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Very‐low‐frequency (VLF) transmitting antennas have a crucial influence on the nearby electromagnetic environment. Commercial software packages, such as CST Studio Suite (CST) or Altair FEKO (FEKO), are always utilised to calculate the electric fields of VLF antennas, which consume considerable computing resources and time. The classical method of electric field calculation, the charge simulation method (CSM), is first applied to the calculation of electric field near the VLF transmitting antenna. The distribution characteristics of three‐dimensional electric fields were analysed. The electric field surrounding the antenna exhibited axial symmetry. The highest electric field strength was at the top of the antenna, and as the distance from the antenna increased, the electric field strength exponentially decreased. The comparisons are performed between the results of the CSM and those of commercial software, the average relative errors of CSM on two observation paths are very small, 2.20% and 2.21%, respectively. Meanwhile, the CSM shows considerable advantages in saving calculation resources and improving efficiency. Additionally, the comparison between CSM calculation and the measured data is carried out. The results show that this method can accurately calculate the electric field near VLF transmitting antenna and offer valuable insights and a new solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, additive manufacturing technologies have impacted different engineering sectors. Three- and four-dimensional printing techniques are increasingly used in soft and flexible electronics thanks to the possibility of working contemporarily with several materials on various substrates. The materials portfolio is wide, as well as printing processes. Shape memory polymers, together with composites, have gained great success in the electronic field and are becoming increasingly popular for fabricating pH, temperature, humidity, and stress sensors that are integrated into wearable, stretchable, and flexible devices, as well as for the fabrication of communication devices, such as antennas. Here, we report an overview of the state of the art about the application of 4D printing technologies and smart materials in electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter proposes a novel planar endfire circularly polarized antenna with widened half‐power beamwidth. Widened azimuth beamwidth mechanism of 2D sectorial electric dipole is theoretically revealed, thus it is able to combine with a rectangular magnetic dipole to yield a half‐power beamwidth widened planar endfire circularly polarized antenna. Finally, a prototype planar endfire circularly polarized antenna with sectorial flared angle of α = 270° is fabricated, simulated, and implemented to validate the design approach. As investigated, the antenna exhibits broadened azimuth half‐power beamwidth of 150° over a frequency range of 2.40–2.45 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of directive elements into a circular switched parasitic array at 868 MHz is presented. The typical usage of reflective parasitic monopoles is supplemented with additional, shorter monopole elements which are positioned closer to the central active monopole to induce directive behaviour. This allows for more degrees of freedom with the steering of the antennas beam and to increase the gain of the antenna. This leads to a greater flexibility of the system and enables power reduction of the amplifiers for enhanced battery life time. The design and configuration of a circular switched parasitic array with directive elements is shown and a prototype is built for validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a simply accessed approach of 2D‐shaping liquid metal (LM) is presented. This approach allows a microwave device to take advantage of LM in both stretchability and removability. This approach is achieved based on the Young–Laplace theory of liquid surface tension, as well as the surface oxidization that LM possesses. An application example of this approach is demonstrated by a functional changeable microwave device. The proposed device operates in antenna mode when LM is not incorporated. Then, it can change to resonator mode after filling 2D‐shaped LM into fluidic channels. To our knowledge, it is the first device that is capable of changing its function using LM. The measured gain of the proposed microwave device is 7.1 dBi at 2.68 GHz when it operates in antenna mode. The measured insertion loss of the proposed microwave is 1.8 dB at 2.62 GHz when it operates in resonator mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many populations migrate between two different habitats (e.g. wintering/foraging to breeding area, mainstem–tributary, river–lake, river–ocean, river–side channel) as part of their life history. Detection technologies, such as passive integrated transponder (PIT) antennas or sonic receivers, can be placed at boundaries between habitats (e.g. near the confluence of rivers) to detect migratory movements of marked animals. Often, these detection systems have high detection probabilities and detect many individuals but are limited in their ability to make inferences about abundance because only marked individuals can be detected.Here, we introduce a mark–recapture modelling approach that uses detections from a double‐array PIT antenna system to imply movement directionality from arrays and estimate migration timing. Additionally, when combined with physical captures, the model can be used to estimate abundances for both migratory and non‐migratory groups and help quantify partial migration. We first test our approach using simulation, and results indicate our approach displayed negligible bias for total abundance (less than ±1%) and slight biases for state‐specific abundance estimates (±1%–6%).We fit our model to array detections and physical captures of three native fishes (humpback chub [Gila cypha], flannelmouth sucker [Catostomus latipinnis] and bluehead sucker [Catostomus discobolus]) in the Little Colorado River (LCR) in Grand Canyon, AZ, a system that exhibits partial migration (i.e. includes residents and migrants). Abundance estimates from our model confirm that, for all three species, migratory individuals are much more numerous than residents.There was little difference in movement timing between 2021 (a year without preceding winter/spring floods) and 2022 (a year with a small flood occurring in early April). In both years, flannelmouth sucker arrived in mid‐March whereas humpback chub and bluehead sucker arrivals occurred early‐ to mid‐April. With humpback chub and flannelmouth sucker, movement timing was influenced by body size so that large individuals were more likely to arrive early compared to smaller individuals.With more years of data, this model framework could be used to evaluate ecological questions pertaining to flow cues and movement timing or intensity, relative trends in migrants versus residents and ecological drivers of skipped spawning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Very‐low‐frequency (VLF) transmitting antennas have a crucial influence on the nearby electromagnetic environment. Commercial software packages, such as CST Studio Suite (CST) or Altair FEKO (FEKO), are always utilised to calculate the electric fields of VLF antennas, which consume considerable computing resources and time. The classical method of electric field calculation, the charge simulation method (CSM), is first applied to the calculation of electric field near the VLF transmitting antenna. The distribution characteristics of three‐dimensional electric fields were analysed. The electric field surrounding the antenna exhibited axial symmetry. The highest electric field strength was at the top of the antenna, and as the distance from the antenna increased, the electric field strength exponentially decreased. The comparisons are performed between the results of the CSM and those of commercial software, the average relative errors of CSM on two observation paths are very small, 2.20% and 2.21%, respectively. Meanwhile, the CSM shows considerable advantages in saving calculation resources and improving efficiency. Additionally, the comparison between CSM calculation and the measured data is carried out. The results show that this method can accurately calculate the electric field near VLF transmitting antenna and offer valuable insights and a new solution.

