High frequency electromagnetic links for wireless power transfer

This thesis investigates inductive links used in wireless power transfer systems. Inductive power transfer can be used as a power delivery method for a variety of portable devices, from medical implants to electric vehicles and is gaining increased interest. The focus is on high quality factor coils and MHz operation, where accurate measurements are difficult to achieve. Fast models of all pertinent aspects of inductive power transfer systems for constant cross section coils are developed. These models are used to optimise a new coil winding pattern that aims to increase efficiency in volume constrained scenarios. Measurement systems are developed to measure coil Q factors in excess of 1,000. The prototype measurement systems are verified against models of that system, as well as finite element simulations of the coil under test. Shielding of inductive power transfer systems is then investigated. A structure typically used at GHz frequencies, the artificial magnetic conductor, is miniaturised as an alternative to conventional ferrite backed ground plane shielding. Finite element simulation shows this structure significantly improves link efficiency. The artificial magnetic conductor prototype does not result in a gain in efficiency expected, however it does display the properties expected of an artificial magnetic conductor, including increased coupling factor. Finally, an unconventional inductive power transfer system is presented where transmitter and receiver are up to 6m away from each other and of radically different size. This system provides mW level power to remote devices in a room, for example thermostats or e-ink displays. Conventional approaches to design do not consider the distortion of the magnetic field caused by metallic objects in the room. It was found that treating the system as a decoupled receiver and transmitter provides a better prediction of received power in real world environments.Open Acces

Wideband and UWB antennas for wireless applications. A comprehensive review

A comprehensive review concerning the geometry, the manufacturing technologies, the materials, and the numerical techniques, adopted for the analysis and design of wideband and ultrawideband (UWB) antennas for wireless applications, is presented. Planar, printed, dielectric, and wearable antennas, achievable on laminate (rigid and flexible), and textile dielectric substrates are taken into account. The performances of small, low-profile, and dielectric resonator antennas are illustrated paying particular attention to the application areas concerning portable devices (mobile phones, tablets, glasses, laptops, wearable computers, etc.) and radio base stations. This information provides a guidance to the selection of the different antenna geometries in terms of bandwidth, gain, field polarization, time-domain response, dimensions, and materials useful for their realization and integration in modern communication systems

Applications of Wireless Power Transfer in Medicine : State-of-the-Art Reviews

Magnetic resonance within the field of wireless power transfer has seen an increase in popularity over the past decades. This rise can be attributed to the technological advances of electronics and the increased efficiency of popular battery technologies. The same principles of electromagnetic theory can be applied to the medical field. Several medical devices intended for use inside the body use batteries and electrical circuits that could be powered wirelessly. Other medical devices limit the mobility or make patients uncomfortable while in use. The fundamental theory of electromagnetics can improve the field by solving some of these problems. This survey paper summarizes the recent uses and discoveries of wireless power in the medical field. A comprehensive search for papers was conducted using engineering search engines and included papers from related conferences. During the initial search, 247 papers were found then non-relevant papers were eliminated to leave only suitable material. Seventeen relevant journal papers and/or conference papers were found, then separated into defined categories: Implants, Pumps, Ultrasound Imaging, and Gastrointestinal (GI) Endoscopy. The approach and methods for each paper were analyzed and compared yielding a comprehensive review of these state of the art technologies

New achievements and configurations of helical resonator filters for space applications - theory and design

The satellite for communication uses frequencies from UHF band (300MHz to 3 GHz) up to Ka band (40GHz). The dimensions of the components in the satellite transponder, usually decrease with the frequency increment. For the Ka band typical dimensions of the microwave components are in the order of 10mm while for lower frequencies such as UHF band, the dimensions are in the order of 100mm. For this last case, there is the necessity of the reduction of the size of the component to save mass and minimize the footprint in the satellite transponders. This work focuses on the filters that compose the input and output multiplexer (IMUX and OMUX) for the UHF band applications. In particular, the OMUX manage several hundred of watts of RF power, so, in this case, the filters has to be designed for high power, maintaining the small dimensions and low mass. In the thesis, prototypes waveguide filters loaded by single helical resonator were designed and manufactured. The prototypes were tested for high power in ESA-VSC High Power RF Laboratory in Valencia to verify their power handling characteristics. For the IMUX, the thesis concentrates on the mass and dimensions saving due to the fact that, for UHF band, typical size of waveguide filters is higher than 100mm. the proposed solution is to use a dual mode concentric helices filters. The novelty of this kind of solution required the development of the mathematical background for the first dimensioning and analysis of filter characteristics. All the theory developed is reported in this work. The output of this procedure is the design and simulation of a very compact dual mode concentric helices filter (28.08mmx28.08mmx10.36mm). A prototype is produced using 3D additive manufacturing technique and the test campaign is in progress. In conclusion, for the helical resonator filter in OMUX, the high power test confirms that this technology is promising for power handling purposes and gives some suggestions for future development such as changing the helix geometry and loading the helices with dielectrics. For the dual mode concentric helices filter, the hope is that the test campaign will confirm the designed results and after, the possible next step is to improve the design for high power applications

