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This paper presents the design of compact cross‐coupled microstrip trisection bandpass filters based on the hybrid structures of quarter‐wavelength (λ/4) and half‐wavelength (λ/2) resonators. The desired cross‐couplings for transmission zeros (TZs) are realized by parallel‐coupled transmission‐line sections (J‐inverter) or coupled via sections (K‐inverter) of λ/4 resonators. The main‐line couplings, on the other hand, are formed by mixed‐coupled λ/4 and λ/2 resonators. To validate the proposed hybrid configurations, two X‐band trisection filters with 6.5% and 6.2% fractional bandwidth were designed. The first filter generates a TZ below the passband, while the second one produces a TZ above the passband. Minimum insertion loss of 1.7 dB and 1.5 dB was observed for the two trisection filters, respectively, while the hybrid configurations caused significant size reduction in the overall filter size. Moreover, the first spurious response for the proposed filter topologies was pushed to 3fo, resulting in a wide stopband. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication presents a compact reconfigurable phase shifter based on negative-refractive-index transmission-line (NRI-TL) metamaterial unit cells. Two interswitchable NRI-TL metamaterial unit cells are collocated within the same board area, and can be reconfigured based on the biasing polarity of embedded p-i-n diodes to provide two discrete phase states. The p-i-n diodes are located on the shunt branches of the metamaterial line in order to reduce losses in the direct signal path. Design limitations in terms of return loss and insertion loss are discussed in relation to the two phase states. A proof-of-concept module with a size of 17.8 \times 21.6~ \text mm^2 is designed at 1 GHz, with measured insertion phases of −14.5° and +58.5° in the two phase states leading to a differential phase shift of 73°, while exhibiting insertion losses of 1.43 and 0.89 dB, respectively. The combined bandwidth for which the reflection coefficient in both states remains simultaneously below −10 dB is 0.46 GHz (46%), from 0.83 to 1.29 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This communication presents a novel cactus-shaped ultrawideband (UWB) monopole antenna fabricated on liquid crystal polymer (LCP). The proposed antenna is a very compact design, since it can be fabricated on a board with dimensions only $20\times28$ mm ^{2} , while the three linear segments that comprise the cactus-shaped monopole provide a direct control on antenna matching. The proposed antenna is operating from 2.85 to 11.85 GHz and it presents very consistent omnidirectional patterns throughout the UWB frequency range. Return loss and pattern measurements are presented and the operation principles are discussed in detail. The simplicity of this topology, with the easily controllable return loss, allows for its easy implementation for various UWB subband designs, just by building suitable monopole versions, for which the only difference is the length of the three linear segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a planar monopole backed with a $2 \times 1$ array of electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures. The reflection phase of a single EBG unit cell has been studied and exploited toward efficient radiation of a planar monopole antenna, intended for wearable applications. The shape of the EBG unit cell and the gap between the ground and the EBG layer are adjusted so that the antenna operates at 2.45 GHz. The proposed antenna retains its impedance matching when placed directly upon a living human subject with an impedance bandwidth of 5%, while it exhibits a measured gain of 6.88 dBi. A novel equivalent array model is presented to qualitatively explain the reported radiation mechanism of the EBG-backed monopole. The proposed antenna is fabricated on a 68 \times 38 \times 1.57$ mm ^{3} board of semiflexible RT/duroid 5880 substrate. Detailed analysis and measurements are presented for various cases when the antenna is subjected to structural deformation and human body loading, and in all cases, the EBG-backed monopole antenna retains its high performance. The reported efficient and robust radiation performance with very low specific absorption rate, compact size, and high gain make the proposed antenna a superior candidate for most wearable applications used for off-body communication. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two CPW-fed elliptical monopoles were fabricated on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) with reconfigurable rejection band (band-notch) characteristics in the frequency range between S and 6 GHz. The first antenna uses a λ/2 long, U-shaped slot and the second antenna uses two symmetrically placed λ/4 long, inverted L-shaped stubs as resonating elements. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches are used to activate and deactivate the resonating elements without the need of dc bias lines due to a novel design of the switch geometry. Transmission line models and surface current distributions are used to explain the effect of the added resonating elements. Reflection coefficient radiation pattern and gain measurements are presented to verify the design concepts featuring a very satisfactory performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the use of pin diodes to reconfigure the impedance match and modify the radiation pattern of an annular slot antenna (ASA). The planar antenna is fabricated on one side of a Duroid substrate and the microstrip feeding line with the matching network is fabricated on the opposite side of the board. The central frequency is 5.8 GHz and, by reconfiguring the matching circuit, the antenna was also designed to operate at 5.2 and 6.4 GHz. Pin diodes are also used to short the ASA in preselected positions along the circumference, thereby changing the direction of the in the plane defined by the circular slot changes. As a proof of concept, two pin diodes are placed 45° on both sides of the feeding line along the ASA and the direction of the is shown to align with the direction defined by the circular slot center and the diode. Consequently, a design that is reconfigurable in both frequency and radiation pattern is accomplished. Return loss and radiation pattern measurements and simulations are presented, which are in very good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This manuscript presents the use of three novel technologies for the implementation of wireless green battery-less sensors that can be used in agriculture. The three technologies, namely, additive manufacturing, energy harvesting, and wireless power transfer from airborne transmitters carried from UAVs, are considered for smart agriculture applications, and their combined use is demonstrated in a case study experiment. Additive manufacturing is exploited for the implementation of both RFID-based sensors and passive sensors based on humidity-sensitive materials. A number of energy-harvesting systems at UHF and ISM frequencies are presented, which are in the position to power platforms of wireless sensors, including humidity and temperature IC sensors used as agriculture sensors. Finally, in order to provide wireless energy to the soil-based sensors with energy harvesting features, wireless power transfer (WPT) from UAV carried transmitters is utilized. The use of these technologies can facilitate the extensive use and exploitation of battery-less wireless sensors, which are environmentally friendly and, thus, "green". Additionally, it can potentially drive precision agriculture in the next era through the implementation of a vast network of wireless green sensors which can collect and communicate data to airborne readers so as to support, the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-based decision-making with data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-layer reconfigurable reflective metasurface is presented. The proposed metasurface operates at 5.4 GHz and can achieve either absorption or cross-polarization conversion corresponding at two different diode biasing states. The reflective metasurface acts as an absorber for an incident wave when the diodes are forward-biased. Similarly, it changes the polarization state of the reflected wave for a linearly polarized incident wave when the diodes are reverse-biased. The proposed structure maintains the aforementioned performance characteristics for oblique incidence, up to 60° compared to the perpendicular incidence. The proposed metasurface can achieve linear to linear polarization conversion with polarization conversion ratio (PCR) > 95% and absorption, with absorption ratio (AR) > 80% in the same frequency band just by reconfiguring the state of the PIN diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-layer reconfigurable reflective metasurface is presented. The proposed metasurface operates at 5.4 GHz and can achieve either absorption or cross-polarization conversion corresponding at two different diode biasing states. The reflective metasurface acts as an absorber for an incident wave when the diodes are forward-biased. Similarly, it changes the polarization state of the reflected wave for a linearly polarized incident wave when the diodes are reverse-biased. The proposed structure maintains the aforementioned performance characteristics for oblique incidence, up to 60° compared to the perpendicular incidence. The proposed metasurface can achieve linear to linear polarization conversion with polarization conversion ratio (PCR) > 95% and absorption, with absorption ratio (AR) > 80% in the same frequency band just by reconfiguring the state of the PIN diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical implementation of a miniaturized crossover is presented using negative‐refractive‐index transmission‐line (NRI‐TL) metamaterial lines. NRI‐TL metamaterial theory has demonstrated that by loading a conventional transmission line with lumped LC elements, a large phase shift per‐unit‐length can be achieved. Employing this technique, the conventional microstrip transmission lines in a three‐section branch‐line coupler crossover are replaced with 90° NRI‐TL lines, and thus a compact NRI‐TL crossover with an area 47 times