Novel 60 GHz Band Spatial Synthetic Exposure Setup to Investigate Biological Effects of 5G and Beyond Wireless Systems on Human Body

The global spread of 5th generation (5G) wireless systems causes some concern about health effects of millimeter waves (MMW). To investigate biological effects of local exposure to 5G-MMW on human body, a novel 60 GHz band exposure setup was developed, and its performance was validated. A spatial synthetic beam-type exposure setup using two dielectric lens antennas was proposed to achieve high intensity 60 GHz irradiation to the target area of human skin. Variety distributions and intensities of electromagnetic fields at the exposed area, which is modified by incident angles of the combined beams, were simulated using finite-difference time-domain methods. The exposure performance we estimated was verified by temperature elevations of surface in a physical arm-shaped silicone phantom during the MMW exposure. The interference fringes generated in the exposed area due to the combined two-directional beam radiations were observed both in the simulation and in the phantom experiment but eliminated by applying an orthogonalizing polarized feeding structure. Under these exposure conditions, the local temperature changes, which could evoke warmth sensations, were obtained at the target area of the human forearm skin, which means the achievement of exposure performance we intended.

A Band-Notched Antenna With Two Radiation Zeros Using Grounded Coplanar Waveguide Filter for 2.4/5 GHz WLAN Applications

In this article, a band-notched dual-polarized crossed dipole antenna is proposed for 2.4/5 GHz WLAN applications. The proposed antenna works on the WLAN 2.4-GHz (2.4–2.48 GHz) and 5-GHz (5.15–5.85 GHz) bands for a VSWR <2 with two radiation zeros within 3.4–3.6 GHz. First, an ultra-wideband crossed dipole antenna with an operating frequency of 2.4–5.8 GHz is designed using the grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) feeding structure. Second, a miniaturized defected microstrip structure (DMS) is embedded in the GCPW feeding strip to form a stopband behavior with a radiation zero. Finally, combining with the design of a C-shaped split ring resonator (SRR) on the arms of the dipole antenna, a band notch (3.4–3.6 GHz) with two radiation zeros can be realized. These two radiation zeros can be adjusted independently to achieve a wide stopband performance. As a result, compared with the original ultra-wideband dipole antenna, the realized gains of the proposed antenna in the 3.4–3.6 GHz range are all suppressed from 8 dBi to less than −8 dBi. The proposed antenna can realize the stable unidirectional radiation pattern and a high gain of around 7 dBi in the lower band and 8.5 dBi in the higher band of WLAN. As a demonstration, the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured, and the measurement results are in good agreement with the simulation results.

Ultra-low profile solar-cell-integrated antenna with a high form factor

This paper presents an ultra-low-profile copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) based solar cell integrated antenna with a high form factor. A tiny slot was etched from the solar cell to develop an ultra-low-profile solar-cell-integrated antenna. This tiny slot increases the form factor due to the small clearance area from the solar cell. A ground-radiation antenna design method was applied in which lumped elements were employed inside the tiny slot for antenna operation. Another substrate was used under the solar cell for designing the feeding structure with lumped elements connected to the tiny slot using via holes. A prototype was fabricated and measured to verify the operation of a built-in solar-cell antenna and validate the simulated results. The measured results demonstrate that the solar-cell-integrated antenna covers the entire frequency range of the Industrial Scientific Medical band, from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz, with a maximum gain of 2.79 dBi and radiation efficiency higher than 80% within the impedance bandwidth range. Moreover, the proposed design has an ultra-low-profile structure of only 0.0046 λo, where λo represents the free space wavelength at 2.45 GHz, and a high form factor of 99.1% with no optical blockage. The antenna and solar cell were designed to avoid affecting the performance of each other using the radio-frequency decoupler.

