039-1046, 2010.
F. Yang and Y. Rahmat-Samii, "A reconfigurable patch antenna using switchable slots for circular polarization diversity," IEEE Microw. Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 96-98, 2002.
Y. J. Kim, J. K. Kim, J. H. Kim, and H. M. Lee, "Reconfigurable annular ring slot antenna with circular polarization diversity," in Proc. Asia-Pacific Microwave Conf., pp. 1-4, 2007.
W. M. Dorsey, A. I. Zaghloul, and M. G. Parent, "Perturbed square-ring slot antenna with reconfigurable polarization," IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag. Lett., vol. 8, pp. 603-606, 2009.
J. S. Row and C. J. Shih, "Polarization-diversity ring slot antenna with frequency agility," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 60, no. 8, pp. 3953-3957, 2012.
J. S. Row, W. L. Liu, and T. R. Chen, "Circular polarization and polarization reconfigurable designs for annular slot antennas," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 60, no. 12, pp. 5998-6002, 2012.
Y. Cao, S. W. Cheung, and T. I. Yuk, "A simple planar polarization reconfigurable monopole antenna for GNSS/PCS," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 500-507, 2015.
A. Bharathi, M. Lakshminarayana, and P. V. D. S. Rao, "A quad-polarization and frequency reconfigurable square ring slot loaded microstrip patch antenna for WLAN applications," AEU - Int. J. Electron. Commun., vol. 78, pp. 15-23, 2017.
F. Antunes, A. Ramos, T. Varum, and J. N. Matos, "Concept and design of a multi-polarization reconfigurable microstrip antenna with symmetrical biasing control," Sensors, vol. 24, no. 8, p. 2408, pp. 1-14, 2024.
A. Chowdhury and P. Ranjan, "A novel PIN diode-based frequency reconfigurable patch antenna with switching between the mid-5G and high-5G frequency band," Int. J. Microw. Wireless Technol., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 595-604, 2024.
A. K. Abd, J. M. Rasool, and Z.-A. S. A. Rahman, "Design and analysis of novel reconfigurable monopole antenna using dip switch and covering 5G-Sub-6-GHz and C-band applications," Electronics, vol. 11, p. 3368, pp. 1-18, 2022.
R. Garg, P. Bhartia, I. Bahl, and A. Ittipiboon, Handbook of Microstrip Antennas. Norwood, MA, USA: Artech House, 2001.
Y. Li et al., "Polarization-reconfigurable antenna using combination of circular polarized modes," IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 43852-43860, 2021.
S. Kumar et al., "Reconfigurable antenna with varactor diodes for wireless systems," Alex. Eng. J., vol. 68, pp. 123-131, 2023.