Radiowave propagation and antennas for high data rate mobile communications in the 60 GHz band

The 60 GHz MIMO systems are seen as some of the best candidates for the implementation of future high data-rate short range communications systems such as wireless personal area networks (WPAN). Although the performance of MIMO systems has been studied thoroughly theoretically and experimentally at lower frequencies like at 2 and 5 GHz, there is a clear lack of measurement data and experimental performance evaluations of MIMO techniques at 60 GHz. Furthermore, more effort is still needed in the design and evaluation of compact low cost 60 GHz antennas for communication applications. In the first part of the thesis, the first 60 GHz MIMO channel measurement system is presented. It is based on a previously developed 2 and 5 GHz sounder and frequency converters. This system uses virtual antenna arrays to create the channel matrix. A measurement campaign is reported. In order to improve the delay resolution, two other MIMO measurement systems are presented, based on an ultra wide band (UWB) sounder and a vector network analyzer (VNA). Those systems allow full characterization of the MIMO channel in the delay and angular domains. In the second part of this work, the performance of multi-antenna techniques is evaluated based on the measurement data obtained in the first part of the thesis. Three of the most promising multi-antenna techniques, namely MIMO, antenna selection MIMO, and beam steering, are analyzed and compared. The presented results indicate that the mutual information of the measured MIMO channel is quite close to that of the independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) MIMO Rayleigh channel. Furthermore, in realistic conditions it is seen that MIMO-antenna selection often leads to lower mutual information than traditional MIMO with the same number of RF chains. Moreover, it is shown that when considering phase shifters with realistic losses, MIMO technique almost always outperforms beam steering technique. In the last part of the thesis a 60 GHz planar omnidirectional antenna is presented. This antenna is very suitable for communications applications since it has low profile and uses a metal layer only on one side of the substrate. Therefore, it can be manufactured easily and at very low cost. In addition, an advanced quasi full 3-D radiation pattern measurement system has been developed to evaluate probe-fed antennas. Very good measurement repeatability is reported. The radiation of the probe is analyzed and is seen to be the main limitation of the dynamic range of the measurement setup

A microwave transmission-line network guiding electromagnetic fields through a dense array of metallic objects

We present measurements of a transmission-line network, designed for cloaking applications in the microwave region. The network is used for channelling microwave energy through an electrically dense array of metal objects, which is basically impenetrable to the impinging electromagnetic radiation. With the designed transmission-line network the waves emitted by a source placed in an air-filled waveguide, are coupled into the network and guided through the array of metallic objects. Our goal is to illustrate the simple manufacturing, assembly, and the general feasibility of these types of cloaking devices.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

The Source Regions of Whistlers.

We present a new method for identifying the source regions of lightning‐generated whistlers observed at a fixed location. In addition to the spatial distribution of causative lightning discharges, we calculate the ratio of lightning discharges transmitted into ground detectable whistlers as a function of location. Our method relies on the time of the whistlers and the time and source location of spherics from a global lightning database. We apply this method to whistlers recorded at 15 ground‐based stations in the Automatic Whistler Detector and Analyzer Network operating between 2007 and 2018 and to located lightning strokes from the World Wide Lightning Location Network database. We present the obtained maps of causative lightning and transmission rates. Our results show that the source region of whistlers corresponding to each ground station is around the magnetic conjugate point of the respective station. The size of the source region is typically less than 2,000 km in radius with a small fraction of sources extending to up to 3,500 km. The transmission ratio is maximal at the conjugate point and decreases with increasing distance from it. This conforms to the theory that whistlers detected on the ground propagated in a ducted mode through the plasmasphere, and thus, the lightning strokes of their causative spherics must cluster around the footprint of the ducts in the other hemisphere. Our method applied resolves the whistler excitation region mystery that resulted from correlation‐based analysis methods, concerning the source region of whistlers detected in Dunedin, New Zealand

The Comet Interceptor Mission

Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA’s F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum ΔV capability of 600 ms−1. Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes – B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 – that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission’s science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule

Radiowave propagation and antennas for high data rate mobile communications in the 60 GHz band

La bande de fréquence millimétrique autour de 60 GHz est considérée comme l une des meilleures options pour l implémentation des réseaux sans fils à très hauts débits de type WPAN (wireless personal area network). De plus, les systèmes multi-antennes de type MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) sont très prometteurs. Ils peuvent augmenter de manière significative l efficacité spectrale ou la fiabilité des communications sans fil. De ce fait, l utilisation de systèmes multi-antennes à 60 GHz est, théoriquement, très prometteuse. Bien que les performances des systèmes MIMO aient été étudiées de manière approfondie à la fois théoriquement et expérimentalement à basses fréquences (2 et 5 GHz), il y a clairement un manque d évaluation expérimentale de ces systèmes à 60 GHz. De plus, la conception et l évaluation d antennes millimétriques compactes à bas coûts pour des applications de type WPAN sont des sujets sur lesquels beaucoup de recherches doivent être encore faites. Dans la première partie de la thèse, le premier sondeur de canal MIMO à 60 GHz est présenté. Ce système, construit à partir d un sondeur existant pour 2 et 5 GHz, utilise des réseaux d antennes virtuelles. Afin d améliorer la résolution temporelle, deux autres systèmes de mesure ont été développés. Le premier est construit à partir d un sondeur ultra large bande et le second à partir d un analyseur vectoriel de réseau. Ces systèmes permettent la caractérisation totale du canal MIMO dans les domaines temporel et angulaire. Dans la seconde partie, les performances de techniques pour systèmes multi-antennes sont analysées grâce aux mesures obtenues dans la première partie de la thèse. Les trois techniques étudiées sont: MIMO, MIMO avec sélection d antennes et dépointage de faisceau. Les résultats indiquent que la capacité du canal MIMO mesuré est relativement proche de celle d un canal idéal. Dans des conditions réalistes, la capacité obtenue grâce à la technique MIMO avec sélection d antennes est souvent inférieure à celle obtenue avec la technique MIMO. Par ailleurs, lorsque l on considère un réseau à déphasage avec des pertes réalistes, il apparait que la capacité obtenue avec la technique MIMO est presque toujours supérieure à celle obtenue avec la technique du dépointage du faisceau. Dans la dernière partie de la thèse, une antenne omnidirectionnelle est présentée. Cette antenne convient parfaitement aux applications de types WPAN car elle est plane et n utilise qu une seule couche de métallisation, ce qui la rend facile à réaliser et peut coûteuse. De plus, un banc de mesure quasi-3D de diagrammes de rayonnement d antennes à 60 GHz à été développé. Ce système a une très bonne répétabilité. Le rayonnement de la pointe elle-même a été mesuré et les résultats indiquent que c est la principale limitation de la dynamique d amplitude de ce système.NICE-BU Sciences (060882101) / SudocSudocFranceF