Broadband wireless communications require wideband antennas to support large number of users and higher data rates. Desirable features of a wideband antenna are low-profile, dual-polarization and wide bandwidth in a compact size. Many existing wideband antennas are large in size and some have only circular polarization. On the other hand low-profile, dual-polarized antennas frequently have limited bandwidth. This dissertation reports on results from original research into several new wideband antennas. All are compact and planar, and many are low-profile and dual-polarized. Since 1994, Virginia Tech Antenna Group (VTAG) has performed research on the wideband, low-profile and dual-polarized antennas of compact size. This research resulted in the following antenna innovations: the Fourpoint, Fourtear, PICA (Planar Inverted Cone Antenna), diPICA (dipole PICA) and LPdiPICA (Low-Profile diPICA) antennas. They are all planar in geometry so one can easily construct them in a compact size. The antennas were characterized and investigated with extensive simulations and measurements. The computed and measured data demonstrates that some of the antennas appear to have the characteristics of the self-complementary antenna and most of the proposed antennas provide more than a 10:1 impedance bandwidth for a VSWR < 2. Patterns, however, are degraded at the high end of the frequency. Several tapered ground planes were proposed to improve the radiation pattern characteristics without degrading the impedance performance. A simulation result proposed a possibility of another antenna inventions providing 10:1 pattern bandwidth with the 10:1 impedance bandwidth. Research into wideband antennas demonstrated that the newly invented antennas are closely related each other and are evolved from a primitive element, PICA. Not only the comprehensive investigation but also a practical antenna design has been done for commercial base-station array antennas and to phased array antennas for government applications. This dissertation presents results of comprehensive investigation of new planar wideband antennas and its usefulness to the broadband wireless communications. / Ph. D.

This thesis investigates a new data communication method in high speed integrated circuits using power distribution networks (PDNs). The conventional purpose of PDNs in integrated circuits (ICs) is to deliver power to internal nodes of an IC while meeting a level of power integrity. As the power consumption increases for very large scale integration (VLSI) systems, the number of power/ground pins increases as well. In this thesis, we propose to use PDNs for dual purposes, delivery of power and one-/two-way data communications, which is highly beneficial for pin-limited high performance ICs. To this end, we investigate signaling methods for a microscopic communication channel. Impulse-based ultra wideband (UWB) signaling is selected due to its robustness to noise and wideband characteristics. Next, we study a planar structure IC package based on the cavity resonator model (CRM) as a communication channel. Impedance characteristics of a planar structure IC package and other relevant components of an IC are important, and they are investigated for data transmission over power distribution networks. Another important aspect of the study is data transmission and reception, which we investigate through simulations. Finally, we study one possible application for one way communications, massive parallel scan design, which greatly shortens the testing time at moderate overhead. The performance is measured with eye diagrams and bit error rates (BERs) under the presence of voltage drop, simultaneous switching noise, and thermal noise. / Ph. D.

Acquisition of ultra-wideband signals by means of array antennas requires essentially frequency-independent radiation characteristics over the entire bandwidth of the signal in order to avoid distortions. Factors contributing to bandwidth limitation of arrays include array factor, radiation characteristics of the array element, and inter-element mutual coupling. Strictly speaking, distortion-free transmission or reception of ultra-wideband signals can be maintained if the magnitude of the radiated field of the array remains constant while its phase varies linearly with frequency over the bandwidth of interest. The existing wideband-array synthesis methods do not account for all factors affecting the array bandwidth and are often limited to considering the array factor and not the total field of the array in the synthesis process. The goal of this study is to present an ultra-wideband array synthesis technique taking into account all frequency-dependent properties, including array total pattern, phase of the total radiated field, element field, element input impedance, and inter-element mutual coupling. The proposed array synthesis technique is based on the utilization of frequency-adaptive element excitations in conjunction with expressing the total radiated field of the array as a complex Fourier series. Using the proposed method, element excitation currents required for achieving a desired radiation pattern, while compensating for frequency variations of the element radiation characteristics and the inter-element mutual coupling, are calculated. An important consideration in the proposed ultra-wideband array design is that the "phase bandwidth", defined as the frequency range over which the phase of the total radiated field of the array varies linearly with frequency, is taken into account as a design requirement in the synthesis process. Design examples of linear arrays with desired radiation patterns that are expected to remain unchanged over the bandwidth of interest are presented and simulated. Two example arrays, one with a wire dipole as its element and another using an elliptically-shaped disc dipole as the element are studied. Simulation results for far-field patterns, magnitude and phase characteristics, and other performance criteria such as side-lobe level and scanning range are presented. Synthesis of two-dimensional planar arrays is carried out by employing the formulations developed for linear arrays but generalized to accommodate the geometry of planar rectangular arrays. As example designs, planar arrays with wire dipoles and elliptical-shaped disc dipoles are studied. The simulation results indicate that synthesis of ultra-wideband arrays can be accomplished successfully using the technique presented in this work. The proposed technique is robust and comprehensive, nonetheless it is understood that the achieved performance of a synthesized array and how closely the desired performance is met also depends on some of the choices the array designer makes and other constraints, such as number of elements, type of element, size, and ultimately cost. / Ph. D.

