New CRLH-based planar slotted antennas with helical inductors for wireless communication systems, RF-circuits and microwave devices at UHF–SHF bands

Two novel planar slotted-antennas (PSAs) are presented that exhibit good radiation characteristics at the UHF–SHF bands. The proposed antennas are constructed using metamaterial unit-cells constituted from capacitive slots etched in the radiating patch and grounded spiral shaped inductive stubs. The proposed PSA design is fabricated on a commercially available dielectric substrate, i.e. Rogers RO4003 with permittivity of 3.38 and thickness of 1.6 mm. The first PSA comprising five symmetrical unit-cells of slot–inductor–slot configuration operates over a wide bandwidth extending from 1 to 4.2 GHz with a peak gain of 1.5 dBi and efficiency of 35 % at 2 GHz. The second PSA consists of ten asymmetrical unit-cells of slot–inductor configuration on the same size of substrate as the first PSA, enhances the antenna gain by 2 dB and efficiency by 25 % and operates over 0.75–4.5 GHz. The asymmetrical unit-cell effectively increases the aperture size of the antenna without comprising its size. The electrical size of the antenna is 0.083λo × 0.033λo × 0.005λo, where free-space wavelength (λo) is 1 GHz

A Comprehensive Survey of 'Metamaterial Transmission-Line Based Antennas: Design, Challenges, and Applications'

In this review paper, a comprehensive study on the concept, theory, and applications of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TLs) by considering their use in antenna system designs have been provided. It is shown that CRLH-TLs with negative permittivity (epsilon < 0) and negative permeability (mu < 0) have unique properties that do not occur naturally. Therefore, they are referred to as artificial structures called "metamaterials". These artificial structures include series left-handed (LH) capacitances (C-L), shunt LH inductances (L-L), series right-handed (RH) inductances (L-R), and shunt RH capacitances (C-R) that are realized by slots or interdigital capacitors, stubs or via-holes, unwanted current flowing on the surface, and gap distance between the surface and ground-plane, respectively. In the most cases, it is also shown that structures based on CRLH metamaterial-TLs are superior than their conventional alternatives, since they have smaller dimensions, lower-profile, wider bandwidth, better radiation patterns, higher gain and efficiency, which make them easier and more cost-effective to manufacture and mass produce. Hence, a broad range of metamaterial-based design possibilities are introduced to highlight the improvement of the performance parameters that are rare and not often discussed in available literature. Therefore, this survey provides a wide overview of key early-stage concepts of metematerial-based designs as a thorough reference for specialist antennas and microwave circuits designers. To analyze the critical features of metamaterial theory and concept, several examples are used. Comparisons on the basis of physical size, bandwidth, materials, gain, efficiency, and radiation patterns are made for all the examples that are based on CRLH metamaterial-TLs. As revealed in all the metematerial design examples, foot-print area decrement is an important issue of study that have a strong impact for the enlargement of the next generation wireless communication systems

A comprehensive survey of "metamaterial transmission-line based antennas: design, challenges, and applications"

In this review paper, a comprehensive study on the concept, theory, and applications of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TLs) by considering their use in antenna system designs have been provided. It is shown that CRLH-TLs with negative permittivity (ε < 0) and negative permeability (μ < 0) have unique properties that do not occur naturally. Therefore, they are referred to as artificial structures called "metamaterials". These artificial structures include series left-handed (LH) capacitances (CL), shunt LH inductances (LL), series right-handed (RH) inductances (LR), and shunt RH capacitances (CR) that are realized by slots or interdigital capacitors, stubs or via-holes, unwanted current flowing on the surface, and gap distance between the surface and ground-plane, respectively. In the most cases, it is also shown that structures based on CRLH metamaterial-TLs are superior than their conventional alternatives, since they have smaller dimensions, lower-profile, wider bandwidth, better radiation patterns, higher gain and efficiency, which make them easier and more cost-effective to manufacture and mass produce. Hence, a broad range of metamaterial-based design possibilities are introduced to highlight the improvement of the performance parameters that are rare and not often discussed in available literature. Therefore, this survey provides a wide overview of key early-stage concepts of metematerial-based designs as a thorough reference for specialist antennas and microwave circuits designers. To analyze the critical features of metamaterial theory and concept, several examples are used. Comparisons on the basis of physical size, bandwidth, materials, gain, efficiency, and radiation patterns are made for all the examples that are based on CRLH metamaterial-TLs. As revealed in all the metematerial design examples, foot-print area decrement is an important issue of study that have a strong impact for the enlargement of the next generation wireless communication systems

Wideband Planar Array Antenna Based on SCRLH-TL for Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Application

This paper presents empirical results of a novel planar microstrip array antenna based on a simplified composite right/left-handed transmission-line (SCRLH-TL) for application in circularly polarized synthetic aperture radar (CP-SAR) systems operated in UHF, L, S and C-Bands. The array antenna consists of 6×6 matrix of spiral shaped radiating elements that are excited through proximity-coupled, single feed-line. Pattern synthesis technique is used to determine the excitation coefficients (amplitude and phase) to apply to the individual array elements to achieve the required pattern shape. The array antenna has dimensions of 111.5×96.06 mm2. The measured impedance bandwidth of the antenna is 3.85 GHz for S11 < -10 dB from 300 MHz to 4.15 GHz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 173%. Maximum gain and radiation efficiency measured are 4.8 dBi and 79.5%, respectively, at 2.40 GHz. The antenna has a 3-dB axial-ratio bandwidth of 3.94 GHz from 144 MHz to 4.66 GHz. The antenna’s beamwidth in azimuth and elevation planes vary between 60° and 120° across its operational frequency range from 300 MHz to 4.15 GHz. The antenna design fulfills the challenging electrical and physical specifications required for CP-SAR employed onboard unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Radiation performance enhancement of an ultra wide band antenna using metamaterial band-pass filter

