A Frequency and Polarization Agile Disc Monopole Wearable Antenna for Medical Applications

A combined frequency and polarization reconfigurable textile based wearable disc monopole antenna is proposed in this paper. The antenna consists of a disc monopole as the radiator and four PIN diodes for realizing the agility property. By varying the different switching combination of the PIN diodes, frequency reconfigurability is achieved between the GSM and ISM band. Two circular polarization states, right hand circular polarization (RHCP) and left hand circular polarization (LHCP) are also realized in each operating frequency band. The upper band polarization state is controlled by an L shaped stub introduced in the ground plane whereas the lower band polarization agility depends on the length of the parasitic arc placed around the main radiator. The antenna is fabricated and its performance is measured to validate the proposed design.