Antennas and Propagation

This Special Issue gathers topics of utmost interest in the field of antennas and propagation, such as: new directions and challenges in antenna design and propagation; innovative antenna technologies for space applications; metamaterial, metasurface and other periodic structures; antennas for 5G; electromagnetic field measurements and remote sensing applications

Lokalisierung und freie Positionierung unter Verwendung eines kooperativen Multi-Spulensendesystems für die drahtlose Energieübertragung

With the continuous development of communication technology there are more and more portable devices requiring periodic charging with a cable and power socket. Wireless power transfer (WPT) technology provides a promising solution to overcome the inconvenience, potential safety hazard and unsightliness of power supply cables. The result of this thesis is a conceptual design for an optimized 100 kHz WPT system having a large charging pad allowing free placement of the device to be charged. The system has high efficiency and is Electromagnetic Compatibility friendly. The three-coil system, composed of a single transmitter coil and two coils in the receiver, is operating in series resonance and has been optimized by synthesis of the coupling coefficient and quality factor to provide maximum efficiency and power simultaneously. Unique to the proposed design is that the single transmitter coil is replaced with 4-coil structure which enables field forming to strengthen the field in the center of the 4-coil structure and reduce it at the margins. A transmitter matrix consisting of cooperative multiple coils is proposed to increase the charging pad area and reduce the external magnetic field. A 16 coils system is selected as most cost efficiency. The transmitter coil radius is optimized using the criterion of weighted overall efficiency, which results in high efficiency with minimal emission to the surroundings. During charging, the appropriate 4-coil structure is activated, depending on the device location, with the other coils turned off. Several algorithms are presented that enable localization of the receiver position including: grid search, Gauss-Newton and reflected impedance for combined coils. COMSOL simulation is used to investigate the effects of using ferrite, aluminum loading and a reactive resonant coil to improve system efficiency and reduce external fields below specified human exposure limits. This thesis provides a WPT solution for charging mobile and portable devices that has many advantages. The proposed 100 kHz 16 coils transmitter matrix WPT system, consisting of individually activated 4-coil sub structures, allows free placement within the charging area, more than 65% transfer efficiency at 10 cm transmission distance and electromagnetic field emission considerably less than required by guidelines.Mit fortschreitender Entwicklung der Kommunikationstechnik steigt die Anzahl tragbarer Geräte, die einen wiederholten Ladevorgang über ein Kabel benötigen, kontinuierlich. Drahtlose Energieübertragung (Wireless Power Transfer, WPT) umgeht die damit verbundenen Sicherheitsrisiken sowie die Unbequemlichkeiten und Unansehnlichkeit, die eine große Zahl an Ladekabeln mit sich bringt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit ist ein konzeptueller Entwurf für ein optimiertes 100 kHz WPT-System entstanden, welcher einen großen Ladebereich mit der Möglichkeit zur freien Platzierung des zu ladenden Gerätes erlaubt. Das System zeichnet sich durch eine hohe Effizienz und elektromagnetische Verträglichkeit aus. Ein Dreispulensystem, bestehend aus einer Sendespule und zwei Empfängerspulen in Serienresonanz, wird hinsichtlich Kopplungsfaktor und Gütefaktor optimiert. Die Sendespule wird durch eine 4-Spulen Struktur ersetzt, die eine Feldformung ermöglicht, so dass eine Verstärkung des Feldes im Zentrum der Struktur erreicht wird bei gleichzeitiger Abschwächung an den Rändern. Sendermatrizen aus kooperativen Mehrspulensystemen werden untersucht mit dem Ziel, die Fläche des Ladefeldes zu vergrößern und das externe magnetische Feld zu reduzieren. Ein System aus 16 Spulen wird als das mit dem besten Kosten-Effizienz Verhältnis identifiziert. Der Radius der Senderspulen wird nach einem Kriterium der gewichteten Gesamteffizienz optimiert. Ziel ist eine hohe Effizienz bei gleichzeitig minimalen Emissionen in die Umgebung. Beim Ladevorgang wird in Abhängigkeit von der Position des zu ladenden Geräts die passende 4-Spulen Struktur aktiviert während die übrigen deaktiviert bleiben. Zur Lokalisierung des Empfängers werden die Algorithmen Rastersuche, Gauss-Newton und reflektierte Impedanz für kombinierte Spulen vorgestellt. Zur Untersuchung der Effekte von Ferriten und Aluminium sowie reaktiver resonanter Spulen wurden Simulationen mit COMSOL durchgeführt, mit dem Ziel die Effizienz zu erhöhen und die externen Felder zu reduzieren, so dass die Grenzwerte für die menschliche Exposition unterschritten werden. Diese Arbeit liefert eine WPT-Lösung für das Laden mobiler und portabler Geräte welche zahlreiche Vorteile bietet. Das vorgeschlagene 100 kHz 16-Spulen Matrixsystem, bestehend aus individuell aktivierbaren 4-Spulen Teilstrukturen, ermöglicht eine freie Platzierung auf dem Ladebereich, mehr als 65 % Übertragungseffizient im Abstand von 10 cm sowie deutlich geringere Elektromagnetische Feld Emissionen als in den Richtlinien gefordert

