A Reflection-Type Dual-Band Phase Shifter with an Independently Tunable Phase

This paper presents a design for a dual-band tunable phase shifter (PS) with independently controllable phase shifting between each operating frequency band. The proposed PS consists of a 3-dB hybrid coupler, in which the coupled and through ports terminate with the same two reflection loads. Each reflection load consists of a series of quarter-wavelength (λ/4) transmission lines, λ/4 shunt open stubs, and compensation elements at each operating frequency arm. In this design, a wide phase shifting range (PSR) is achievable at each operating frequency band (fL: lower frequency; fH: higher frequency) by compensating for the susceptance occurring at the co-operating frequency band caused by the λ/4 shunt open stub. The load of fL does not affect the load of fH and vice versa. The dual-band tunable PS was fabricated at fL = 1.88 GHz and fH = 2.44 GHz, and testing revealed that achieved a PSR of 114.1° with an in-band phase deviation (PD) of ± 8.43° at fL and a PSR of 114.0° ± 5.409° at fH over a 100 MHz bandwidth. In addition, the maximum insertion losses were smaller than 1.86 dB and 1.89 dB, while return losses were higher than 17.2 dB and 16.7 dB within each respective operating band.

DEVELOPMENT OF A REPEATER FOR A DEVICE FOR MONITORING CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE AIR ENVIRONMENT

This work is part of a project to create a device for monitoring changes in the composition of the air environment. The article describes the main elements of the repeater unit included in the measuring device. The results of modeling the developed band-pass filter, which is part of the waveguide path of the repeater, are presented. Experimental studies of the filter and circulator parameters are also carried out. The technical capabilities of the electronic part of the repeater unit, namely microwave amplifiers and a controlled phase shifter, are described.

Joint Transceiver Optimization of MIMO SWIPT Systems Assisted by Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

In this work, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-assisted multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is studied with wireless energy harvesting (EH). Specifically, we focus on maximizing the harvested power at the receiver by joint optimization of the signal covariance, the phase shifter, and the power splitting factor, subject to the information rate and transmit power constraints. The formulated problem is hard to address due to the nonconcave objective and the nonconvex constraints. To tackle these challenges, an alternating optimization (AO) framework is proposed, where the phase shifter is solved by the penalty-based method. Simulation results validate the performance of the proposed approach.

5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide

Beamforming is a key element of 5G that uses advanced antenna technologies to focus a wireless signal to a defined direction. Butler Matrix (BM) as a beamforming network is used to control the beam direction by utilizing the amplitude and the output phase. A particular technique for designing BM is through substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), which is used to realize the bilateral edge wall vias where the waveguide mode propagates through to support the current flow and reduce the loss of surface wave. Unlike conventional BM, the proposed design requires only hybrid couplers and phase shifter without any crossover. In this BM structure, the SIW hybrid coupler is designed, with two phase shifters of -90°, and one phase shifter of -180° to control the amplitude and phase shifting. This results in an optimized transmission amplitude and output phase difference. The BM also circumvents any crossover, to provide minimal losses. The hybrid coupler exhibits Sii and Sij characteristics at 28 GHz, with values of -27.35 dB for return loss, -3.9 dB for insertion loss, -3.2 dB for coupling, and -26.54 dB for the isolation. In the BM design, high transmission efficiency is observed where the return loss is less than -10 dB, while minimal transmission amplitudes are obtained within the values of ‒6 ± 3 dB. The three-port BM is designed using SIW with minimal loss and the phase difference at each respective output port of the BM shows values of 0°, -120°, and 120°. The three consecutive beams with the gains of 11.1 dBi for port 1 excitation, 9.06 dBi for port 2 excitation and 10.4 dBi for port 3 excitation is achieved when the antenna array is fed to the BM, and each of the radiated beams has beam angles of 0, -27 and 27 degrees.

Complex-Coefficient Microwave Photonic Filter Based on Orthogonally Polarized Optical Single-Sideband Modulation

A complex-coefficient microwave photonic filter with continuous tunability is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The filter taps are based on a 360° tunable microwave photonic phase shifter, which is realized by orthogonally polarized optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulation. The experimental results are shown and regarded as good performance for the proposed filter. The phase shift for the two taps covers a full 360° range from 8 GHz to 26 GHz. Frequency responses with different center frequency are measured within 20–21 GHz with the full free spectral ranges (FSRs) of 185 MHz and 285 MHz, respectively.

Waveguide Manufacturing Technologies for Next-Generation Millimeter-Wave Antennas

Some recent waveguide-based antennas are presented in this paper, designed for the next generation of communication systems operating at the millimeter-wave band. The presented prototypes have been conceived to be manufactured using different state-of-the-art techniques, involving subtractive and additive approaches. All the designs have used the latest developments in the field of manufacturing to guarantee the required accuracy for operation at millimeter-wave frequencies, where tolerances are extremely tight. Different designs will be presented, including a monopulse antenna combining a comparator network, a mode converter, and a spline profile horn; a tunable phase shifter that is integrated into an array to implement reconfigurability of the main lobe direction; and a conformal array antenna. These prototypes were manufactured by diverse approaches taking into account the waveguide configuration, combining parts with high-precision milling, electrical discharge machining, direct metal laser sintering, or stereolithography with spray metallization, showing very competitive performances at the millimeter-wave band till 40 GHz.