Patent ID: 7893888

Claim:
A programmable antenna comprising: an antenna that has an antenna current includes: a fixed antenna element; and a programmable antenna element, coupled to the fixed antenna element, that is tunable to one of a plurality of resonant frequencies in response to at least one antenna control signal; and a programmable impedance matching network, coupled to the antenna, that is tunable in response in response to at least one matching network control signal, to provide a substantially constant load impedance, wherein the programmable impedance matching network includes a plurality of reactive network elements, and wherein the plurality of reactive network elements each include a plurality of fixed reactive network elements and a switching network for selectively coupling the plurality of fixed reactive network elements in response to the at least one matching network control signal; and a control module, coupled to the programmable antenna element and the programmable impedance matching network, that generates the at least one antenna control signal based on the at least one matching network control signal, in response to a frequency selection signal.