smaller than the area of its conventional counterpart is demonstrated. Measured results demonstrate that the proposed NRI‐TL metamaterial crossover exhibits a −10 dB |S11| bandwidth of 33% and a |3 dB| |S31| bandwidth of 26% around 1 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel wideband multilayer dual‐podal Vivaldi antenna with broadband characteristics from 5.5 to 20.82 GHz, is presented. Contrary to traditional Vivaldi antennas that are antipodal‐based, this design is realised by placing a pair of podal Vivaldi antennas with corrugated slots on the top and bottom of a substrate stack (consisting of two dielectric layers) using a Bondply. The pair is fed in‐phase with the help of a Strip‐Line (SL) transmission section that is terminated on a radial stub to couple capacitively to the antenna elements. With this technique of electrically coupling a podal Vivaldi pair, improved performance parameters are achieved, specifically: a measured maximum gain of 9.33 dBi, Half Power Beam Width of 126.5° in the H‐plane, and a maximum Front‐to‐Back (F/B) ratio of 14.36 dB with an overall antenna size of 29 × 21 × 1.63 mm. The in‐depth understanding of the working mechanism is supported by a detailed parametric analysis, current distribution, and a clear physical insight into the operating principles. Moreover, a 1 × 4 Vivaldi antenna array is also designed and analysed. A measured maximum gain of the 13 dBi at 15 GHz in the array is achieved along with the wide bandwidth of 6.3 GHz from 10.78 to 17.07 GHz. The array is fed through an SL corporate feed network that ensures in‐phase excitation of all four Vivaldi pairs. A Grounded Co‐planar Waveguide to SL transition is adopted for connecting the 2.92 mm Radio Frequency launcher on the top layer. The very compact geometry of the proposed structure enables its integration into the systems for remote sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of wireless spectrum access through cellular and IoT devices, for example, requires antennas with more capabilities such as being conformal and self-adapting beamforming. In this paper, the adaptive beamforming patterns of microstrip patch antenna arrays on changing flexible (or conformal) curved surfaces are developed by deriving array coefficients based on the projection method that includes the mutual coupling between elements. A linear four-element microstrip patch antenna array is then embedded on two deformed conformal surfaces to investigate the projection method for desired beamforming patterns. The generated beamforming radiation patterns using the computed weighting coefficients are validated with theoretical equations evaluated in MATLAB, full-wave simulations in HFSS and measurement results. The measured results of the fabricated system agree with the simulated results. Furthermore, new guidelines are provided on the effects of mutual coupling and changing conformal surfaces for various beam-forming patterns. Such demonstrations pave the way to an efficient and robust conformal phased-array antenna with multiple beam forming and adaptive nulling capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy harvesting for wireless communication networks is a new paradigm that allows terminals to recharge their batteries from external energy sources in the surrounding environment. A promising energy harvesting technology is wireless power transfer where terminals harvest energy from electromagnetic radiation. Thereby, the energy may be harvested opportunistically from ambient electromagnetic sources or from sources that intentionally transmit electromagnetic energy for energy harvesting purposes. A particularly interesting and challenging scenario arises when sources perform simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), as strong signals not only increase power transfer but also interference. This article provides an overview of SWIPT systems with a particular focus on the hardware realization of rectenna circuits and practical techniques that achieve SWIPT in the domains of time, power, antennas, and space. The article also discusses the benefits of a potential integration of SWIPT technologies in modern communication networks in the context of resource allocation and cooperative cognitive radio networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In view of the need for communication with distributed sensors/items, this paper presents the design of a single-port antenna with dual-mode operation, representing the front-end of a future generation tag acting as a position sensor, with identification and energy harvesting capabilities. An Archimedean spiral covers the lower European Ultra-Wideband (UWB) frequency range for communication/localization purposes, whereas a non-standard dipole operates in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band to wirelessly receive the energy. The versatility of the antenna is guaranteed by the inclusion of a High Impedance Surface (HIS) back layer, which is responsible for the low-profile stack-up and the insensitivity to the background material. A conformal design, supported by 3D-printing technology, is pursued to check the versatility