Compact Multi-Service Antenna for Sensing and Communication Using Reconfigurable Complementary Spiral Resonator

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, reconfigurable multi-service antenna that combines sensing and communication functions, enabling soil moisture measurement and versatile operation modes suitable for precision farming.

Contribution

A novel miniaturized antenna design integrating a reconfigurable complementary spiral resonator with PIN diodes for multi-mode operation and sensing capabilities.

Findings

Operates in three modes: dual-band joint communication and sensing, dual-band, and single-band.

Achieves high sensitivity of 1.7% for soil moisture sensing.

Maximum gain of 1.5 dBi at 1.55 GHz.

Abstract

In this paper, a compact multi-service antenna (MSA) is presented for sensing and communication using a reconfigurable complementary spiral resonator. A three turns complementary spiral resonator (3-CSR) is inserted in the ground plane of a modified patch antenna to create a miniaturized structure. Two Positive-Intrinsic-Negative (PIN) diodes (D1, D2) are also integrated with the 3-CSR to achieve frequency reconfiguration. The proposed structure operates in three different modes i.e., dual-band joint communication and sensing antenna (JCASA), dual-band antenna, and single-band antenna. The required mode can be selected by changing the state of the PIN diodes. In mode-1, the first band (0.95-0.97 GHz) of the antenna is dedicated to sensing by using frequency domain reflectometry (FDR), while the second band (1.53-1.56 GHz) is allocated to communication. The sensing ability of the proposed structure is utilized to measure soil moisture using FDR. Based on the frequency shift, permittivity of the soil is observed to measure soil moisture. In mode-2 and mode-3, the structure operates as a standard dual and single band antenna, respectively, with a maximum gain of 1.5 dBi at 1.55 GHz. The proposed planar structure, with its simple geometry and a high sensitivity of 1.7%, is a suitable candidate for precision farming. The proposed structure is versatile and capable of being utilized as a single or dual-band antenna and also measuring permittivity of materials within the range of 1-20. Hence, it is adaptable to a range of applications.