Yes / Four versions of the compact hexagonal-shaped monopole printed antennas for UWB applications are presented. The first proposed antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 127.48 % (3.1 GHz to 14 GHz), which satisfies the bandwidth for ultra-wideband communication systems. To reduce the foreseen co-channel interference with WLAN (5.2GHz) and X-Band systems (10GHz), the second and third antennas type were generated by embedding hexagonal slot on the top of the radiating patch. The integration of the half and full hexagonal slots created notched bands that potentially filtered out the sources of interference, but were static in nature. Therefore, a fourth antenna type with tuneable-notched bands was designed by adding a varactor diode at an appropriate location within the slot. The fourth antenna type is a dual-notch that was electronically and simultaneously tuned from 3.2GHz to 5.1GHz and from 7.25GHz up to 9.9GHz by varying the bias voltages across the varactor. The prototypes of the four antenna versions were successfully fabricated and tested. The measured results have good agreement with the simulated results. / This work is carried out under the grant of the Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT - Portugal), with the reference number: SFRH/BPD/95110/2013.

Power line communications (PLC) as applied to electrical power grid is known since long; however, PLC in microprocessors was recently introduced by VTVT Lab. Since power distribution network (PDN) inside a microprocessor is ubiquitous, therefore, any node inside a microprocessor can be accessed by attaching a simple communication circuit to it. The scheme is extremely attractive as it avoids the routing overhead of the data-path between an internal node and an I/O pin. A number of applications are possible for PLC in microprocessors such as on-line testing, monitoring/control of internal nodes, fault diagnosis etc. Feasibility of the PLC approach has been extensively studied by earlier researchers at VTVT. The feasibility studies investigated the frequency response of a microprocessor's PDN and looked for existence of passbands — frequency bands where signal attenuation through the PDN is small. Two different approaches were followed—the first approach employed analytical modeling of the high frequency characteristics of the PDN, while the second approach conducted measurements on Intel® microprocessors' PDN. Although, differences were observed in the results of the two approaches; both the approaches demonstrated existence of passbands, thus affirming the feasibility of the PLC scheme. This thesis presents a system level study conducted to estimate performance of the PLC scheme. Measurement results were used to model the PDN channel. The study provides useful insights for the design of microprocessor level PLC system. Specifically, the study estimates optimal pulse width required to maximize the system performance and the range of achievable data-rates. The study demonstrates that it is feasible to communicate data through a microprocessor's PDN without inducing large disturbances on the power line. The other work presented in this thesis is the design of low power receiver for microprocessor level PLC, also called data recovery block. The proposed design of data recovery block employs Correlation Detection (CD) receiver architecture. The design has been implemented in IBM 0.13 µm CMOS process and has been verified to operate reliably across Process, Voltage and Temperature variations. The design has a small foot-print of 300 µm x 160 µm and consumes 3.58 mW while operating from 1.2 V power supply. / Master of Science

No / In this paper, low profile planar Metamaterial-Inspired coplanar fed waveguide antenna is presented for WLAN and Ultra-Wideband applications. The antenna is based on a simple strip loaded to a rectangular patch and zigzag E-shape metamaterial-inspired unit cell. The idea behind the proposed antenna is to enable miniaturization effect. The proposed antenna can provide dual band operation, the first one is a Wi-Fi band at 2.45 GHz having impedance bandwidth of 150MHz, the second one is an ultra wide band extended from 4.2 GHz to 6.5 GHz. Two antennas are designed and fabricated with and without metamaterial-inspired loading. The simulated and measured results regarding Return loss (S11), Gain and Radiation pattern are discussed.