Abstract The author reveals that the power pattern for a particular selected rotating spherical electric current density profile exhibits the following two properties simultaneously: (a) fully omnidirectional in three dimensions (3‐D) and (b) invariant with regards to radio frequency (RF). Specifically, most known antenna designs exhibit either nodal lines or planes for at least some RF frequencies. In contrast, the primary innovation of the subject rotating electric current sphere is that it generates a power pattern that is characterised by no nodal lines nor nodal planes for any RF frequency. In the present analysis, the electro‐magnetic (EM) fields are calculated as an exact solution of Maxwell's equations for the subject electric current density that rotates azimuthally on a spherical surface. As expected, the spatial structure of the resulting EM fields also rotates azimuthally. More surprisingly, this rotating electric current density generates pure magnetic dipole radiation exactly, with the absence of any higher order multipole moments. This proposed antenna concept could offer utility in various applications, including communications beaconing and radar surveillance.

Abstract The rapid development of ultrawideband (UWB) communication systems has resulted in increasing performance requirements for the antenna system. In addition to a wide bandwidth, fast propagation rates and compact dimensions, flexibility, wearability or portability are also desirable for UWB antennas, as are excellent notch characteristics. Although progress has been made in the development of flexible/wearable antennas desired notch properties are still rather limited. Moreover, most presently available flexible UWB antennas are fabricated using environmentally not attractive subtractive etching-based processes. The usage of facile additive sustainably inkjet printing processes also utilizing low temperature plasma-activated conductive inks is rarely reported. In addition, the currently used tri-notched flexible UWB antenna designs have a relatively large footprint, which poses difficulties when integrated into miniaturized and compact communication devices. In this work, a silver nano ink is used to fabricate the antenna via inkjet printing and an efficient plasma sintering procedure. For the targeted UWB applications miniaturized tri-notched flexible antenna is realized on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a compact size of 17.6 mm × 16 mm × 0.12 mm. The antenna operates in the UWB frequency band (2.9–10.61 GHz), and can shield interferences from WiMAX (3.3–3.6 GHz), WLAN (5.150–5.825 GHz) and X-uplink (7.9–8.4 GHz) bands, as well as exhibits a certain of bendability. Three nested "C" slots of different sizes were adopted to achieve notch features. The simulation and test results demonstrate that the proposed antenna can generate signal radiation in the desired UWB frequency band while retaining the desired notch properties and having acceptable SAR values on-body, making it a viable candidate for usage in flexible or wearable communication transmission devices. The research provides a facile and highly efficient method for fabricating flexible/wearable UWB antennas, that is, the effective combination of inkjet printing processing, flexible substrates, low temperature-activated conductive ink and antenna structure design.

Abstract A new multi‐band frequency response controlling method using groove loading technique on the narrow wall of an open‐ended waveguide is proposed by the authors. The feature of this scheme is a larger stopband spacing that is independent of the position of the loading structure. A tri‐band antenna is designed as an example to verify the effectiveness of the idea. Two notches are introduced, and the bandwidths, as well as stopband spacings, can be adjusted by independent parameters. The tri‐band prototype can be fabricated using 3D printing technology or machining technology. Reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results of impedance and radiation characteristics have been achieved.

Abstract Ever‐increasing bandwidth requirements from various industries drive the need for the ever‐increasing bandwidth of antennas used for testing. Broadband Double‐Ridged Guide Horn (DRGH) antennas are used extensively in antenna measurement and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility/Interference (EMC/I) testing. The current state‐of‐the‐art broadband DRGH antennas reported in the literature for use in measurement applications cover bandwidth ratios as large as 36:1 (0.5–18 GHz). This paper presents the design and realisation of a DRGH antenna with a 100:1 bandwidth ratio (0.5–50 GHz). To achieve such a wide bandwidth, the ridge gap, width and feed were optimised, and a novel coaxial‐to‐ridge waveguide launcher section based on a typical Vivaldi antenna was developed. Backward radiation was reduced using an absorber‐filled cavity. A prototype DRGH antenna was manufactured using additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing. Simulated and measured results obtained in an anechoic chamber are presented.

