Compact and Planar End-fire Antenna for PicoSat and CubeSat Platforms to Support Deployable Systems

A miniaturized planar Yagi-Uda antenna for integration with PicoSats or other SmallSat missions is proposed. Miniaturization techniques, such as meandering and 1-D artificial dielectric concepts to reduce the guided wavelength, are employed to overcome space constraints imposed by the SmallSat footprint while still maintaining good performance for the FR-4 antenna. Simulations and measurements have been carried out on the Unicorn-2 PicoSat chassis from Alba Orbital and are in good agreement. Also, antenna dimensions have been reduced between 15% and 66% when compared to a more conventional planar Yagi-Uda antenna working at the same frequency. This compactness allows for simple integration with the deployable solar panel array of the Unicorn-2 PicoSat spacecraft. Full end-fire radiation is achieved and peak gain values are about 5 dBi for the antenna when fully integrated on the satellite chassis, offering an attractive solution for downlink connectivity. This compact antenna design can also be used within an array for beam steering or integrated within the solar cell modules of other PicoSats, CubeSats and SmallSats. Applications include Earth observation, remote sensing, as well as SmallSat to ground station communications. The planar Yagi-Uda antenna may also be useful wherever end-fire radiation is required from a compact antenna structure

Microwave Antennas for Energy Harvesting Applications

In the last few years, the demand for power has increased; therefore, the need for alternate energy sources has become essential. Sources of fossil fuels are finite, are costly, and causes environmental hazard. Sustainable, environmentally benign energy can be derived from nuclear fission or captured from ambient sources. Large-scale ambient energy is widely available and large-scale technologies are being developed to efficiently capture it. At the other end of the scale, there are small amounts of wasted energy that could be useful if captured. There are various types of external energy sources such as solar, thermal, wind, and RF energy. Energy has been harvested for different purposes in the last few recent years. Energy harvesting from inexhaustible sources with no adverse environmental effect can provide unlimited energy for harvesting in a way of powering an embedded system from the environment. It could be RF energy harvesting by using antennas that can be held on the car glass or building, or in any places. The abundant RF energy is harvested from surrounding sources. This chapter focuses on RF energy harvesting in which the abundant RF energy from surrounding sources, such as nearby mobile phones, wireless LANs (WLANs), Wi-Fi, FM/AM radio signals, and broadcast television signals or DTV, is captured by a receiving antenna and rectified into a usable DC voltage. A practical approach for RF energy harvesting design and management of the harvested and available energy for wireless sensor networks is to improve the energy efficiency and large accepted antenna gain. The emerging self-powered systems challenge and dictate the direction of research in energy harvesting (EH). There are a lot of applications of energy harvesting such as wireless weather stations, car tire pressure monitors, implantable medical devices, traffic alert signs, and mars rover. A lot of researches are done to create several designs of rectenna (antenna and rectifier) that meet various objectives for use in RF energy harvesting, whatever opaque or transparent. However, most of the designed antennas are opaque and prevent the sunlight to pass through, so it is hard to put it on the car glass or window. Thus, there should be a design for transparent antenna that allows the sunlight to pass through. Among various antennas, microstrip patch antennas are widely used because they are low profile, are lightweight, and have planar structure. Microstrip patch-structured rectennas are evaluated and compared with an emphasis on the various methods adopted to obtain a rectenna with harmonic rejection functionality, frequency, and polarization selectivity. Multiple frequency bands are tapped for energy harvesting, and this aspect of the implementation is one of the main focus points. The bands targeted for harvesting in this chapter will be those that are the most readily available to the general population. These include Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as cellular (900/850 MHz band), personal communications services (1800/1900 MHz band), and sources of 2.4 GHz and WiMAX (2.3/3.5 GHz) network transmitters. On the other hand, at high frequency, advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of semiconductor-based solar cells, nanoscale antennas for power harvesting applications, and integration of antennas into solar cells to design low-cost light-weight systems. The role of nanoantenna system is transforming thermal energy provided by the sun to electricity. Nanoantennas target the mid-infrared wavelengths where conventional photo voltaic cells are inefficient. However, the concept of using optical rectenna for harvesting solar energy was first introduced four decades ago. Recently, it has invited a surge of interest, with different laboratories around the world working on various aspects of the technology. The result is a technology that can be efficient and inexpensive, requiring only low-cost materials. Unlike conventional solar cells that harvest energy in visible light frequency range. Since the UV frequency range is much greater than visible light, we consider the quantum mechanical behavior of a driven particle in nanoscale antennas for power harvesting applications

