A ±45 Degree Polarization Reconfigurable Antenna
Based on Dielectric Liquid
Hao Ming Ren, Jian Ren, Ying Zeng Yin
the National Key Laboratory of Antennas and Microwave Technology
Xidian University
2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC 2020) | 978-1-7281-6962-0/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/APMC47863.2020.9331542
Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710071, P. R. China
hmren@stu.xidian.edu.cn, renjian@xidian.edu.cn, yyzeng@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Abstract—This paper presents a ±45 degree polarization
reconfigurable antenna based on liquid medium. The antenna
consists of a central dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) and
three liquid DRAs (The liquid medium is ethyl acetate with low
dielectric loss and low toxicity). The DRA on the y-axis keeps the
liquid filled, and the other two parasitic DRAs on the x-axis
work through the flow of liquid medium to realize the
unidirectional radiation. The polarization of the antenna
changes with the selection of different parasitic DRAs, which is
generated by the flow of liquid medium. Based on this principle,
two polarization modes (the polarization is ±45 degree to the
positive direction of Y axis) perpendicular to each other can be
obtained, which realizes the reconfiguration of polarization
states. In order to verify the design of the antenna, an antenna
operating at 2.4GHz band is simulated. The simulation results
indicate that the antenna achieves effective impedance matching
and sufficient antenna gain in the target operating frequency
band, and also verifies its capability of polarization
reconfiguration.
Keywords—polarization reconfigurable antenna, dielectric
resonator antenna, liquid antenna
I. INTRODUCTION
Traditional communication systems use different antennas
to meet the needs of communication, navigation, sensing and
other functions. However, the increase of the number of
antennas will restrict the development and application of the
integrated information system to the direction of large
capacity, multi-function and ultra-wideband, which also
brings challenges to the antenna system design. At this time,
reconfigurable antenna has attracted much attention because
of its unique working characteristics which can be changed
dynamically. Based on reconfigurable technology, the antenna
with the functions of adjusting frequency, changing
polarization and radiation pattern is realized. Traditional
reconfigurable antennas are mostly implemented by
controlling PIN diodes[1]-[3], which have the advantages of
low cost, compact size and high change rate. However, its high
loss and narrow bandwidth limit its application to a certain
extent.
Furthermore, the application of reconfigurable antenna
based on liquid medium has gradually attracted the attention
of researchers. Compared with the traditional antenna, the cost
of using water, olive oil or other liquid medium is lower.
Moreover, due to the fluidity of the liquid, it is easier to change
the structure and shape, and will not lead to material fatigue.
Usually, the structure and performance of the antenna can be
changed by changing the amount of liquid medium in the
antenna container. Therefore, compared with the traditional
electronic switch, the reconfigurable antenna based on liquid
medium has higher flexibility and practicability. In the
previous research of reconfigurable antenna based on liquid
medium, the frequency reconfiguration is realized by
c
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changing the amount of liquid medium in a certain
container[5]-[6], and some use the position of liquid medium
in different containers to realize the reconfiguration of
radiation mode or polarization direction[8]-[11].
In this paper, we proposed a liquid reconfigurable antenna
that use DRA to realize the reconfigurable polarization
characteristics. The proposed antenna consists of a DRA
located in the center, a DRA filled with liquid medium in the
positive y-axis direction and two parasitic DRAs in the
positive and negative directions of the x-axis respectively. The
DRA in the center operates in TM01į mode, while the liquid
dielectric resonator antenna (LDRA) works in HEM01į mode.
By adjusting the liquid flow in the antenna of the parasitic
DRA on the x-axis, different polarization states can be
achieved. The polarization direction of the antenna is
determined by the position of the parasitic DRA. When the
positive and negative LDRAs on the x-axis work separately,
the antenna presents 45 degree or -45 degree polarization. For
verification, we design an antenna model working in 2.4GHz
frequency band to meet the requirements of WLAN
application. Through full-wave simulation software, the
reflection coefficient, radiation pattern and antenna gain are
obtained.
II. ANTENNA CONFIGURATION AND WORKING PRINCIPLE
The geometry of the proposed polarization reconfigurable
antenna is illustrated in Fig.1(a). The antenna consists of a
central DRA at the coordinate origin and three LDRAs
(LDRA1 in the positive y-axis and LDRA2 and LDRA3 in the
positive and negative directions of the x-axis respectively).
The central antenna is located in the center of the ground plane
with a dielectric constant of 15, which is fed by a coaxial probe.
The dielectric material of the LDRA container is about 2.7 and
the loss tangent is 0.02, which can employ 3D printing
technology in fabrication, and the liquid medium is ethyl
acetate solution with dielectric constant of 6.6. With the flow
of liquid, the parasitic DRA can be formed into a parasitic
resonator. The working mechanism is similar to that in [12],
air pumps are used to control the flow of liquid and gas
between reservoir and LDRA container. The LDRA1 located
on the y-axis is filled with liquid medium in the whole
working state, and the polarization reconfiguration of the
antenna is realized by selectively filling one of the parasitic
LDRAs on the x-axis. Fig.1(b) shows the top and side views
of the antenna, including dimension of the antenna. The
central DRA is a cylinder of diameter d1 and height h1 with a
feed probe of diameter d3 and height h3. The parasitic LDRA
is a cylinder with diameter d2 and height h2. The whole
antenna is placed on a circular ground plate with diameter d4
and thickness h4. The feed through-hole (with diameter d3 and
height h1) of the central DRA and the through-hole (long hole
for air, short hole for liquid) liquid and air flowing in and out
of the LDRAs have been reservedDŽ
 is at 45 degree. Fig.2(c) shows the 3D radiation pattern of the
antenna, and the results show that the antenna has obtained the
polarization at 45 degree.