The author reveals that the power pattern for a particular selected rotating spherical electric current density profile exhibits the following two properties simultaneously: (a) fully omnidirectional in three dimensions (3‐D) and (b) invariant with regards to radio frequency (RF). Specifically, most known antenna designs exhibit either nodal lines or planes for at least some RF frequencies. In contrast, the primary innovation of the subject rotating electric current sphere is that it generates a power pattern that is characterised by no nodal lines nor nodal planes for any RF frequency. In the present analysis, the electro‐magnetic (EM) fields are calculated as an exact solution of Maxwell's equations for the subject electric current density that rotates azimuthally on a spherical surface. As expected, the spatial structure of the resulting EM fields also rotates azimuthally. More surprisingly, this rotating electric current density generates pure magnetic dipole radiation exactly, with the absence of any higher order multipole moments. This proposed antenna concept could offer utility in various applications, including communications beaconing and radar surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microstrip patch antennas have been widely used in contemporary mobile communication technology, including 5G. Previous studies in the area have shown that such antennas can be optimized to operate in different bands of 5G. This study proposes a microstrip patch antenna designed to operate at 26 and 28 GHz and aimed at improving the gain and other radiation characteristics by adding a combination of different slot shapes to a single rectangular patch that is very common and popular in 5G antennas. The results show that the gain is noticeably increased by inserting two hammer slots and a rectangular slot in the middle between them. The dimensions of the slots are optimized using the CST Studio Suite simulator. A comparative analysis was performed to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed over previous designs in terms of gain value and other radiation parameters. The results suggest that such a very simple and low-profile antenna can be a good candidate for 5G mobile applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive manufacturing has emerged as a transformative methodology in numerous engineering domains, with the fabrication of antennas and electromagnetic devices being a promising application area. This study presents a comprehensive review of the application of these technologies for manufacturing electromagnetic devices, offering a categorized analysis based on different types of additive manufacturing techniques. Each category is examined, and its characteristics are briefly described, highlighting not only the most innovative and significant devices fabricated using specific technologies, but also identifying their limitations and strengths. Through a dual analysis, this paper provides a deep understanding of the potential of and challenges associated with using different additive manufacturing technologies in the design and crafting of electromagnetic components. Moreover, this review offers recommendations for future studies, suggesting how the unique features of this new manufacturing paradigm could be further leveraged for breakthroughs in the electromagnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of ultrawideband (UWB) communication systems has resulted in increasing performance requirements for the antenna system. In addition to a wide bandwidth, fast propagation rates and compact dimensions, flexibility, wearability or portability are also desirable for UWB antennas, as are excellent notch characteristics. Although progress has been made in the development of flexible/wearable antennas desired notch properties are still rather limited. Moreover, most presently available flexible UWB antennas are fabricated using environmentally not attractive subtractive etching-based processes. The usage of facile additive sustainably inkjet printing processes also utilizing low temperature plasma-activated conductive inks is rarely reported. In addition, the currently used tri-notched flexible UWB antenna designs have a relatively large footprint, which poses difficulties when integrated into miniaturized and compact communication devices. In this work, a silver nano ink is used to fabricate the antenna via inkjet printing and an efficient plasma sintering procedure. For the targeted UWB applications miniaturized tri-notched flexible antenna is realized on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a compact size of 17.6 mm × 16 mm × 0.12 mm. The antenna operates in the UWB frequency band (2.9–10.61 GHz), and can shield interferences from WiMAX (3.3–3.6 GHz), WLAN (5.150–5.825 GHz) and X-uplink (7.9–8.4 GHz) bands, as well as exhibits a certain of bendability. Three nested "C" slots of different sizes were adopted to achieve notch features. The simulation and test results demonstrate that the proposed antenna can generate signal radiation in the desired UWB frequency band while retaining the desired notch properties and having acceptable SAR values on-body, making it a viable candidate for usage in flexible or wearable communication transmission devices. The research provides a facile and highly efficient method for fabricating flexible/wearable UWB antennas, that is, the effective combination of inkjet printing processing, flexible substrates, low temperature-activated conductive ink and antenna structure design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter proposes a millimeter‐wave dual‐polarized (DP) end‐fire frequency scanning antenna utilizing low temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. The antenna features DP radiating elements, each comprising a quasi‐Yagi antenna for horizontal polarization (H‐pol) and a pyramidal horn antenna for vertical polarization (V‐pol). These elements are excited via a mode‐composited transmission line (MCTL), integrating substrate integrated coaxial line (TEM mode) with substrate integrated waveguide (TE10 mode). To mitigate phase imbalances between polarizations during beam scanning, a delay line is embedded in each quasi‐Yagi element, ensuring consistent scanning ranges for the two polarizations. Furthermore, the implementation of amplitude weighting in the feeding networks contributes to the enhancement of antenna efficiency. A 1 × 8‐element prototype was fabricated and its performance is assessed. The results show closely matched beam scanning ranges for the two polarizations (±28° for H‐pol and −30° to +34° for V‐pol) across the 26–29 GHz frequency band, with a measured maximum peak gain exceeding 9.2 dBi for both polarizations. The proposed design emerges as a promising candidate for compact mmW frequency scanning front‐end antenna systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and optimisation of a five‐cascade layer Rotman Lens based on waveguide with a graded refractive index at Ka‐band frequency are presented. The proposed lens incorporates 5 layers within the cavity, utilises a modified three focal Rotman lens design methodology to achieve perfect phasing for true time delay beam steering, and optimises each layer's parameters such as refractive index, vertex location, and contour angle to improve insertion loss between input ports and output array elements. This approach enhances energy concentration between input and output ports, reducing spillover to dummy ports. The graded layers are formed using periodic cubic metallic posts with varying heights within a parallel plate waveguide. The results show an average improvement in the insertion loss of 16% and a peak improvement of 48% across the bandwidth when compared to conventional Rotman lenses. The normalised average phase error across the array elements for all beam ports