Analysis of Energy Consumption Performance towards Optimal Radioplanning of Wireless Sensor Networks in Heterogeneous Indoor Environments

In this paper the impact of complex indoor environment in the deployment and energy consumption of a wireless sensor network infrastructure is analyzed. The variable nature of the radio channel is analyzed by means of deterministic in-house 3D ray launching simulation of an indoor scenario, in which wireless sensors, based on an in-house CyFi implementation, typically used for environmental monitoring, are located. Received signal power and current consumption measurement results of the in-house designed wireless motes have been obtained, stating that adequate consideration of the network topology and morphology lead to optimal performance and power consumption reduction. The use of radioplanning techniques therefore aid in the deployment of more energy efficient elements, optimizing the overall performance of the variety of deployed wireless systems within the indoor scenario

A model assisted ionospheric electron density reconstruction method based on vertical TEC data ingestion

A technique to reconstruct the electron density of the ionosphere starting from total electron content values has been developed using the NeQuick ionospheric electron density model driven by its effective ionization parameter Az. The technique is based on the computation of Az values for a suitable worldwide grid of points. A simple way to obtain relevant Az grids is to use global vertical Total Electron Content (TEC) maps to define for each grid point as Az value, the one that minimizes the difference between the experimental and the modeled vertical TEC. Having a global grid of Az values it is possible to compute the electron density at any point in the ionosphere using NeQuick. As a consequence, slant TEC values for specific ground station to satellite links or ionosphere peak parameter values at any location can be calculated. The results of the comparisons between experimental and reconstructed slant TEC as well as experimental and reconstructed peak parameters values indicate that the proposed reconstruction method can be used to reproduce the observed ionosphere in a realistic way

Broadband characterisation of interior materials and surface scattering using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Indoor wireless communications need to move towards Terahertz (THz) frequencies in order to keep up with society's demand for data transmission, but this change is currently hindered by limited knowledge of material properties and propagation and scattering models at these frequencies. The dielectric properties of common household materials are investigated here with a twofold objective: (1) to extend the library of material properties at THz, and (2) to estimate and disentangle losses in scattering measurements in order to facilitate propagation, scattering and, ultimately, channel models

Phenolic composition of artichoke waste and its antioxidant capacity on differentiated Caco-2 cells

Artichoke waste represents a huge amount of discarded material. This study presents the by-products (bracts, exterior leaves, and stalks) of the “Blanca de Tudela” artichoke variety as a potential source of phenolic compounds with promising antioxidant properties. Artichoke residues were subjected to different extraction processes, and the antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of the extracts were analyzed by spectrophotometric methods and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses, respectively. The most abundant polyphenols in artichoke waste were chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, and luteolin-7-O-glucoside. Minor quantities of cynarin, luteolin, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, apigenin-7-O-rutinoside, and naringenin-7-O-glucoside were also found. The antioxidant activity of the obtained extracts determined by ABTS [2, 2’-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)], DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-pycrilhydracyl), and FRAP (Ferric Ion Reducing Antioxidant Power) was highly correlated with the total concentration of phenolic compounds. Chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, and luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, the most abundant compounds in 60% methanol extracts, are the components most responsible for the antioxidant activity of the artichoke waste extracts. The extract with the best antioxidant capacity was selected to assay its antioxidant potential on a model intestinal barrier. This action of the hydroxycinnamic acids on intestinal cells (Caco-2) was confirmed. In summary, artichoke waste may be considered a very interesting ingredient for food functionalization and for therapeutic purposes

A comprehensive survey on 'circular polarized antennas' for existing and emerging wireless communication technologies

Circular polarized (CP) antennas are well suited for long-distance transmission attainment. In order to be adaptable for beyond 5G communication, a detailed and systematic investigation of their important conventional features is required for expected enhancements. The existing designs employing millimeter wave, microwave, and ultra-wideband (UWB) frequencies form the elementary platform for future studies. The 3.4-3.8 GHz frequency band has been identified as a worthy candidate for 5G communications because of spectrum availability. This band comes under UWB frequencies (3.1-10.6 GHz). In this survey, a review of CP antennas in the selected areas to improve the understanding of early-stage researchers specially experienced antenna designers has presented for the first time as best of our knowledge. Design implementations involving size, axial ratio, efficiency, and gain improvements are covered in detail. Besides that, various design approaches to realize CP antennas including (a) printed CP antennas based on parasitic or slotted elements, (b) dielectric resonator CP antennas, (c) reconfigurable CP antennas, (d) substrate integrated waveguide CP antennas, (e) fractal CP antennas, (f) hybrid techniques CP antennas, and (g) 3D printing CP antennas with single and multiple feeding structures have investigated and analyzed. The aim of this work is to provide necessary guidance for the selection of CP antenna geometries in terms of the required dimensions, available bandwidth, gain, and useful materials for the integration and realization in future communication systems

A Comprehensive Survey on 'Various Decoupling Mechanisms with Focus on Metamaterial and Metasurface Principles Applicable to SAR and MIMO Antenna Systems'

