A Reconfigurable Frequency Selective Surface for Wi-Fi Application

This work presents the development of a reconfigurable frequency selective surface (RFSS) for application in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band, standard IEEE 802.11b/g/n (Wi-Fi). The proposed RFSS is based on the four-arms star geometry and PIN diodes were used as switching elements. In the initial design, numerical and measured results, especially for y polarization, PIN diode on-state, shown a difference of 15% for the resonant frequency. To overcome this drawback, a scaling factor was adopted and RFSS was redesigned and characterized, achieving the desired frequency response. The RFSS reconfigurability is confirmed, with a variation of at least 15 dB, when switching the states of the PIN diode. Moreover, the signal strength was measured directly on a notebook, confirming the reconfiguration of the RFSS. Finally, for the y polarization, it was found that for this polarization the frequency response remains virtually unchanged, even for angles of incidence up to 45°. In addition to the Wi-Fi signal control, the observed features make the developed RFSS especially attractive for reconfigurable antennas applications.

Index Terms
Reconfigurable frequency selective surface; RFFS; four-arms star; PIN diode; IEEE 802.11b/g/n; Wi-Fi