Antennas and RF energy-harvesting devices for Office or Domestic environments

The research work that is to be presented is basedon the study and designing of a rectenna systemfor wireless RF energy harvesting for domestic or indoor environments. An introduction to the essentialprerequisites have been presented prior to the work along with the literature survey that went in and thus, the main research work was presented along with the different tests and the various results from both simulations as well as results.The main research work is divided into two parts. The first part investigates antennas for energy harvesting techniques and wireless indoor power reception from a transmitting RF power source. The antennas are intended to work as the receptor of the power signals for the available ambient RF signals.At the WiFi frequency of 2.4 GHz, antennas such as slot antennas, dipole antennas and Ultra-Wide-Band antennas were put up against each other in a comparative analysis based on simulation in CST microwave studio as well as experimentation with their various types to find the most suitable one for energy harvesting purposes. Real-time RF field-measurement tests were conducted using antennas to analyse their performances as well as evaluating the amount of available RF-power in a common domestic environment.The second part of the work focuseson the designing of the equivalent circuit design of the antenna and creating of the matching network and rectifier. The novel technique of equivalent antenna-circuit was implemented in the simulation in the Agilent ADS software of microstrip-rectifiers and the matching network design to create a chip that carried the microstrips and the matching network as well as the filters. An analytical field-test was conducted using the chip with the antennas to determine the amount of power than can be harnessed by the rectenna system

Alternating Current Sensing Slot Antenna

Dual operations of AC current sensing and Bluetooth transmission using a reconfigurable slot antenna are described here. The novel current sensing setup comprises of a tunable antenna connected to a current transformer and AC/DC converter to create a smart AC current sensing mechanism. The tunable antenna consists of a double-layer slot antenna on a thin, flexible substrate with a tuning circuit consisting of capacitive-coupled biasing tracks on the backside. Capacitive coupling isolates circuits at DC while providing connectivity at radio frequency (RF). Tracks act as the capacitors for the tuning biasing circuit. A double-sided copper clad Mylar substrate is etched to produce the slot antenna on one side and the biasing circuit using inexpensive Varactor diodes on the other side. The antenna tunes over a wide frequency range of approximately 2:1. The antenna is able to sense currents by providing a frequency response when connected to the sensing system. The current sensing antenna can also detect the operational or non-operational states of the appliances and devices. This low-cost setup of antenna on a flexible substrate can assist in detecting the power and current monitoring in household electrical devices providing an energy-efficient solution while also operating as a transmitter via Bluetooth. The measured reflection coefficients and radiation patterns are in a good agreement with the simulated results and noticeably clear sensing of current is achieved

Manufacturing, Developments, and Constraints in Full 3-D Printing of Frequency-Selective Surface Using Low-Cost Open-Source Printer

A comprehensive study of developing a novel printing system using a low-cost open-source printer for fully 3D printing frequency selective surface is presented in this paper. The novel printing setup employs a low-cost printer to print a plastic based filament and a conductive silver ink paste simultaneously. As there were no printers available in the market for this application, the open-source Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printer was modified to accommodate two extruders mounted on the same extruder carriage. Techcon TS250 air pressure dispenser was employed for the extrusion of silver ink. Extension pieces for the extruder carriage were also 3D printed using a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printer to reduce the production costs. A bandstop FSS comprising of square loop elements was designed to demonstrate the full fabrication. The FSS operated at a central frequency of 2.55 GHz and provided a good angle of response with wide bandwidths. Surface profiles of the printed FSS and substrate demonstrate the reliable fabrication of the FSS design. This full 3D printing method provides an economical, eco-friendly, swift, reliable, and viable substitute for the fabrication of FSS designs that could be highly customised in terms of fabricating three-dimensional FSS designs with reliable performances. The designs can be printed and deployed to reduce the drop in signal within an enclosed environment

Investigation of Antennas Integrated Into Disposable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The integration of antennas into disposable paper drones using inkjet printing technology is presented. These drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are developed using origami folding structures. Two vertical monopole antennas based on the same design concept are proposed and their performance assessed for two different conditions. The conditions relate to the placement of the other electronic components and circuits on the origami drones as reported in the literature. The first is when the electromechanical components and corresponding metallic layers are located in the wings. In this case, the effect of the possible location of the antenna as well as the deformation of the wings on S 11 is discussed. The second is a more general case scenario which includes when the components and motors are placed at the tail and lower part of the body of the drone. The antenna elements are directly printed onto a photo paper substrate using silver nanoparticle conductive ink. Subsequently, the substrate is folded to create a paper drone. Low-cost desktop inkjet printing equipment is used to deposit the metallic tracks of the antenna. The designs target the current frequency bands employed in the control and wireless communication of commercial drones (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands). The purpose of this work is to investigate potential antenna scenarios for disposable drones which may one day be fully fabricated using inkjet printing technology. All antenna designs and studies have been simulated using CST Microwave Studio and compared well with experimental results