excitation is 4 × 10−3 and the peak degradation of the main beam during beam scanning from 0° to ±22° varies from 0.7 to 1 dB at different frequencies operating in the Ka‐band (24–30 GHz) with potential applications for 5G communications. The simulation results demonstrate good agreement with the measurement results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory problems are common amongst older people. The rapid increase in the ageing population has led to a need for developing technologies that can monitor such conditions unobtrusively. This paper presents a novel study that investigates Wi-Fi and ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna sensors to simultaneously monitor two different breathing parameters: respiratory rate, and exhaled breath. Experiments were carried out with two subjects undergoing three breathing cases in breaths per minute (BPM): (1) slow breathing (12 BPM), (2) moderate breathing (20 BPM), and (3) fast breathing (28 BPM). Respiratory rates were captured by Wi-Fi sensors, and the data were processed to extract the respiration rates and compared with a metronome that controlled the subjects' breathing. On the other hand, exhaled breath data were captured by a UWB antenna using a vector network analyser (VNA). Corresponding reflection coefficient data (S11) were obtained from the subjects at the time of exhalation and compared with S11 in free space. The exhaled breath data from the UWB antenna were compared with relative humidity, which was measured with a digital psychrometer during the breathing exercises to determine whether a correlation existed between the exhaled breath's water vapour content and recorded S11 data. Finally, captured respiratory rate and exhaled breath data from the antenna sensors were compared to determine whether a correlation existed between the two parameters. The results showed that the antenna sensors were capable of capturing both parameters simultaneously. However, it was found that the two parameters were uncorrelated and independent of one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact and broadband dual-mode dipole antenna is proposed in this paper. Fundamental mode (f1) is combined with third-order mode (f3) to widen the bandwidth. To do so, f3 is compressed/down-shifted close to f1. This is realized by loading a loop at the current null points of f3. Loop parameters are the crucial parameters for third-order mode compression and, thus, for wide bandwidth. The antenna was fabricated. Measurements were performed. Simulations and measurements are in good agreement. The prototype of the antenna has an electrical size of 0.33λL× 0.08λL at the lowest frequency of the operational band. The obtained frequency band for |S11| ≤ −10 dB is 2.83 GHz–6.08 GHz which amounts to 73% bandwidth. The measured peak gain is 3.1 dBi. Stable omnidirectional radiation is obtained over the entire impedance bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever‐increasing bandwidth requirements from various industries drive the need for the ever‐increasing bandwidth of antennas used for testing. Broadband Double‐Ridged Guide Horn (DRGH) antennas are used extensively in antenna measurement and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility/Interference (EMC/I) testing. The current state‐of‐the‐art broadband DRGH antennas reported in the literature for use in measurement applications cover bandwidth ratios as large as 36:1 (0.5–18 GHz). This paper presents the design and realisation of a DRGH antenna with a 100:1 bandwidth ratio (0.5–50 GHz). To achieve such a wide bandwidth, the ridge gap, width and feed were optimised, and a novel coaxial‐to‐ridge waveguide launcher section based on a typical Vivaldi antenna was developed. Backward radiation was reduced using an absorber‐filled cavity. A prototype DRGH antenna was manufactured using additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing. Simulated and measured results obtained in an anechoic chamber are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new multi‐band frequency response controlling method using groove loading technique on the narrow wall of an open‐ended waveguide is proposed by the authors. The feature of this scheme is a larger stopband spacing that is independent of the position of the loading structure. A tri‐band antenna is designed as an example to verify the effectiveness of the idea. Two notches are introduced, and the bandwidths, as well as stopband spacings, can be adjusted by independent parameters. The tri‐band prototype can be fabricated using 3D printing technology or machining technology. Reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results of impedance and radiation characteristics have been achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is regulated regarding emission limits for ultra‐wideband in a number of jurisdictions. The definitions of these regulations employ concepts and terminology that are more suited to traditional narrow band radio transmitters. Further, the emissions limits were based on limited quantitative factual information and have resulted in stringent limitations on GPR technology advancement. Factual theoretical and experimental information on the emissions from actual GPR devices is not generally available, and the relationship with regulatory requirements is poorly understood by users. This information gap must be filled if a compelling argument for less stringent emissions levels is to be mounted in the future. Moreover, the current regulations have the potential to trigger further review of emission limits in the future which could be detrimental to the use of GPR. In this paper, we present the basic steps entailed in translating impulse time‐domain GPR instrument behaviour into 'regulatory' parameters. To achieve this, we also employ three‐dimensional finite‐difference time‐domain numerical modelling to simulate the transient electromagnetic field variation around dipole antennas placed on the surface of a half‐space or at a height over it to illustrate the dependency on sensor height and ground permittivity. The ultimate goal is to establish the foundation for more sensible rule making, if and when, the regulatory standards come under scrutiny for revision and further user understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review on planar printed structures that are based on Matryoshka-like geometries is presented. These structures use the well-known principle of Matryoshka dolls that are successively nested inside each other. The well-known advantages of the planar printed technology and of the meandered nested Matryoshka geometries are combined to generate miniaturized, multi-resonance, and/or wideband configurations. Both metal and complementary slot structures are considered. Closed and open configurations were analyzed. The working principles were explored in order to obtain physical insight into their behavior. Low-cost and single-layer applications as frequency-selective surfaces, filters, antennas, and sensors, in the microwave frequency region, were reviewed. Potential future research perspectives and new applications are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This letter proposes a novel planar endfire circularly polarized antenna with widened half‐power beamwidth. Widened azimuth beamwidth mechanism of 2D sectorial electric dipole is theoretically revealed, thus it is able to combine with a rectangular magnetic dipole to yield a half‐power beamwidth widened planar endfire circularly polarized antenna. Finally, a prototype planar endfire circularly polarized antenna with sectorial flared angle of α = 270° is fabricated, simulated, and implemented to validate the design approach. As investigated, the antenna exhibits broadened azimuth half‐power beamwidth of 150° over a frequency range of 2.40–2.45 GHz.

