Future smart reconfigurable antennas (RAs) (Haupt R-L and Lanagan M (2013) Reconfigurable antennas. IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine 55, 49–61) will likely be fully multipurpose and controlled by software and equipped with machine learning skills that can discern and respond to alterations in the radio frequency environment. Cognitive radio utilizations will be accomplished using a new generation of antenna technology and communication protocols. The effective use of frequencies and the use of polarization diversity and radiation pattern reconfigurability to send data over existing congested frequencies will be major advantages for such applications. The usage of antennas that can be reconfigured in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels will enhance channel capacity while simultaneously improving channel efficiency and lowering costs (Christodoulou C-G, Tawk Y, Lane S-A and Erwin S-R (2012) Reconfigurable antennas for wireless and space applications. Proceedings of the IEEE 100, 2250–2261). There are a lot of antennas used both at the transmitter and at the receiver front end in a MIMO system. The benefit of employing such arrangements is that different types of information can be conveyed at a similar time, boosting the spectral efficiency of communication in a multipath situation. The coding rate, modulation level, and transmission signaling method of a MIMO system can all be changed in response to changing channel circumstances and user needs. In a MIMO context, polarization reconfigurable/frequency-reconfigurable/radiation pattern RA increase the degree of freedom and enhancing the system’s performance. The usage of such antennas greatly enhances capacity by enabling a choice of various polarization configurations and pattern diversity. Antenna arrays that can be reconfigured are also an appealing MIMO system solution that needs to retain robust communication channels, particularly in portable gadgets where the area is limited.

This paper presents the design of frequency-tunable dual-band, tri-band and quad-band bandpass filters (BPFs). The proposed three BPFs can be independently tuned and individually switched by varying the capacitances of the varactors. In the designed tunable dual-band BPF (TD-BPF), common input/output feed lines are utilized for two tunable dual-mode resonators (TDRs). Further, three TDRs and four TDRs are employed to achieve tunable tri-band BPF (TT-BPF) and tunable quad-band BPF (TQ-BPF), respectively. Then, the TD-BPF and the TT-BPF are fabricated and measured to verify individual tunability and independent switchability. For the TD-BPF, the measurement results show that the center frequency (CF) of the first passband varies from 1.37 to 1.62 GHz, and the CF of the second passband varies from 2.3 to 2.64 GHz. In the measured TT-BPF, the tuning ranges of CFs of three passbands are 1.3–1.5 GHz, 2.36–2.6 GHz, and 3–3.54 GHz, respectively.