Compact Frequency and Bandwidth Reconfigurable Microwave Filter

This paper details the construction and working of a compound reconfigurable filter capable of frequency and bandwidth reconfiguration in the frequency range from 2 to 3 GHz. The switching between frequency and bandwidth reconfiguration is inherited by two PIN diodes. Bandwidth tuning is facilitated by tuning two transmission zeros individually using varactor diodes, giving flexibility in reconfiguring the upper and lower pass edges. The two transmission zeros are obtained using simple concentric square loop resonators. The maximum bandwidth obtained is 1.5 times the minimum bandwidth offered by the filter. Hence the filter can be used for dynamic bandwidth allocation. This prototype is fabricated and validated in real-time. The simulated and measured results are analogous to each other.

     

Integrated Vivaldi antenna for UWB/diversity applications in vehicular environment

This article presents the design of a three‐port diversity antenna capable of producing three‐directional radiation pattern for vehicular communications. The proposed antenna consists of three uncorrelated Vivaldi antennas that are interconnected and developed on a single printed circuit board. Unlike many other antennas reported for the vehicular environment, the proposed antenna offers ultra‐wideband characteristics with end‐fire radiation pattern leading to high realized antenna gain. The integrated antenna has a footprint of 65 × 40 × 1.6 mm³ and offers 6 GHz impedance bandwidth extending from 5 to 11 GHz. The port‐to‐port isolation is greater than 20 dB within the operating bandwidth. Furthermore, the diversity performance of the proposed three‐port antenna system is evaluated and presented. The calculated envelope correlation coefficient, diversity gain, and mean effective gain are well above the minimum requirement. The prototype antenna is fabricated and the experimental results are presented.     

Gain enhanced multipattern reconfigurable antenna for vehicular communications

This article presents the design and implementation of a high‐gain tunable dual‐band pattern reconfigurable antenna for vehicular communications. The proposed antenna consists of a slotted patch loaded with a double‐side FSS acting as superstrate. The proposed slotted antenna operates at 2.45 and 3.5 GHz and the frequency tuning over the dual‐band is accomplished by employing a varactor diode for tuning the center frequency from 2.41 to 2.62 GHz and from 3.38 to 3.65 GHz at lower and upper frequency bands, respectively. To obtain pattern reconfiguration, the slotted patch is divided into four regions by using two diagonal lines of vias. By properly choosing the excitation port combinations, 14 different radiation patterns are realized with a maximum realized gain of 8.4 and 7.9 dB. Further enhancement of gain is achieved using frequency‐selective surface (FSS) screens which act as a partially reflecting surface. The unique feature of this design is to provide reflection coefficient with high reflectivity in two predetermined frequency ranges. The prototype antenna is fabricated and the measurement results are reported. The experimental results show that the prototype antenna with FSS offers tunable dual‐band with beam reconfigurable properties.     

A comprehensive analysis on the state‐of‐the‐art developments in reflectarray,transmitarray, and transmit‐reflectarray antennas

Contemplating the advancements in communication technology, the analysis of the features of reflectarray, transmitarray, and transmit‐reflectarray becomes essential for future adaptability. This article presents a thorough review of such high‐gain antennas, presenting some of the most relevant solutions published by the scientific society in the field of antennas and wave propagation. Several examples of unit cells for array implementation and complete array designs discussed in various literatures are analyzed. The analysis is focused in identifying the unit cell layouts, such as those developed using microstrip patches, frequency selective surfaces, or metamaterials. The analysis is extended to the ways of improving bandwidth, for example, true time delay elements, phase delay lines, meander lines, and so on, and the various methods used to enable reconfiguration, for example, p‐i‐n diodes, varactor diodes, or microelectromechanical systems. In addition, some antennas, which produce bidirectional beams simultaneously, are also discussed. Finally, all the models are compared against each other in order to highlight their benefits and limitations, summarizing their main characteristics, such as the frequency of operation, bandwidth, phase range, gain, aperture efficiency, sidelobe levels, cross polarization levels, and maximum beam‐steering range.     