Analysis of Antenna Designs for the Maximum Power Transmission

Since Nikola Tesla discovered wireless power transmission, it has become a very interesting topic of study in the antennas and wireless propagation community. Various aspects and applications for wireless power transmission are studied today, a few of which are investigated in this work. First, various antenna geometries are analyzed for radiative near-field wireless power transfer in terms of electrical field strength. It is determined that the meander antenna is ideal for maximum power transfer in its radiative near-field region, contrary to its far-field behavior. Next, in the application of radio frequency identification, a directive, UHF RFID tag antenna is designed for pavement embedded applications. The antenna covers 72% of the US required bandwidth (902 – 928 MHz) in measurement and has maximum directivity and read range of 7.38 dBi and 14.2ft (4.3 m), respectively. Although the transmitter and receiver antennas\u27 designs are essential parts of the wireless system, power loss to the wireless channel is another critical factor to consider in ensuring the receiver antenna receives the maximum power. Friis transmission equation is studied in detail, and a section of the Georgia Southern University campus is considered for full cellular coverage in the GSM frequency range. Additionally, using the genetic algorithm in parallel, the optimal position for a 60-GHz wireless router is determined to obtain maximum WIFI coverage in a specific house. Finally, the design procedure for a size-reduced, 15-element Yagi antenna is discussed. A comprehensive comparison is conducted demonstrating the importance of the antenna design, with its similar performance to the full-sized Yagi antenna, while its elements are reduced by 45%

Antennas and Propagation Aspects for Emerging Wireless Communication Technologies

The increasing demand for high data rate applications and the delivery of zero-latency multimedia content drives technological evolutions towards the design and implementation of next-generation broadband wireless networks. In this context, various novel technologies have been introduced, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) transmission, massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems, and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes in order to support the vision of fifth generation (5G) wireless cellular networks. The introduction of these technologies, however, is inextricably connected with a holistic redesign of the current transceiver structures, as well as the network architecture reconfiguration. To this end, ultra-dense network deployment along with distributed massive MIMO technologies and intermediate relay nodes have been proposed, among others, in order to ensure an improved quality of services to all mobile users. In the same framework, the design and evaluation of novel antenna configurations able to support wideband applications is of utmost importance for 5G context support. Furthermore, in order to design reliable 5G systems, the channel characterization in these frequencies and in the complex propagation environments cannot be ignored because it plays a significant role. In this Special Issue, fourteen papers are published, covering various aspects of novel antenna designs for broadband applications, propagation models at mmWave bands, the deployment of NOMA techniques, radio network planning for 5G networks, and multi-beam antenna technologies for 5G wireless communications

Geometry Modification Assessment and Design Optimization of Miniaturized Wideband Antennas

