Pattern-Reconfigurable Quad-Beam Yagi Antenna With Remote Switching System for Space Telemetry Applications

– This paper introduces a novel pattern reconfigurable multi directional Yagi antenna specially designed for S-band space telemetry applications, operating at 2.2 GHz. The antenna incorporates four independent driven elements on the top side arranged in a cardinal directions, accompanied by a common reflector and dedicated director elements. The driven elements are centrally interconnected and excited through a coaxial feed positioned beneath the substrate. Independent activation of each driven element is achieved by PIN diode as well as low loss magnetically coupled RF MEMS switch. The measured results indicate that the use of PIN diode switching yields a gain of 6.07 dBi and a fractional bandwidth of 11.29% and the RF MEMS switch offers an enhanced gain of 6.25 dBi and an extended fractional bandwidth of 17.94%. Intelligent switching is managed by an STM32 microcontroller integrated with an RF remote control unit, enabling real time main lobe steering towards the desired direction. The antenna is designed and simulated using CST Studio Suite and fabricated for experimental validation. The remote controlled pattern reconfigurability offers the antenna highly effective for point-to-point communication in space telemetry systems, including satellite subsystems, and deep space networks.