Design of Broadband Compact Canonical Triple-Sleeve Antenna Operating in UHF Band

In this paper, a novel compact broadband antenna at UHF frequencies is presented with canonical shapes. Hemispherical, conical and cylindrical shapes have all been considered for antenna configuration. The designed antenna provides an instantaneous frequency range from 370 to 5,000 MHz with omnidirectional characteristics. The antenna was simulated in CST Microwave Studio, fabricated and evaluated; the results are presented. The simulated and measurement results are in good agreement. The antenna has voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) ≤ 1.9:1 in 400–570 MHz, 2,530–3,740 MHz and 4,180–4,620 MHz; it has VSWR ≤ 3:1 over the operating frequency range 370–5,000 MHz and the measured gain varies from -0.6 to 4.5 dBi over the frequency band. The concept of canonical-shaped antenna elements and the incorporation of triple sleeves resulted in a reduction of the length of the antenna by 62% compared to the length of a half-wave dipole antenna designed at the lowest frequency. The antenna can be used for trans-receiving applications in wireless communication.

A Planar Millimeter-Wave Resonator-Array to Sense the Permittivity of COP Film with the 5G Handset Back-Cover

In this paper, a new sensor is developed to estimate the dielectric constant of Cyclo Olefin Polymer (COP) film utilizable for 5G mobile phones’ multi-layered back−cover. It is featured by the electrical characterization of the thin layer of the COP film at 28 GHz as the material under test (MUT) directly contacting the planar probe (which is an array of resonating patches) and a new meta-surface as metal patterned on the COP film inserted between the planar probe and the 5G multi-layered back−cover for enhanced physical interpretation of the data by way of impedance matching. In this approach to delving into the material, a thin and small meta-surface film with an area of 25.65 × 21.06 mm2 and a thickness of 55 μm is examined for applications to 5G mobile 28 GHz-frequency communication on the basis of the below −10 dB-impedance matching for the 1-by-4 array sensor. Along with this, the real and commercial handset back−cover is brought to the test. The proposed method presents the advantages of geometrical adequacy to the realistic 5G handset antenna configuration, the idea of impedance-matching via meta-materials, and the suitability of characterizing the film-type structure as compared to the open-ended coaxial waveguide, waveguide-to-waveguide and TX horn-to-RX horn free-space test methods.

Scalable ESPRIT Processor for Direction-of-Arrival Estimation of Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar

The estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT) is an algorithm that uses the shift-invariant properties of the array antenna to estimate the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of signals received in the array antenna. Since the ESPRIT algorithm requires high-complexity operations such as covariance matrix and eigenvalue decomposition, a hardware processor must be implemented such that the DOA is estimated in real time. Additionally, the ESPRIT processor should support a scalable number of antenna configuration for DOA estimation in various applications because the performance of ESPRIT depends on the number of antennas. Therefore, we propose an ESPRIT processor that supports two to eight scalable antenna configuration. In addition, since the proposed ESPRIT processor is based on multiple invariances (MI) algorithm, it can achieve a much better performance than the existing ESPRIT processor. The execution time is reduced by simplifying the Jacobi method, which has the most significant computational complexity for calculating eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) in ESPRIT. Moreover, the ESPRIT processor was designed using hardware description language (HDL), and an FPGA-based verification was performed. The proposed ESPRIT processor was implemented with 10,088 slice registers, 18,207 LUTs, and 80 DSPs, and the slice register, LUT, and DSP were reduced by up to 71.45%, 54.5%, and 68.38%, respectively, compared to the existing structure.

Dust Grain Detection by Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe, and Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission — Similarities and Differences

<p>The dust impact detection by electric field instruments is already a well-established technique. On the other hand, not all aspects of signal generation by dust impacts and its consequent detection are completely understood and explained. It has been shown that the design and configuration (monopole/dipole) of the electric field antennas/probes are very important for dust impact detection and understanding of the measured signal. Therefore, it is not straightforward to compare detected signals by various spacecraft. Most of space missions use at the same time either monopole or dipole antenna configuration. However, the MMS simultaneous monopole and dipole measurements provide us with interesting information about dust impact signals. We have analyzed individual electric field waveforms of dust impacts detected by Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe, and MMS to understand similarities and differences of dust detection by various spacecraft with different antenna designs and configurations. This understanding will allow us to reliably compare obtained dust fluxes among individual missions.  </p>

Reduction of Mutual Coupling between Radiating Elements of an Array Antenna Using EBG Electromagnetic Band Structures

In this paper, a new array antenna configuration based on Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) structures has been proposed for 3.5GHz wireless communication systems. The proposed slotted EBG structure, high impedance surface (SHI), consists of three squares and a square ring deposited on a substrate (Rogers RO4350) which has a relative permittivity of 10.2 and a thickness of 1.27mm. Initially a matrix of 3×7 unit cells of EBG structures is introduced between two patches of an array and then a matrix of 3×14 unit cell of EBG structures is integrated between eight patches, which resonate around 3.5GHz (Wi MAX). The insertion of these structures between the radiating elements of an array antenna reduces the mutual coupling and antenna dimensions by approximately (8dB, 11%) and (12 dB, 5%) respectively for two, eight elements array antenna. In addition, the directivity has been slightly improved in the presence of EBG structures, from 4.52dB to 6.09dB for a two-element array antenna, and from 8.18dB to 8.4dB for an eight-element antenna.