In this paper, a metamaterial structure based on Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) cell is proposed to achieve an isotropic band-pass filtering response. This filter consists of a planar layer formed by a 3×3 metamaterials cell array with transmittive filtering behavior at 3.5 GHz. This design with 45 mm × 45 mm dimension is then integrated in close proximity at distance of 10 mm with an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) antenna to enhance it’ s performances around a 3.5 GHz operating frequency. Simulation results ensure that filter geometry provides the advantage of polarization independency and also exhibits the angular stability up to 45◦ for both Transverse Electric (TE) and Transverse magnetic (TM) modes. More importantly, enhancement in antenna radiation pattern characteristics is illustrated when the planar FSS layer is integrated at a small distance from the radiator. Moreover, antenna gain was improved to 3.22 dBi, adaptation of antenna port (S11) was increased to -53.26 dB and antenna bandwidth reduction to 1.7 GHz is also detected. All these performances make the proposed design as a good choice used to shield signals in UWB wireless applications especially for connected object in 5G

Super-Wide Impedance Bandwidth Planar Antenna for Microwave and Millimetre-Wave Applications

The feasibility study of a novel configuration for a super-wide impedance planar antenna is presented based on a 2×2 microstrip patch antenna (MPA) using CST Microwave Studio. The antenna comprises a symmetrical arrangement of four-square patches that are interconnected to each other with cross-shaped high impedance microstrip lines. The antenna array is exciting through a single feedline connected to one of the patches. The proposed antenna array configuration overcomes the main drawback of conventional MPA of narrow bandwidth that is typically < 5%. The antenna exhibits a super-wide frequency bandwidth from 20 GHz to 120 GHz for S1

Implementation of a miniaturized planar tri-band microstrip patch antenna for wireless sensors in mobile applications

This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Antenna Technology in Sensors.Antennas in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are characterized by the enhanced capacity of the network, longer range of transmission, better spatial reuse, and lower interference. In this paper, we propose a planar patch antenna for mobile communication applications operating at 1.8, 3.5, and 5.4 GHz. A planar microstrip patch antenna (MPA) consists of two F-shaped resonators that enable operations at 1.8 and 3.5 GHz while operation at 5.4 GHz is achieved when the patch is truncated from the middle. The proposed planar patch is printed on a low-cost FR-4 substrate that is 1.6 mm in thickness. The equivalent circuit model is also designed to validate the reflection coefficient of the proposed antenna with the S11 obtained from the circuit model. It contains three RLC (resistor–inductor–capacitor) circuits for generating three frequency bands for the proposed antenna. Thereby, we obtained a good agreement between simulation and measurement results. The proposed antenna has an elliptically shaped radiation pattern at 1.8 and 3.5 GHz, while the broadside directional pattern is obtained at the 5.4 GHz frequency band. At 1.8, 3.5, and 5.4 GHz, the simulated peak realized gains of 2.34, 5.2, and 1.42 dB are obtained and compared to the experimental peak realized gains of 2.22, 5.18, and 1.38 dB at same frequencies. The results indicate that the proposed planar patch antenna can be utilized for mobile applications such as digital communication systems (DCS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and wireless local area networks (WLAN).The authors appreciate the financial support from Universidad Carlos III de Madridand and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant 801538

Implementation of a Miniaturized Planar Tri-Band Microstrip Patch Antenna for Wireless Sensors in Mobile Applications

Antennas in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are characterized by the enhanced capacity of the network, longer range of transmission, better spatial reuse, and lower interference. In this paper, we propose a planar patch antenna for mobile communication applications operating at 1.8, 3.5, and 5.4 GHz. A planar microstrip patch antenna (MPA) consists of two F-shaped resonators that enable operations at 1.8 and 3.5 GHz while operation at 5.4 GHz is achieved when the patch is truncated from the middle. The proposed planar patch is printed on a low-cost FR-4 substrate that is 1.6 mm in thickness. The equivalent circuit model is also designed to validate the reflection coefficient of the proposed antenna with the S-11 obtained from the circuit model. It contains three RLC (resistor-inductor-capacitor) circuits for generating three frequency bands for the proposed antenna. Thereby, we obtained a good agreement between simulation and measurement results. The proposed antenna has an elliptically shaped radiation pattern at 1.8 and 3.5 GHz, while the broadside directional pattern is obtained at the 5.4 GHz frequency band. At 1.8, 3.5, and 5.4 GHz, the simulated peak realized gains of 2.34, 5.2, and 1.42 dB are obtained and compared to the experimental peak realized gains of 2.22, 5.18, and 1.38 dB at same frequencies. The results indicate that the proposed planar patch antenna can be utilized for mobile applications such as digital communication systems (DCS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and wireless local area networks (WLAN)

Applications of Antenna Technology in Sensors

During the past few decades, information technologies have been evolving at a tremendous rate, causing profound changes to our world and to our ways of living. Emerging applications have opened u[ new routes and set new trends for antenna sensors. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the adaptation of antenna technologies for sensor and sensing applications has become more important. Now, the antennas must be reconfigurable, flexible, low profile, and low-cost, for applications from airborne and vehicles, to machine-to-machine, IoT, 5G, etc. This reprint aims to introduce and treat a series of advanced and emerging topics in the field of antenna sensors