Nowadays synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems with the capability to radiate waves in more than one pattern and polarization are playing a key role in modern telecommunication and radar systems. This is possible with the use of antenna arrays as they offer advantages of high gain and beamforming capability, which can be utilized for controlling radiation pattern for electromagnetic (EM) interference immunity in wireless systems. However, with the growing demand for compact array antennas, the physical footprint of the arrays needs to be smaller and the consequent of this is severe degradation in the performance of the array resulting from strong mutual-coupling and crosstalk effects between adjacent radiating elements. This review presents a detailed systematic and theoretical study of various mutual-coupling suppression (decoupling) techniques with a strong focus on metamaterial (MTM) and metasurface (MTS) approaches. While the performance of systems employing antenna arrays can be enhanced by calibrating out the interferences digitally, however it is more efficient to apply decoupling techniques at the antenna itself. Previously various simple and cost-effective approaches have been demonstrated to effectively suppress unwanted mutual-coupling in arrays. Such techniques include the use of defected ground structure (DGS), parasitic or slot element, dielectric resonator antenna (DRA), complementary split-ring resonators (CSRR), decoupling networks, P.I.N or varactor diodes, electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures, etc. In this review, it is shown that the mutual-coupling reduction methods inspired By MTM and MTS concepts can provide a higher level of isolation between neighbouring radiating elements using easily realizable and cost-effective decoupling configurations that have negligible consequence on the arrays characteristics such as bandwidth, gain and radiation efficiency, and physical footprint

Optimum power transfer in RF front end systems using adaptive impedance matching technique

Matching the antenna's impedance to the RF-front-end of a wireless communications system is challenging as the impedance varies with its surround environment. Autonomously matching the antenna to the RF-front-end is therefore essential to optimize power transfer and thereby maintain the antenna's radiation efficiency. This paper presents a theoretical technique for automatically tuning an LC impedance matching network that compensates antenna mismatch presented to the RF-front-end. The proposed technique converges to a matching point without the need of complex mathematical modelling of the system comprising of non-linear control elements. Digital circuitry is used to implement the required matching circuit. Reliable convergence is achieved within the tuning range of the LC-network using control-loops that can independently control the LC impedance. An algorithm based on the proposed technique was used to verify its effectiveness with various antenna loads. Mismatch error of the technique is less than 0.2%. The technique enables speedy convergence (<5 s) and is highly accurate for autonomous adaptive antenna matching networks

Metamaterial-inspired antenna array for application in microwave breast imaging systems for tumor detection

This paper presents a study of a planar antenna-array inspired by the metamaterial concept where the resonant elements have sub-wavelength dimensions for application in microwave medical imaging systems for detecting tumors in biological tissues. The proposed antenna consists of square-shaped concentric-rings which are connected to a central patch through a common feedline. The array structure comprises several antennas that are arranged to surround the sample breast model. One antenna at a time in the array is used in transmission-mode while others are in receive-mode. The antenna array operates over 2-12 GHz amply covering the frequency range of existing microwave imaging systems. Measured results show that compared to a standard patch antenna array the proposed array with identical dimensions exhibits an average radiation gain and efficiency improvement of 4.8 dBi and 18%, respectively. The average reflection-coefficient of the array over its operating range is better than S-11 <= -20 dB making it highly receptive to weak signals and minimizing the distortion encountered with the transmission of short duration pulse-trains. Moreover, the proposed antenna-array exhibits high-isolation on average of 30dB between radiators. This means that antennas in the array (i) can be closely spaced to accommodate more radiators to achieve higher-resolution imaging scans, and (ii) the imagining scans can be done over a wider frequency range to ascertain better contrast in electrical parameters between malignant tumor-tissue and the surrounding normal breast-tissue to facilitate the detection of breast-tumor. It is found that short wavelength gives better resolution. In this experimental study a standard biomedical breast model that mimics a real-human breast in terms of dielectric and optical properties was used to demonstrate the viability of the proposed antenna over a standard patch antenna in the detection and the localization of tumor. These results are encouraging for clinical trials and further refinement of the antenna-array

Bandwidth and gain enhancement of composite right left handed metamaterial transmission line planar antenna employing a non foster impedance matching circuit board

The paper demonstrates an effective technique to significantly enhance the bandwidth and radiation gain of an otherwise narrowband composite right/left-handed transmission-line (CRLH-TL) antenna using a non-Foster impedance matching circuit (NF-IMC) without affecting the antenna's stability. This is achieved by using the negative reactance of the NF-IMC to counteract the input capacitance of the antenna. Series capacitance of the CRLH-TL unit-cell is created by etching a dielectric spiral slot inside a rectangular microstrip patch that is grounded through a spiraled microstrip inductance. The overall size of the antenna, including the NF-IMC at its lowest operating frequency is 0.335 lambda (0)x0.137 lambda (0)x0.003 lambda (0), where lambda (0) is the free-space wavelength at 1.4 GHz. The performance of the antenna was verified through actual measurements. The stable bandwidth of the antenna for |S-11|<= -18 dB is greater than 1 GHz (1.4-2.45 GHz), which is significantly wider than the CRLH-TL antenna without the proposed impedance matching circuit. In addition, with the proposed technique the measured radiation gain and efficiency of the antenna are increased on average by 3.2 dBi and 31.5% over the operating frequency band

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