Abstract The integration of directive elements into a circular switched parasitic array at 868 MHz is presented. The typical usage of reflective parasitic monopoles is supplemented with additional, shorter monopole elements which are positioned closer to the central active monopole to induce directive behaviour. This allows for more degrees of freedom with the steering of the antennas beam and to increase the gain of the antenna. This leads to a greater flexibility of the system and enables power reduction of the amplifiers for enhanced battery life time. The design and configuration of a circular switched parasitic array with directive elements is shown and a prototype is built for validation.

The communication network made the globe a single entity and easily acessible by everyone at any time. Growth in communication networks is unimaginable and advanced nowadays. It is growing every day by means of medium or components used in communication. There are various significant components that are generally used in the communication networks. Specifically, wireless communication (WC) is the dominant in today's communication world. It is supported by the transmitting and receiving nodes at each end of communication. The common components in communication antennas are the transmitters and receivers. It has been unalterable for many decades but their capabilities have been improved through various methods including their manufacturing by the use of alternative materials. This article focuses on metamaterial (MM) based wireless antennas. The growth of metamaterials utilization in the fabrication of microstrip antennas has been discussed comprehensively and its future scope has been envisaged through patent landscape analysis. It is done meticulously using the patent database and in addition, the growth of some of the metamaterials was also predicted using the landscape analysis. Some significant technologies related with metamaterials in WC that were patented have been discussed comprehensively along with the reference to recently published articles. This articles serves as a guide to the researchers working in the communication field to envisage the future advancements.

Abstract A novel design of a high‐frequency multiband with a circular polarisation antenna based on a four‐patch antenna system consolidated with an Archimedean spiral antenna for CubeSat applications. The geometry and size are compatible with the CubeSat standard structure dimensions of 10 × 10 cm2. The antenna consists of a spiral antenna in the middle of four patch antennas surrounding it; the first antenna structure consists of two sets of two orthogonal identical patch antennas with a 90° phase shift to cover the band from 1.55 to 1.94 GHz at L‐band, 2, 2.1, and 2.3 GHz at S‐band, the second antenna is an Archimedean spiral antenna to cover all C‐bands, all X‐bands, all Ku‐bands, all K‐bands, and from 26 to 29 GHz at Ka‐band. The measured results show that the reflection coefficients (S11) and (S22) achieve

This paper presents a novel MIMO antenna array configuration that incorporates metamaterial isolation surfaces to enhance overall performance. It was demonstrated that the directivity of this antenna array can be precisely electronically reconfigured using PIN diode switches. Additionally, the feasibility of integrating solar panels with the proposed MIMO antenna array is shown. Adopting solar panels in 5G base stations is expected to reduce dependency on traditional grid power sources, thereby decreasing energy usage and operational expenses, and supporting the goal of achieving netzero emissions in communication systems. Furthermore, the effectiveness of an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled equalizer in mitigating degradation in channel capacity caused by signal power fluctuations was demonstrated, thereby enhancing the reliability and efficiency of wireless communication systems. The multifaceted benefits of combining these technologies were demonstrated.