Maintaining small physical dimensions of antenna structures is an important consideration for contemporary wireless communication systems. Typically, antenna miniaturization is achieved through various topological modifications of the basic antenna geometries. The modifications can be applied to the ground plane, the feed line, and/or antenna radiator. Unfortunately, various topology alteration options are normally reported on a case-to-case basis. The literature is lacking systematic investigations or comparisons of different modification methods and their effects on antenna miniaturization rate as well as electrical performance. Another critical issue—apart from setting up the antenna topology—is a proper adjustment of geometry parameters of the structure so that the optimum design can be identified. Majority of researchers utilize experience-driven parameter sweeping which typically yields designs that are acceptable, but definitely not optimal. Furthermore, in many of the cases, the authors provide a cooperative progression before and after topological modifications that generally lead to a certain reduction of the antenna size, however, with appropriate parameter adjustment missing. Consequently, suitability of particular modifications in the miniaturization context is not conclusively assessed. In order to carry out such an assessment in a reliable manner, identification of the truly optimum design is necessary. This requires rigorous numerical optimization of all antenna parameters (especially in the case of complex antenna topologies) with the primary objective being size reduction, and supplementary constraints imposed on selected electrical or field characteristics. This thesis is an attempt to carry out systematic investigations concerning the relevance of geometry modifications in the context of wideband antenna miniaturization. The studies are carried out based on selected benchmark sets of wideband antennas. In order to ensure a fair comparison, all geometry parameters are rigorously tuned through EM-driven optimization to obtain the minimum footprint while maintaining acceptable electrical performance. The results demonstrate that it is possible to conclusively distinguish certain classes of topology alterations that are generally advantageous in the context of size reduction, as well as quantify the benefits of modifications applied to various parts of the antenna structure, e.g., with feed line modifications being more efficient than the ground plane and radiator ones. Several counterexamples have been discussed as well, indicating that certain modifications can be counterproductive when introduced ad hoc and without proper parameter tuning. The results of these investigations have been utilized to design several instances of novel compact wideband antennas with the focus on isolation improvement and overall antenna size reduction in multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems. Experimental validations confirming the numerical findings are also provided. To the best of the author’s knowledge, the presented study is the first systematic investigation of this kind in the literature and can be considered a step towards the development of better, low-cost, and more compact antennas for wireless communication systems.Fyrir þráðlaus fjarskiptakerfi er mikilvægt að tryggja að loftnet séu lítil að umfangi. Yfirleitt er smækkun loftneta náð með ýmis konar formbreytingum á grunngerðum þeirra. Formbreytingarnar geta verið á jarðtengingu, fæðilínu og / eða geislagjafa. Því miður er venjulega einungis sagt frá slíkum formbreytingum fyrir einstaka tilvik. Skortur er á kerfisbundnu mati og samanburði á mismunandi formbreytingum og hvaða áhrif þær hafa á smækkun og raffræðilega eiginleika loftneta. Annað mikilvægt atriði, fyrir utan að ákveða gerð formbreytingarinnar, er að velja stika sem lýsa nákvæmri lögun svo að bestuð hönnun geti átt sér stað. Flestir hönnuðir notast við þá aðferð að notast við stikaskimun sem byggir á reynslugögnum, en sú aðferð skilar almennt ásættanlegri hönnun, þó ekki bestaðri. Einnig er í mörgum tilvikum sagt frá samhliða þróun fyrir og eftir formbreytingu sem leiðir til smækkunar án þess að tilgreina breytingar á stikum. Fyrir vikið er erfitt að meta til hlítar ávinning af mismunandi formbreytingum. Til þess að framkvæma slíkt mat með áreiðanlegum hætti er nauðsynlegt að geta metið bestu hönnunarútfærslu nákvæmlega. Þetta kallar á ítarlega tölulega bestun allra stika sem lýsa loftnetinu (einkum fyrir loftnet flókinnar lögunnar) þar sem aðalmarkmkið bestunar er smækkun en skorður eru settar af raffræðilegum eiginleikum. Í þessari ritgerð er leitast við að kerfisbundna rannsókn á mikilvægi formbreytingna í tengslum við smækkun bandbreiðra loftneta. Rannsóknin byggir á völdum söfnum viðmiðunarloftneta. Til að tryggja rétt mat eru allir stikar er varða lögun stilltir með rafsegulfræðilegri hermun til að tryggja minnst rúmtak með ásættanlegum raffræðilegum eiginleikum. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að unnt er að greina, án vafa, ákveðna flokka formbreytinga sem eru að jafnaði til þess fallnir að smækka loftnet. Auk þessa er hægt að reikna ávinning af formbreytingum mismunandi hluta loftnetsins, t.d. að breytingar á fæðilínu eru almennt hagkvæmari en breytingar á geislagjafa eða jarðtengingu. Þá er greint frá nokkrum tilvikum þar sem tilfallandi formbreytingar geta verið til tjóns ef ekki stikaval er ekki gert með réttum hætti. Niðurstöður þessara rannsóknar hafa verið notaðar til að hanna nokkur nýstárleg breiðbandsloftnet með áherslu á smækkun og bættan aðskilnað fjölgátta (MIMO) loftneta. Töluleg hermun er sannreynd með tilraunum. Að bestu vitund höfundar er hér um fyrstu kerfisbundnu rannsókn þessarar gerðar að ræða og má reikna með að hún leiði til þróunar betri, ódýrari og smærri loftneta fyrir þráðlaus fjarskiptakerfi.The Ph.D. project was supported by the Icelandic Research Center (RANNIS) Grant 16329905

Antenna and rectifier designs for miniaturized radio frequency energy scavenging systems