A compact tri‐band microwave resonator for ethanol gas detection

This article presents the design, simulation, fabrication, and testing of a compact two‐port microwave resonator coated with nanomaterials for ethanol gas sensing applications. The proposed gas sensor consists of a transmission line loaded with three triangular split ring resonators for ethanol detection at three frequency bands viz. 2.2, 4.6, and 6.3 GHz. The transmission line has all‐pass characteristics in which band gaps are introduced using three split ring resonators. The TiO₂ and ZnO nanorods are used as sensitive layers for the proposed sensing application. The nanorods, which are grown on a glass substrate of thickness 1 mm, are loaded on to the two‐port microwave resonator making the device sensitive to ethanol. The microwave behavior of the sensor is analyzed using the scattering parameters. The absorption of the ethanol gas causes frequency detuning which is used to analyze the presence of ethanol and its concentration. From the experiments, it is understood that there is an increase in the frequency shift with an increase in the concentration of ethanol gas. The sensing device with ZnO as a sensitive layer showed a higher average sensitivity of 2.35 compared to TiO₂ whose average sensitivity is 1.29.     

Design and evaluation of a wideband reflectarray antenna using cross dipole with double‐ring elements

This article reports the design and analysis of a wideband, single layer, and dual‐polarized microstrip reflectarray for Ku‐band applications. The array element is constructed using a crossed dipole enclosed by two cross dipole loops. The element is optimized to exhibit a linear phase response and wide reflection phase range. The reflection characteristic of the unit cell is analyzed using an infinite array approach and the results are presented. A 324‐element Ku‐band microstrip reflectarray antenna of size 20 × 20 cm² is simulated, fabricated, and experimentally evaluated. The 2.9‐dB gain‐bandwidth and aperture efficiency of the reported reflectarray are 45.3% and 35%, respectively. The reflectarray operates in the frequency range of 10.6 to 16.8 GHz.     

Multi‐band reconfigurable microwave filter using dual concentric resonators

This article presents the design and testing of a novel frequency reconfigurable microwave filter. The filter structure is composed of an all stop resonator coupled with C‐ and E‐shaped parasitic resonators. PIN diodes are located at suitable positions to achieve multi‐band reconfiguration from 1.2 to 3.2 GHz making the filter suitable for multiple wireless communication systems. The frequency and bandwidth of the filter are governed by the length of the resonators and coupling between the resonators and the transmission line, respectively. A sharp rejection of ?30 dB is observed between the passbands. The proposed filter offers 56% size reduction with flat group delay performance. The prototype filter is fabricated and the simulation results are validated using experimental measurements. The measurement results show good agreement with the simulation results.     

An ultra‐wideband rectenna using optically transparent Vivaldi antenna for radio frequency energy harvesting

This paper presents a novel ultra‐wideband rectenna which consists of a transparent Vivaldi antenna and a wideband rectifying circuit for radio frequency energy harvesting. The antenna is realized on a 2.2‐mm‐thick soda‐lime glass substrate coated with fluorine‐doped tin oxide of thickness 650 nm. It provides an optical transmittance greater than 80% in the visible region. The rectifying circuit with a cascaded matching network and the Greinacher doubler circuit are fabricated on an FR4 substrate with a thickness of 0.8 mm. The antenna provides the best matching characteristics and the realized peak gain is 3.2 dBi. The designed matching network enables maximum power transfer from the antenna to the rectifier. The rectenna provides a peak power conversion efficiency of 69% for ?10 dBm input power. The proposed antenna can be realized on the windscreen of automobiles and glass windows without causing any obstruction to normal view.     

Design of a 16‐beam pattern‐reconfigurable antenna for vehicular environment

This article presents the design of a multipattern antenna with pattern switching for vehicular communications. The proposed antenna has four triangular patches integrated onto a split square ring (SR) resonator to operate at two distinct frequencies, viz. 2.4 and 3.5 GHz. The proposed antenna is designed with a view to enhancing the link reliability of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), WiMax, and vehicle to vehicle communication frequencies. Each triangular patch is separately excited using a microstrip line feed to enable beam steering. The ground plane of the antenna is embedded with two SR slots to improve the bandwidth and radiation performance. Further gain enhancement is achieved by loading the antenna with a plane reflector located at a distance of 20 mm from the antenna's ground surface. In reality, this reflector is realized using the vehicle's roof which provides gain enhancement up to 5.2 dBi at 2.4 GHz and 4 dBi at 3.5 GHz. By exciting single to multiple ports sequentially 16 different radiation patterns are obtained, which provides high‐gain omnidirectional coverage. The prototype antenna is fabricated and the simulation results are verified using experimental measurements. From the results, it is evident that the proposed antenna is suitable for vehicular communication applications.