In this work, a 2.4 GHz fully woven textile-integrated circularly polarized rectenna intended for wireless power transfer applications is presented. A rectangular patch with truncated corners is used as the radiating element. It is fed through a T-match structure, which allows the control of the input impedance without requiring any additional impedance-matching network. A single-diode rectifier topology was considered to simplify the entire structure and to facilitate its integration with the antenna. The rectifier and the antenna are optimized together through a co-simulation strategy, in which the input impedance of the antenna is adjusted to match the input impedance of the rectifier, ensuring maximum power transfer between them. At the implementation stage, the rectifier is first mounted on a carrier thread, which is then incorporated into the woven structure. This approach, in combination with the chosen antenna feeding technique, which requires no additional elements for impedance matching purposes, provides a high degree of integration between the antenna and the rectifier. The rectenna was experimentally characterized, providing a 45% overall efficiency under realistic working conditions.

Recent advancements in onboard satellite communication have enhanced the capability of dynamically modifying the radiation pattern of a Direct Radiating Array (DRA). This is crucial not only for conventional communication satellites like Geostationary Orbit (GEO) but also for those in lower orbits such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Key design factors include the number of beams, beamwidth, Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP), and Side Lobe Level (SLL) for each beam. However, a challenge arises in multibeam scenarios when trying to simultaneously meet requirements for the aforementioned design factors which are reflected as uneven power distribution. This leads to over-saturation, especially in centrally located antenna elements due to the activation times per beam, commonly referred to as activation instances. In response to this challenge, this paper presents a method to balance the activation instances across antenna elements for each required beam. Our focus is on beams operating at 19 GHz on a CubeSat positioned 500 km above the Earth’s surface. We introduce a Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based algorithm to optimize the beamforming coefficients by modulating the amplitude component of the weight matrix for each antenna element. A key constraint of this algorithm is a limit on activation instances per element, which avoids over-saturation in the Radio Frequency (RF) chain. Additionally, the algorithm accommodates beam requirements such as beamwidth, SLL, pointing direction, and total available power. With the previous key design factors, the algorithm will optimize the required genes to address the desired beam characteristics and constraints. We tested the algorithm’s effectiveness in three scenarios using an $8\times 8$ DRA patch antenna with circular polarization, arranged in a triangular lattice. The results demonstrate that our algorithm not only meets the required beam pattern specifications but also ensures a uniform activation distribution across the antenna array.

This study investigates the use of deep learning techniques for building a generalized surrogate model that can accurately and very efficiently predict antenna performance parameters. Notably, we focus on applications where a substantial amount of simulation time is required and prior data is available for deep learning use. Specifically, for these applications, we introduce deep learning models that efficiently and reliably model the near-field of the antenna. These models, in turn, accurately predict far-field properties and essential antenna metrics, such as the reflection coefficient. To demonstrate the efficiency of our method, the widely used rectangular patch antenna is considered, encompassing variations in several important geometrical parameters, dielectric constant, and frequency. Based on our results, the proposed model, once trained, is over 200 times faster than conventional full-wave simulations with a nominal average root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0174 in predicting all the necessary antenna parameters, such as resonant frequency, radiation pattern, and directivity.

In this paper, the prototypical deployment of a Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas system, denoted as Smart Selective Antennas System (SSAS), aiming at mitigating inter-cell interference effects of cellular networks for in-flight Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), is discussed. In detail, the proposed SSAS is beneficial to increase the communication reliability over existing cellular networks, especially with regard to complex Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones’ missions and applications. Its deployment is motivated as existing 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular networks (as well as 5G networks) are mainly designed and optimized for terrestrial utilization, thus not taking into account interference effects on flying connected devices. The prototypical implementation of the SSAS has been expedient to conduct multiple experimental flights with a drone at different altitudes, collecting performance results and validating the proposed SSAS as a viable solution for inter-cell interference mitigation.