With ample radio transmitters scattered throughout urban landscape, RF energy scavenging emerges as a promising approach to extract energy from propagating radio waves in the ambient environment to continuously charge low power electronics. With the ability of generating power from RF energy, the need for batteries could be eliminated. The effective distance of a RF energy scavenging system is highly dependent on its conversion efficiency. This results in significant limitations on the mobility and space requirement of conventional RF energy scavenging systems as they operate only in presence of physically large antennas and conversion circuits to achieve acceptable efficiency. This thesis presents a number of novel design strategies in the antenna and rectifier designs for miniaturized RF energy scavenging system. In the first stage, different energy scavenging systems including solar energy scavenging system, thermoelectric energy scavenging system, wind energy scavenging system, kinetic energy scavenging system, radio frequency energy scavenging system and hybrid energy scavenging system are investigated with regard to their principle and performance. Compared with the other systems, RF energy scavenging system has its advantages on system size and power density with relatively stable energy source. For a typical RF energy scavenging system, antenna and rectifier (AC-DC convertor) are the two essential components to extract RF energy and convert to usable electricity. As the antenna occupies most of the area in the RF energy scavenging system, reduction in antenna size is necessary in order to design a miniaturized system. Several antennas with different characteristics are proposed in the second stage. Firstly, ultra-wideband microstrip antennas printed on a thin substrate with a thickness of 0.2 mm are designed for both half-wave and full-wave wideband RF energy scavenging. Ambient RF power is distributed over a wide range of frequency bands. A wideband RF energy scavenging system can extract power from different frequencies to maximize the input power, hence, generating sufficient output power for charging devices. Wideband operation with 4 GHz bandwidth is obtained by the proposed microstrip antenna. Secondly, multi-band planar inverted-F antennas with low profile are proposed for frequency bands of GSM 900, DCS 1800 and Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, which are the three most promising frequency bands for RF energy scavenging. Compared with previous designs, the triple band antenna has smaller dimensions with higher antenna gain. Thirdly, a novel miniature inverted-F antenna without empty space covering Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz frequency band is presented dedicated for indoor RF energy scavenging. The antenna has dimensions of only 10 × 5 × 3.5 mm3 with appreciable efficiency across the operating frequency range. In the final stage, a passive CMOS charge pump rectifier in 0.35 μm CMOS technology is proposed for AC to DC conversion. Bootstrapping capacitors are employed to reduce the effective threshold voltage drop of the selected MOS transistors. Transistor sizes are optimized to be 200/0.5 μm. The proposed rectifier achieves improvements in both power conversion efficiency and voltage conversion efficiency compared with conventional designs. The design strategies proposed in this thesis contribute towards the realization of miniaturized RF energy scavenging systems

Design and development of dual-Polarised photovoltaic solar antennae for Ku-band SatComsp.

The aim of this thesis is to review the state-of-the-art of transparent patch antennae and to develop design techniques for the experimental development of dual-band, dual-polarised compact transparent patch antennae integrated with solar cells for Ku-band satellite applications. It can be specifically used for Fixed-Satellite-Services (FSS) operating over the frequency range from 11.7 GHz to 12.22 GHz (downlink) and 14.0 GHz to 14.5 GHz (uplink) bands. The research reported in this thesis demonstrated a suspended meshed patch antennae serves as a basic building-block element for a Ku-band dual-polarised transparent array antennae for long distance communications. The results are shown that the use of a suspended patch above a printed radiating patch and ground plane (all transparent) provides dual-band operation for the uplink and downlink. In this work, firstly, a compact low-profile linearly polarised meshed element has been designed, and simulated in CST Microwave Studio electromagnetic simulation software. The photovoltaic antennae element was then fabricated and measured. The comparison between the experimental results and simulation by CST demonstrates good agreement between predicted and practical measurements. The developed antennae element achieved the overall broad bandwidth of more than 1GHz (500 MHz in each of the uplink and downlink bands), and the nominal element gain is 6.055 dBi (downlink) and 7.61 dBi (uplink). A good compromise between the RF performance and the transparency is also obtained with optical transparency of 84% and negligible degradation of the RF performance. The design is then extended to develop a Ku-band photovoltaic antennae element for dualpolarised operation This element could be used for frequency re-use in Ku-band satellite downlink and uplink communicationsin order to double capacity. In addition, the simulation of a 2 x2 sub-array of dual polarised transparent antennae elements (using the experimentally measured performance of the single dual-polarised element) is presented. It has yielded a narrow beam with increased gain of 13 dBi and a cross-polar discrimination of greater than 30 dB is demonstrated, which is a requirement for frequency re-use operation. Hence, the dual-polarised 4-element sub-array described herein could be utilised as the primary building block for a 2D SatCom phased array antennae. In order to meet the full requirements of Kuband SatCom communications employing frequency re-use which essentially doubles the achievable capacity, i.e. two data channels can use the same frequency bands simultaneously using the two orthogonal polarisations with high cross-polar isolation. Using these new designs providing new knowledge in the field of photovoltaic communication antennae at high frequencies, and bridge the associated drawbacks with the current PV antennae