Improved-Efficacy EM-Based Antenna Miniaturization by Multi-Fidelity Simulations and Objective Function Adaptation

The growing demand for the integration of surface mount design (SMD) antennas into miniaturized electronic devices has imposed increasing limitations on the structure dimensions. Examples include embedded antennas in applications such as on-board devices, picosatellites, 5G communications, or implantable and wearable devices. The demands for size reduction while ensuring a satisfactory level of electrical and field performance can be managed through constrained numerical optimization. The reliability of optimization-based size reduction requires utilization of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis, which entails significant computational costs. This can be alleviated by incorporating surrogate modeling techniques, adjoint sensitivities, or the employment of sparse sensitivity updates. An alternative is the incorporation of multi-fidelity simulation models, normally limited to two levels, low and high resolution. This paper proposes a novel algorithm for accelerated antenna miniaturization, featuring a continuous adjustment of the simulation model fidelity in the course of the optimization process. The model resolution is determined by factors related to violation of the design constraints as well as the convergence status of the algorithm. The algorithm utilizes the lowest-fidelity model for the early stages of the optimization process; it is gradually refined towards the highest-fidelity model upon approaching convergence, and the constraint violations improve towards the preset tolerance threshold. At the same time, a penalty function approach with adaptively adjusted coefficients is applied to enable the precise control of constraints, and to increase the achievable miniaturization rates. The presented procedure has been validated using five microstrip antennas, including three broadband, and two circularly polarized structures. The obtained results corroborate the relevance of the implemented mechanisms from the point of view of improving the average computational efficiency of the optimization process by 43% as compared to the single-fidelity adaptive penalty function approach. Furthermore, the presented methodology demonstrates a performance that is equivalent or even superior to its single-fidelity counterpart in terms of an average constraint violation of 0.01 dB (compared to 0.03 dB for the reference), and an average size reduction of 25% as compared to 25.6%.

A novel miniaturized Koch-Minkowski hybrid fractal antenna

Purpose Antenna miniaturization, multiband operation and wider operational bandwidth are vital to achieve optimal design for modern wireless communication devices. Using fractal geometries is recognized as one of the most promising solutions to attain these characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to present a unique structure of patch antenna using hybrid fractal technique to enhance the performance characteristics for various wireless applications and to achieve better miniaturization. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors propose a novel hybrid fractal antenna by combining Koch and Minkowski (K-M) fractal geometries. A microstrip patch antenna (MPA) operating at 1.8 GHz is incorporated with a novel K-M hybrid fractal geometry. The proposed fractal antenna is designed and simulated in CST Microwave studio and compared with existing Koch fractal geometry. The prototype for the third iteration of the K-M fractal antenna is then fabricated on FR-4 substrate and tested through vector network analyzer for operating band/voltage standing wave ratio. Findings The third iteration of the proposed K-M fractal geometry results in achieving a 20% size reduction as compared to an ordinary MPA for the same resonant frequency with impedance bandwidth of 16.25 MHz and a directional gain of 6.48 dB, respectively. The operating frequency of MPA also lowers down to 1.44 GHz. Originality/value Further testing for the radiation patterns in an anechoic chamber shows good agreement to those of simulated results.

Optimization-Based Antenna Miniaturization Using Adaptively Adjusted Penalty Factors

The continuing trend for miniaturization of electronic devices necessitates size reduction of the comprising components and circuitry. Specifically, integrated circuit-antenna modules therein require compact radiators in applications such as 5G communications, implantable and on-body devices, or internet of things (IoT). The conflict between the demands for compact size and electrical and field performance can be mitigated by means of constrained numerical optimization. Evaluation of performance-related constraints requires expensive electromagnetic (EM) analysis of the system at hand; therefore, their explicit handling is inconvenient. A workaround is the penalty function approach where the primary objective (typically, antenna size) is complemented by additional terms quantifying possible constraint violations. The penalty coefficients that determine contributions of these terms are normally adjusted manually, which hinders precise control over antenna performance figures and often leads to inferior results in terms of achieved miniaturization rates. This paper proposes a novel algorithm featuring an automated adjustment of the penalty factors throughout the optimization process. Our methodology is validated using three broadband antenna structures. The obtained results demonstrate that the presented adaptive adjustment permits a precise control over the constraint violations while leading to better miniaturization rates as compared to manual penalty term setup.

MICS/ISM Meander-Line Microstrip Antenna Encapsulated in Oblong-Shaped Pod for Gastrointestinal Tract Diagnosis

In light of the growth in demand for multiband antennas for medical applications, this research proposes a MICS/ISM meander-line microstrip antenna encapsulated in an oblong-shaped pod for use in diagnoses of the gastrointestinal tract. The proposed antenna is operable in the Medical Implant Communication System (MICS) and the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands. The antenna structure consists of a meander-line radiating patch, a flipped-L defected ground plane, and a loading resistor for antenna miniaturization. The MICS/ISM microstrip antenna encapsulated in an oblong-shaped pod was simulated in various lossy-material environments. In addition, the specific absorption rate (SAR) was calculated and compared against the IEEE C95.1 standard. For verification, an antenna prototype was fabricated and experiments carried out in equivalent liquid mixtures, the dielectric constants of which resembled human tissue. The measured impedance bandwidths (|S11| ≤ −10 dB) for the MICS and ISM bands were 398–407 MHz and 2.41–2.48 GHz. The measured antenna gains were −38 dBi and −13 dBi, with a quasi-omnidirectional radiation pattern. The measured SAR was substantially below the maximum safety limits. As a result, the described MICS/ISM microstrip antenna encapsulated in an oblong-shaped pod can be used for real-time gastrointestinal tract diagnosis. The novelty of this work lies in the use of a meander-line microstrip, flipped-L defected ground plane, and loading resistor to miniaturize the antenna and realize the MICS and ISM bands.

Miniaturized Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna with Improved Bandwidth Using Exponential Strip Arms

In this paper, a miniaturized ultra-wideband antipodal tapered slot antenna with exponential strip arms is presented. Two exponential arms with designed equations are optimized to reduce the lower edge cut-off frequency of the impedance bandwidth from 1480 MHz to 720 MHz, resulting in antenna miniaturization by 51%. This approach also improves antenna bandwidth without compromising the radiation characteristics. The dimension of the proposed antenna structure including the feeding line and transition is 158 × 125 × 1 mm3. The results show that a peak gain more than 1 dBi is achieved all over the impedance bandwidth (0.72–17 GHz), which is an improvement to what have been reported for antipodal tapered slot and Vivaldi antennas with similar size.