"Digitalization is coming" is the mantra of our society. In recent decades, the environment has been transformed into a high-frequency electromagnetic field by the increasing number of antennas. At present, the roll-out of the new generation of 5G wireless networks means that urban spaces will be littered with thousands of new antennas, invisibly hidden in all sorts of housings such as street lamps, advertising pillars, and neon signs. This development is not stopping at the countryside either. This essay uses media theory and examples from art and technology to speculate on how the changes in urban space and atmosphere can be understood, but also why 5G is a perfect case for techno-criticism and conspiracy theories alike. The waves of wireless networks are spreading to reach even the smallest niches, driven by mobile telephony and wireless Internet. In the future, the environment in which we are immersed and which pervades us will always be an electric field flowing through us. Like any other radio network, 5G is invisible and abstract, and no one can see the artificially generated high-frequency radiation. At the same time, almost all of us have a sensor in our pocket with our mobile phone, telling us where the network is and how strong the radiation is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present details of the construction of a wideband, cryogenic receiver and its successful commissioning on the Arecibo Observatory 12 m telescope. The cryogenic receiver works in the 2.5–14 GHz frequency range. We upgraded the current narrow band, room temperature receivers of the telescope with the new wideband receiver. The current receiver is built around a Quadruple‐Ridged Flared Horn (QRFH) developed by Akgiray et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1109/tap.2012.2229953). To mitigate strong radio frequency interference (RFI) below 2.7 GHz, we installed a highpass filter before the first stage low noise amplifier (LNA). The QRFH, highpass filter, noise coupler and LNA are located inside a cryostat and are cooled to 15 K. The measured receiver temperature is 25 K (median value) over 2.5–14 GHz. The system temperature measured at zenith is about 40 K near 3.1 and 8.6 GHz and the zenith antenna gains are 0.025 and 0.018 K/Jy at the two frequencies respectively. We recommend the following improvements to the telescope system: (a) Upgrade the highpass filter to achieve better RFI rejection near 2.5 GHz; (b) Improve aperture efficiency at 8.6 GHz; (c) Upgrade the intermediate frequency system to increase the upper frequency of operation from 12 to 14 GHz. Key Points: Successful commissioning of a wideband, cryogenic receiver for the 12 m telescope at the Arecibo ObservatoryAchieved system temperature of 40 K and gains of 0.025 K/Jy and 0.018 K/Jy at frequencies 3.1 and 8.6 GHz respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐cost passive reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that provide coverage expansion in wireless communication networks are facing challenges in phase shift optimization due to limitations in acquiring channel information for sub‐channels. To overcome this, a new approach that improves both the convergence speed and overall performance relative to the existing state‐of‐the‐art scheme is proposed. Experimental results in an environment with a Rician factor of 20 showed a 9.3% increase in the average sum data rate, and the probability of the sum data rate exceeding the threshold of 10 increased by 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few years, the Internet of Things paradigm has brought renewed significant interest to indoor positioning, tracking, and localization topics, principally since real-time locating technology allows a reference node to infer the position of tagged target nodes, creating the opportunity for millions of object-to-object awareness applications. This study first presents an overview of positioning localization techniques and discusses the use of ultra-wide bandwidth technology for complex environment monitoring, followed by consideration of the error sources that are present in line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios between a reader and a tag. A technical review of the available industrial and commercial UWB real-time locating transceivers (RTLSs) is presented, with a focus on the frontend antennas that are integrated in these systems to establish the needed wireless communication for positioning. Then, the different characteristics of these antennas are summarized and discussed, along with their impact on the localization performance in terms of the reading range, position information accuracy, object-orientation-independent localization, and multipath mitigation. Solutions are suggested to achieve antenna-based improvements to the performance of RTLSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an all‐metal wideband circularly polarized (CP) single‐patch antenna based on TM11 mode. The conventional square patch is divided into four small square patch units by loading metal shorting walls under the two vertical centerlines. The shorting walls are windowed to facilitate coupling between the adjacent units. When the TM11 mode is excited, the coupling windows not only distribute energy but also provide the 90° phase difference required for CP radiation. An additional feeding network is not required, and its profile is less than 0.05λ0 (λ0 is the free space wavelength at the center frequency). Three minima in the axial ratio (AR) response are present. The results show that right‐hand circularly polarized (RHCP) radiation is achieved. The measured 3 dB AR bandwidth is 6.9%, ranging from 1.52 to 1.62 GHz, and the RHCP realized peak gain is 7.72 dBic. An all‐metal construction suitable for satellite communication systems is designed that has superior performance in harsh space environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel design of a high-frequency multiband with a circular polarisation antenna based on a four-patch antenna system consolidated with an Archimedean spiral antenna for CubeSat applications. The geometry and size are compatible with the CubeSat standard structure dimensions of 10 x 10 cm². The antenna consists of a spiral antenna in the middle of four patch antennas surrounding it; the first antenna structure consists of two sets of two orthogonal identical patch antennas with a 90° phase shift to cover the band from 1.55 to 1.94 GHz at L-band, 2, 2.1, and 2.3 GHz at S-band, the second antenna is an Archimedean spiral antenna to cover all C-bands, all X-bands, all Ku-bands, all K-bands, and from 26 to 29 GHz at Ka-band. The measured results show that the reflection coefficients (S11) and (S22) achieve < -10 dB and the axial ratio achieves <3 dB, with a reference impedance of 50 Ω. The simulated and the measured results give a better agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the concept of frequency‐independent antennas in the electromagnetics, which theoretically exhibit a frequency‐independent bandwidth, this paper extends the concept to acoustics by adopting a log‐spiral and its modified shape to introduce a class of metamaterials called frequency‐independent sound‐absorbing metamaterials. Without the requirement of multiple resonators, these metamaterials achieve an ultra‐broadband absorption spanning from 550 Hz for a wide range of incident angles up to 80°, using a single unit cell structure owing to Fabry–Pérot resonance, viscous boundary losses, and thermoviscous loss of the foam. Numerical and experimental analyses are provided to demonstrate the working principles of the proposed structures. Their performance is compared with archimedean spiral, and the influence of air and porous material parameters on the performance of the metamaterial is discussed in detail for normal and oblique incident waves. The underlying principle is discussed in detail, highlighting the distinctions between the proposed structures and state‐of‐the‐art broadband metamaterials. The proposed structures represent a pioneering advancement in the field by offering compact and ultra‐broadband sound‐absorbing metamaterials that are suitable for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of communication systems has brought about a paradigm shift, particularly in radiocommunications, where software has increasingly taken precedence over hardware. This transition has not only reduced implementation costs but has also significantly enhanced the flexibility of equipment architecture. A prime example of this trend is the emergence and consolidation of softwaredefined radio (SDR) technology in recent decades. This study provides a comprehensive contextualization of SDR technology, offering insights into its current state in terms of development tools and market equipment. Additionally, two learning scenarios are presented that employ different teaching methodologies. In one of these scenarios, communication theory is exclusively approached from a theoretical perspective. In the second scenario, knowledge acquisition is encouraged through the implementation of low-cost laboratories that incorporate SDR technology. The study indicates that implementing SDR technology boosts student motivation and learning, with 73.13% believing it enhances engineering education and 96% showing increased motivation. Those using SDR in practical laboratories perform better on knowledge tests, but statistical analysis shows that the difference is not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microstrip patch antennas have been widely used in contemporary mobile communication technology, including 5G. Previous studies in the area have shown that such antennas can be optimized to operate in different bands of 5G. This study proposes a microstrip patch antenna designed to operate at 26 and 28 GHz and aimed at improving the gain and other radiation characteristics by adding a combination of different slot shapes to a single rectangular patch that is very common and popular in 5G antennas. The results show that the gain is noticeably increased by inserting two hammer slots and a rectangular slot in the middle between them. The dimensions of the slots are optimized using the CST Studio Suite simulator. A comparative analysis was performed to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed over previous designs in terms of gain value and other radiation parameters. The results suggest that such a very simple and low-profile antenna can be a good candidate for 5G mobile applications.