Compact multiband antennas for wireless systems

The research work to be presented focuses on the study of multiband antennas for wireless indoor communications and wearable transceivers. An introduction to the essential antenna parameters and the theory behind the electromagnetic simulators used for this research sets the background necessary for understanding the procedure used when designing and measuring antennas. A study of the characteristics of textile materials at microwave frequencies using non-resonant transmission methods is later performed. The basis of small antenna design by top loading and the design of the Planar Inverted F Antenna is also covered. The main research work is divided into two parts. The first part investigates antennas for mobile and wireless indoor communications networks. The antennas are intended for Distributed Antenna Units to be located in buildings. A dual band Planar Inverted F antenna previously developed at the University of Kent is chosen as the prototype to achieve multiband and broadband operations. A parasitic resonator on the ground plane and side resonators are introduced in a study where additional bands are added. The derivation of equivalent function planar antennas from three dimensional multiband PIFAs is also covered. The second part of the work focus on antennas for wearable applications. The antennas are intended for WLAN on-body communication networks. A novel approach is taken by using metallic button structures to create wearable antennas. Dual frequency band operation is achieved on the button structures by adding a metallic plate on the top of the antenna and a cylindrical via connector. Miniaturization techniques are later applied to the button structure to reduce the size of the antenna while maintaining a match at the 2.4GPIz and 5 GHz wireless bands

Passive Planar Microwave Devices

The aim of this book is to highlight some recent advances in microwave planar devices. The development of planar technologies still generates great interest because of their many applications in fields as diverse as wireless communications, medical instrumentation, remote sensing, etc. In this book, particular interest has been focused on an electronically controllable phase shifter, wireless sensing, a multiband textile antenna, a MIMO antenna in microstrip technology, a miniaturized spoof plasmonic antipodal Vivaldi antenna, a dual-band balanced bandpass filter, glide-symmetric structures, a transparent multiband antenna for vehicle communications, a multilayer bandpass filter with high selectivity, microwave planar cutoff probes, and a wideband transition from microstrip to ridge empty substrate integrated waveguide

Ultra Wideband

Ultra wideband (UWB) has advanced and merged as a technology, and many more people are aware of the potential for this exciting technology. The current UWB field is changing rapidly with new techniques and ideas where several issues are involved in developing the systems. Among UWB system design, the UWB RF transceiver and UWB antenna are the key components. Recently, a considerable amount of researches has been devoted to the development of the UWB RF transceiver and antenna for its enabling high data transmission rates and low power consumption. Our book attempts to present current and emerging trends in-research and development of UWB systems as well as future expectations

Topological Photonics

Topological photonics is a rapidly emerging field of research in which geometrical and topological ideas are exploited to design and control the behavior of light. Drawing inspiration from the discovery of the quantum Hall effects and topological insulators in condensed matter, recent advances have shown how to engineer analogous effects also for photons, leading to remarkable phenomena such as the robust unidirectional propagation of light, which hold great promise for applications. Thanks to the flexibility and diversity of photonics systems, this field is also opening up new opportunities to realize exotic topological models and to probe and exploit topological effects in new ways. This article reviews experimental and theoretical developments in topological photonics across a wide range of experimental platforms, including photonic crystals, waveguides, metamaterials, cavities, optomechanics, silicon photonics, and circuit QED. A discussion of how changing the dimensionality and symmetries of photonics systems has allowed for the realization of different topological phases is offered, and progress in understanding the interplay of topology with non-Hermitian effects, such as dissipation, is reviewed. As an exciting perspective, topological photonics can be combined with optical nonlinearities, leading toward new collective phenomena and novel strongly correlated states of light, such as an analog of the fractional quantum Hall effect.Comment: 87 pages, 30 figures, published versio