A Compact Wideband Circularly Polarized Microstrip Slot Antenna with Parasitic Elements

A compact wideband circularly polarized (CP) microstrip slot antenna (MSA) with parasitic elements is designed in this letter. The CP MSA comprises a square-loop sequential-phase (SP) feeding configuration, four rotated rectangular patches, and four L-shaped slots embedded in the ground plane. The square-loop SP feeding structure comprises a square loop and an arc-shaped strip, which could provide a 270° phase difference. Four rotated rectangular patches are placed at the edge of the square-loop feeding configuration using a capacitively tightly coupled feeding method to stimulate the CP resonant mode. After selecting these elements and tuning proper dimensions, the broad operating bandwidths of 4.38–5.25 GHz (18%) for |S11| <–10 dB and 4.65–5.31 GHz (13.2%) for AR <3 dB could be realized. Hence, the designed CP MSA has a potential application value in wireless communication.

A Simple Printed Cross-Dipole Antenna with Modified Feeding Structure and Dual-Layer Printed Reflector for Direction Finding Systems

In this paper, a simple printed cross-dipole (PCD) antenna to achieve a right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) at the L/S-band for direction finding (DF) systems is presented. The radiating part of the antenna consists of two printed dipoles that interlock with each other and are mounted orthogonally on a dual-layer printed reflector. To connect the feedlines of the dipole elements to the antenna’s feed network, which is located on the backside of the reflector, a through-hole signal via (THSV) is employed as the signal interconnection instead of the mainstream approach of using coaxial bead conductor. This feeding technique provides a degree of freedom to control the impedance of the signal path between the feedlines and the feed network in the numerical simulation for improved matching conditions. The proposed THSV extending through the dual-layer printed reflector is more reliable, durable, and mechanically robust to stabilize the matching conditions of the fabricated antenna in contrast to the coaxial-based approach that is more susceptible to impedance mismatch due to solder fatigue. Thus, the proposed PCD antenna offers advantages of broadband, flexible impedance matching, and fabrication ease. The antenna exhibits an impedance bandwidth (IBW) of 59% (1.59–2.93 GHz), a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 57% (1.5–2.7 GHz), and a peak of 7.5 dB within the operating frequency band.

Compact TSA with Anti-Spiral Shape and Lumped Resistors for UWB Applications

A novel compact tapered-slot-fed antenna (TSA) with anti-spiral shape and lumped resistors is presented for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. Unique coplanar waveguide (CPW) to coplanar strip (CPS) feeding structure and exponential slot are designed to ensure the continuous current propagation and good impedance matching. With a pair of anti-spiral-shaped structure loadings at the end of the antenna, the radiation performance in lower operating band can be enhanced obviously. The typical resistor loading technique is applied to improve the time domain characteristics and expand the bandwidth. The fabricated prototype of this proposed antenna with a size of 53 × 63.5 mm2 was measured to confirm simulated results. The proposed antenna has S11 less than −10 dB in the range of 1.2–9.8 GHz, and the group delay result is only 0.4 ns. These findings indicate the proposed antenna can be taken as a promising candidate in UWB communication field.

Ultra-Low Profile Solar-Cell-Integrated Antenna With a High Form Factor

This paper presents an ultra-low-profile copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) based solar cell integrated antenna with a high form factor. A tiny slot was etched from the solar cell to develop an ultra-low-profile solar-cell-integrated antenna. This tiny slot increases the form factor due to the small clearance area from the solar cell. A ground-radiation antenna design method was applied in which lumped elements were employed inside the tiny slot for antenna operation. Another substrate was used under the solar cell for designing the feeding structure with lumped elements connected to the tiny slot using via holes. A prototype was fabricated and measured to verify the operation of a built-in solar-cell antenna and validate the simulated results. The measured results demonstrate that the solar-cell-integrated antenna covers the entire frequency range of the Industrial Scientific Medical band from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz with good performance characteristics. The proposed design has a low-profile structure with high optical transparency for solar cells. The antenna and solar cell were designed to avoid affecting the performance of each other using the radio-frequency decoupler.