Abstract This letter proposes a millimeter‐wave dual‐polarized (DP) end‐fire frequency scanning antenna utilizing low temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. The antenna features DP radiating elements, each comprising a quasi‐Yagi antenna for horizontal polarization (H‐pol) and a pyramidal horn antenna for vertical polarization (V‐pol). These elements are excited via a mode‐composited transmission line (MCTL), integrating substrate integrated coaxial line (TEM mode) with substrate integrated waveguide (TE10 mode). To mitigate phase imbalances between polarizations during beam scanning, a delay line is embedded in each quasi‐Yagi element, ensuring consistent scanning ranges for the two polarizations. Furthermore, the implementation of amplitude weighting in the feeding networks contributes to the enhancement of antenna efficiency. A 1 × 8‐element prototype was fabricated and its performance is assessed. The results show closely matched beam scanning ranges for the two polarizations (±28° for H‐pol and −30° to +34° for V‐pol) across the 26–29 GHz frequency band, with a measured maximum peak gain exceeding 9.2 dBi for both polarizations. The proposed design emerges as a promising candidate for compact mmW frequency scanning front‐end antenna systems.

Abstract This letter introduces a novel bandwidth‐enhanced low‐profile (thin structure) patch antenna adopting double U‐slot loading and parasitic structures. The proposed antenna features single‐layer topology, thin structure of 0.027 λ, enhanced −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 12.5%, and unidirectional radiation pattern at Ku‐band. Performances of the proposed antenna are validated through full‐wave simulations and measurements. The proposed antenna element is further duplicated to form a 2×2 patch antenna array, with the parasitic structures shared by adjacent elements. The proposed antenna demonstrates potential in applications demanding wideband, highly directional radiation, and thin structure for seamless integration.

Abstract This letter proposes a novel high gain, high efficiency optically transparent Fabry–Perot Cavity antenna operating in millimetre‐wave. The antenna employs dual layers of transparent partially reflective surface and a transparent artificial magnetic conductor structure to enhance the gain and gain bandwidth. The reflection amplitude and phase have a low sensitivity to the sheet resistance of the transparent materials, which greatly reduce the requirement for the conductivity of transparent material and simplify the manufacturing process. The size of the antenna is 3.47λ0 × 3.47λ0 × 0.68λ0. A peak gain of 14.2 dBi, peak radiation efficiency of 67.1% and optical transparency of 81% are achieved.

This paper presents experimental verification results for a finite‐sized array of a simple non‐reciprocal metasurface elements. The metasurface elements consists of ferrite loaded metal patches. Experimental results demonstrate nonreciprocity, achieving isolation exceeding 20 dB at 6.4 GHz in a 2×2 array. Additionally, these findings are compared with simulation results for a 4×4 array to validate its practicality in a finite array setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]