of the proposed architecture in view of any application involving its deformation and tracking/powering operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-feed circular microstrip antenna with reconfigurable polarization capability is proposed. This antenna has a simple structure, which consists of a radiating circular patch, five switches (PIN diode), three matching stubs, and a 50 Ω) microstrip feed line. It can be switched between 4 different states: two states (low-frequency and high-frequency) for linear polarization (LP), one state for left hand circular polarization (LHCP) and one for right hand circular polarization (RHCP) by controlling the bias voltage of two PIN diodes. At the same time, three switchable matching stubs are used for matching every polarization state. Simulation results and experimental results show that the pro- posed antenna demonstrates a low cross polarization level, good impedance bandwidth, and a very good axial ratio in the circularly polarized states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a flexible bianisotropic metasurface possessing omega-type coupling is presented. The designed metasurface behaves differently when excited from either forward (port 1) or back (port 2) sides. It provides an absorption of 99.46% at 15.1 Gigahertz (GHz), when illuminated from port 1, whereas, on simultaneous illumination from port 2, it behaves like a partially reflective surface (PRS). Furthermore, the presented metasurface not only acts as an in-band absorptive surface (port 1) and partially reflective surface (port 2), but it also provides 97% out-of-band transmission at 7.8 GHz. The response of the presented metasurface remains the same for both transverse Electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarized wave or any arbitrary linearly polarized wave. Additionally, the response of the metasurface is angularly stable for any oblique incidence up to 45º. The proposed ultrathin flexible metasurface with absorption, partial reflection and out-of-band transmission properties can be used in the Fabry Perrot cavity antenna for gain enhancement with radar cross-section (RCS) reduction both for passband and stop-band filtering, and conformal antenna applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-band UHF/industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) compact rectenna with wideband UHF matching (855–935 MHz) covering all, EU, U.S., and Chinese UHF radio frequency identification (RFID), standards is presented. The proposed design consists of a compact single-port, dual-band antenna, a three-port dual-branch matching network, and two voltage doubler rectifiers implemented with Schottky diodes and terminated with a common 10 kΩ load. For each band, the measured RF-to-dc efficiency is around 60% for a −5 dBm unmodulated signal. The wideband behavior of the rectenna supports harvesting of multitone signals. The use of a six-tone signal increases the maximum RF-to-dc efficiency of the dual-band rectifier, from approximately 60% for a single-tone UHF signal (890 MHz) to 80% for a six-tone signal for a received RF power of −5 dBm in both cases. A signal generator is used to generate a six-tone signal of equally weighted and equally spaced (10 MHz separation) monochromatic tones, with a total bandwidth of 50 MHz. The measurement results demonstrate that the dc voltages rectified from the two separate RF signals are effectively superimposed on the load, providing a clear advantage compared to single-band rectennas. The single-layer, compact design with a size of 80 × 45 mm2, with a high RF-to-dc efficiency, is an excellent candidate for wirelessly powered RFID tags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research article, a multiband circular polarization selective (CPS) metasurface is presented. A reciprocal bi-layered metasurface is designed by introducing the chirality in the structure. The top layer of the proposed metasurface is composed of circular split-ring resonator with a cross shape structure inside it. The same structure is printed on the bottom side of the proposed metasurface by rotating it at an angle of 90° to achieve chirality in the structure. The proposed metasurface is able to add CPS surface capability between 5.18 and 5.23 GHz for y-polarized incident wave. For the frequency band of 5.18–5.23 GHz, the transmission goes up to − 4 dB, while the polarization extinction ratio (PER) reaches up to − 27.4 dB at 5.2 GHz. Similarly, for x-polarized incident wave, three strategic CPS operating bands are achieved within the frequency ranges of 10.64–10.82 GHz, 12.25–12.47 GHz, and 14.42–14.67 GHz. The maximum PER of 47.16 dB has been achieved for the 14.42–14.67 GHz frequency band at 14.53 GHz. Furthermore, the response of the metasurface does not vary against oblique incidences up to 45°. The simple structure, angular stability, multiband and miniaturized size make this metasurface an outstanding applicant for polarization conversion and biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a dynamically reconfigurable dual-layer ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna integrated with an