(a)

(a)

(b)
Fig. 1. (a)Diagram of the proposed reconfigurable antenna. (b) Side and top
views of the antenna. The following dimensions are marked: d1 = 36 mm, d2
= 42 mm, h1= 19 mm, h2 = 23 mm, d3 = 1.27 mm, h3 = 9 mm, d4 = 200mm,
and h4 = 5 mm.)
(a)
(b) (c)
Fig. 3. (a) Diagram of the antenna operating in STATE2. Only LDRA2
does not exist, and the central DRA acts as the radiator and feeds LDRA1
and LDRA3. (b) Simulated H-field in the meridian plane of the DRA. (c)
Simulated 3D radiation pattern of the DRAs in STATE2.
B. STATE2:-45 Dgree Polarization
In STATE2, only the LDRA2 does not exist, as shown in
Fig.3(a). At this time, the magnetic field vector diagram of the
DRA is shown in Fig.3(b). The magnetic field distribution of
the antenna is similar to that of STATE1, and the same
resonance mode is excited, but in STATE2 the vector
composition is at -45 degree. Fig 3(c) shows the 3D radiation
pattern of the antenna, and the results show that the antenna
achieves polarization at -45 degree.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that the
two different operating states of the antenna are related to the
different states of the parasitic DRA on the x-axis. In order to
verify the working characteristics and practicability of the
antenna, the reflection coefficient, antenna gain and radiation
pattern of the antenna are simulated by simulation software.

0 8
Reflection coefficient |S11|(dB)

6
-10
Antenna gain (dBi)

(b) (c)
4
Fig. 2. (a) Diagram of the antenna operating in STATE1. Only LDRA3 -20
does not exist, and the central DRA acts as the radiator and feeds LDRA1 2
and LDRA2. (b) Simulated H-field in the meridian plane of the DRA. (c)
Simulated 3D radiation pattern of the DRAs in STATE1. -30
0

A. STATE1:45 Dgree Polarization

-40 -2
In STATE1, only the LDRA3 does not exist, as shown in 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0
Fig.2(a). Using the simulation software, the magnetic field Frequency(GHz)
vector diagram of the DRA can be obtained, as shown in
Fig.2(b). From the magnetic field distribution of the antenna,
Fig. 4. Simulated reflection coefficient and gain of the proposed antenna.
it can be seen that the TM01į mode is excited at the central
DRA, and the HEM01į mode is excited at the parasitic LDRA. Fig.4 depicts the reflection coefficient and gain of the
The arrow in the figure can reflect that the vector composition antenna. Under two different working conditions, the

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 reflection coefficient and the gain of the antenna are the same.
The impedance bandwidth of the antenna covers 2.34-
2.60GHz, and the working frequency range of 2.4-2.48GHz is
completely covered. The resonance point is located at
2.44GHz. In the whole interested frequency band, the gain of
the antenna is higher than 6dBi.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 5. Simulated radiation patterns in different planes in 2.44GHz in
(a)STATE1, (b)STATE2
Fig.5 depicts the radiation patterns of the antenna on E-
plane and H-plane under two working states. It can be seen
from Fig.5(a) that in STATE1, the antenna radiation is
concentrated in the positive x-axis and the positive y-axis,
which indicates that the combination of the two polarizations
is 45 degree. Similarly, it can be seen from Fig.5(b) that in
STATE2, the antenna radiation is concentrated in the negative
x-axis and the positive y-axis, which indicates that the
combination of the two polarizations is -45 degree. This
further validates the discussion of 3D radiation model in
Section II.
IV. CONCLUSION
A liquid based ±45 degree polarization reconfigurable
antenna with DRA as carrier is proposed in this study. The
antenna consists of a central DRA fed by a probe, three
parasitic DRAs, and ethyl acetate solution with high dielectric
constant and low dielectric loss. By using the flow of liquid,
the reconfigurable characteristics of the antenna are realized.
The central DRA works in TM01į mode, while the LDRAs
work in HEM01į mode. When the two parasitic DRAs on the
x-axis are respectively filled with liquid medium, the antenna
exhibits ±45 degree polarization. For verification, a prototype
antenna was simulated which operates at 2.4GHz. The
simulation results indicate that the antenna provides good
impedance matching in the interest frequency band, and
achieve ±45 degree polarization reconfiguration under
different working states. As expected, different operating
states and reasonable antenna gain are obtained, which
indicates that the proposed antenna can be fully applied in
practical applications. It can be predicted that due to the 3D
printing technology, there will be no more difficulties in the
manufacture of the antenna.
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