3D Printing of Millimetre Wave and Low-Terahertz Frequency Selective Surfaces Using Aerosol Jet Technology

An investigation of the use of Aerosol jet 3D Printing of frequency selective surface for millimetre and low-THz applications is presented in this article. This 3D printing technique allows the fabrication of intricate details of the designs with high resolution. Band-stop and band-pass FSS are designed and tested. The band stop FSS consisted of a Square loop array that operated in the 26-28 GHz sub-millimetre band. This design is printed on glass substrate and can be used for deployment in windows. The bandpass FSS arrays consisted of simple slot elements arranged in a square lattice and operated at 125 GHz and 280 GHz. The slot arrays were printed on Kapton. Surface profiles demonstrated the uniformity and precision of this printing technique. Simulated and measured results compared well and offered good performances at both the millimetre wave and low-THz bands. The designs find applications in 5G and imminent 6G communications. This printing technique also provides environmentally friendly, rapid, and sustainable alternative for development of highly customised FSS which can be deployed to improve communications in buildings and in future Terahertz application

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Additive Manufacturing of Smart Antennas and Frequency Selective Surfaces

This thesis presents the development and the additive manufacturing of smart antennas and frequency selective surfaces (FSS) for microwave, millimetre wave, and low-Terahertz applications. Numerous fabrications techniques such as etching, low-cost inkjet-printing, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and Aerosol Jet Printing are employed to fabricate the antennas and FSS. Firstly, frequency reconfigurable antennas with close-coupled biasing technique are developed using double-sided etching on a thin mylar substrate for smart current and voltage sensing applications. The frequency tunable antenna also acts as a novel current sensing antenna in a smart sensing system that can sense the alternating current passing through a wire. The design is followed by introducing a low-cost inkjet-printed industry ready solution for frequency reconfigurable antennas where a single antenna aperture solution is utilised to demonstrate frequency reconfigurability in both switching and tuning configurations. Development of Frequency Selective Surfaces using low-cost printing machine is demonstrated in which FSS structures are inkjet-printed as wallpaper posters for Radio Frequency (RF) shielding and signal enhancements for 4G and 5G applications. A novel approach for fully 3D printing an FSS structure is also demonstrated using a low-cost open-source printer, which was modified to print the filament and the conductive inks simultaneously. Widespread investigation of industry-grade Aerosol Jet printing is utilised for additive manufacturing of bandstop and bandpass FSS designs for RF shielding and signal filtering. The bandstop designs are developed for microwave and millimetre-wave applications. The bandpass slot FSS designs are developed for millimetre wave and low-Terahertz applications for futuristic Beyond 5G and 6G systems

Enhancing Performance of Millimeter Wave MIMO Antenna with a Decoupling and Common Defected Ground Approach

An approach is presented to enhance the isolation of a two-port Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna using a decoupling structure and a common defected ground structure (DGS) that physically separates the antennas from each other. The antenna operates in the 24 to 40 GHz frequency range. The innovation in the presented MIMO antenna design involves the novel integration of two arc-shaped symmetrical elements with dimensions of 35 × 35 × 1.6 mm3 placed perpendicular to each other. The benefits of employing an antenna with elements arranged perpendicularly are exemplified by the enhancement of its overall performance metrics. These elements incorporate a microstrip feed featuring a quarter-wave transformer (QWT). This concept synergizes with decoupling techniques and a defected ground structure to significantly enhance isolation in a millimeter wave (mm wave) MIMO antenna. These methods collectively achieve an impressively wide bandwidth. Efficient decoupling methodologies have been implemented, yielding a notable increase of 5 dB in isolation performance. The antenna exhibits 10 dB impedance matching, with a 15 GHz (46.87%) wide bandwidth, excellent isolation of more than 28 dB, and a desirable gain of 4.6 dB. Antennas have been analyzed to improve their performance in mm wave applications by evaluating diversity parameters such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and diversity gain (DG), with achieved values of 0.0016 and 9.992 dB, respectively. The simulation is conducted using CST software. To validate the findings, experimental investigations have been conducted, affirming the accuracy of the simulations