energy harvesting (EH) system for powering a GaAs FET switch is presented. The UWB antenna dynamically creates a notch band in the presence of an interfering signal at 5.6 GHz and it goes back to normal UWB operation when the interferer is removed. For the switching operation, the FET switch is powered using only harvested energy carried by the interfering signals. The UWB antenna on the front layer is a microstrip-fed monopole with an embedded elliptical slot. A quarter wavelength linear stub acts as a resonator inside the slot, which is connected and disconnected using the low-power FET switch. The UWB antenna shares the RF ground with a very compact EH system that consists of a planar inverted-F antenna, a very compact voltage-doubler rectifier, and a passive direct-current (dc)-to-dc boost converter. The boost converter elevates the rectified voltage to above the 3.3 V threshold, which is the minimum voltage needed for the actuation of the FET switch. The dynamic notch-band reconfiguration of the UWB antenna without the need for an external dc power source is made possible when the collected power at the input of the rectifier is higher than −12 dBm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an ultra-wideband (UWB) monopole antenna with a dynamically reconfigurable notch band, along with the associated RF-triggered power management unit (PMU) that enables the dynamic reconfigurability, are presented. The UWB monopole antenna has a rectangular slot which hosts a J-shaped stub, electrically connected with the radiator using one PIN diode switch. When the diode is OFF, the monopole antenna has a UWB characteristic, while when it is turned ON a frequency notch is created at 5.6 GHz. The diode is fed from a PMU that consists of a rectenna and a DC-to-DC active booster. When the rectenna that consists of a patch antenna and a rectifier receives a -11 dBm or higher 5.6 GHz signal, it rectifies the RF signal into a sufficiently high DC voltage. The rectified DC voltage is applied to the cascaded DC-to-DC booster as enabling signal, and the booster provides at its output terminal sufficient DC power to actuate the PIN diode and thus dynamically reconfigure the UWB antenna. The dynamically reconfigurable notch band is created immediately in response to the reception of an external, -11 dBm RF signal at 5.6 GHz, and it disappears in real time immediately after the external RF signal is removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel dynamically reconfigurable bandpass filter (BPF) employing stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs) that can operate as either a single-band or a dual-band filter is demonstrated. The reconfigurable BPF uses four positive-intrinsic-negative (p-i-n) diodes as switching elements. With the four p-i-n diodes in the “OFF” state, the filter behaves as a low-loss (0.85 dB) single-band BPF with a passband around 2.45 GHz. The reconfigurable SIR filter can operate as a dual-band BPF with two center frequencies at 1.6 and 2.45 GHz. The diodes are dynamically set to the “ON” state in the presence of a 1.6-GHz RF signal that is received by an RF triggered power management unit (PMU), integrated on the back side of the microstrip filter in a dual-layer architecture. The RF triggered PMU consists of a planar inverted-F antenna, a high-efficiency voltage doubler rectifier (47% at −13 dBm) and an active dc-to-dc power booster. The rectified output voltage is used as the enabling voltage for the dc-to-dc power booster. This, in turn, provides the required dc power for the diodes biasing. The filter switches from single-band to dual-band when a wireless input RF signal (> −13 dBm) is received by the RF triggered PMU antenna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a compact, wideband bandpass filter with 31% 3-dB bandwidth, with very sharp roll-off characteristics, low insertion loss of 0.45 dB, high return loss greater than 25 dB, and improved out-of-band performance, suitable for 2.4 GHz WLAN applications is presented. The developed prototype filter is based on a quadruple-mode square ring resonator, connected to two λg/2 short-circuited stubs. In order to improve the out-of-band performance and achieve a wider stopband response, two Γ-shaped band-stop sections are connected on the feeding lines without disturbing the geometric symmetry along the diagonal. Measurements of the fabricated prototype provide experimental verification of the theoretical and simulated behaviour of the proposed filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of design requirements and novel approaches for improved performance UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags is presented. Two matching techniques, an inductively coupled structure and a serial stub structure are discussed. Different miniaturized antenna topologies are proposed, focusing on low-profile, high efficiency and high directivity in very compact (less than 3 in x 3 in) configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97930-z. The original version of this Article contained errors in Table 1, where the cited References were incorrectly given. [Extracted from the article]