No / A small dielectric resonator antenna has been designed for ultra wideband (UWB) communication system applications. The antenna element is a rectangular low permittivity ceramic block, with a dielectric constant of 9.4, and the modified T-shaped feed network includes a 50 ohm microstrip line to achieve strong coupling, and some bandwidth enhancement. The antenna performance is simulated and measured over a frequency band extending from 3100 MHz to 5500 MHz; the impedance bandwidth over this interval is 55.8% with VSWR <; 2, making the antenna suitable for UWB applications.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-31T13:33:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IsaacBTS_DISSERT.pdf: 5495741 bytes, checksum: 51971b46b62abac857269a023f55e88b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-19 / Microstrip patch antennas consist of a metallic strip over a dielectric substrate and widely used because of its small size and versatility of its dimensions and possible configurations of the patch to achieve specific characteristics of resonance frequency, bandwidth, directivity and return loss. Due this versatility of its parameters, this work presents a microstrip patch antenna proposal involving the insertion of two Complementary Split Ring Resonators (CSRR), as the variation of its dimensions, and will be developed a study of CSRR s influence in antenna s parameters, designed by Transmission Line Theory, with the objective of increasing the antenna s bandwidth and filtering certain frequencies; and manufacture a device which operates in Ultra Wideband (UWB) system. The application of dielectric multilayers will be also studied with the objective of evaluate its influence in antenna s return loss. The software ANSYS HFSS® was used as an auxiliary tool to simulate the antennas parameters and the best results, as well the evaluation about the available material, were used to build the devices and measure them to validate the results previously simulated. The simulations results matched with the expected behavior of the return loss, because the filter characteristic appeared in some frequencies and the result presented a dual-band characteristic. The experimental result for the return loss agreed with the simulated pattern, despite the dislocated frequency to higher values, but just one of the measured antennas could be used in the UWB system with fractional bandwidth of 34,12% in the resonance frequency of 4,35 GHz with return loss of -36,22 dB, allowing the operation in many wireless communication systems like the IEEE standards 802.11a, 802.11n and 802.11p / As antenas de microfita tipo patch (ou plaqueta) são antenas constituídas de um recorte metálico sobre um substrato dielétrico, e são bastante utilizadas devido ao seu tamanho reduzido e versatilidade em relação as diversas configurações e dimensões que podem ser utilizadas no patch a fim de alcançar características específicas de frequência de ressonância, largura de banda, diretividade e perda de retorno. Devido a essa versatilidade em relação aos parâmetros construtivos e eletromagnéticos, este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de antena de microfita envolvendo a inclusão de dois Anéis Ressoadores Complementares (Complementary Split Ring Resonator CSRR), bem como a variação das dimensões deste, e será realizado um estudo sobre sua influência nos parâmetros da antena de microfita, projetada através da Teoria de Linha de Transmissão, objetivando o incremento da largura de banda da antena e a filtragem de determinadas faixas de frequência a fim de fabricar um dispositivo que opere no sistema Ultra Wideband (UWB). A aplicação de múltiplas camadas dielétricas também será estudada a fim de se observar sua influência na perda de retorno da antena. Os resultados foram obtidos através de simulações utilizando o software ANSYS HFSS®, que utiliza o método dos Elementos Finitos, e os melhores resultados obtidos, juntamente com a análise do material disponível, foram utilizados para a fabricação dos dispositivos e medição dos mesmos a fim de validar as simulações realizadas. Os resultados das simulações se mostraram satisfatórios, pois a característica capacitiva do CSRR permitiu o filtro de algumas faixas de frequência, fazendo com que a perda de retorno tivesse característica dual-band. O resultado experimental da perda de retorno se mostrou concordante com o padrão simulado, apesar do deslocamento de frequência, porém apenas uma das antenas construídas se adequou para aplicação no sistema UWB, com largura de banda fracionária de 34,12% para a frequência de ressonância 4,35 GHz com perda de retorno no valor de -36,22 dB, permitindo a operação desta em diversos sistemas de comunicação wireless como padrões 802.11a, 802.11n, 802.11p entre outros sistemas

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:55:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AntonioSA.pdf: 2010232 bytes, checksum: 027e876fa92242a6ba0e73009f5debd5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-11 / This work is the analysis of a structure of the microstrip antenna designed for application in ultra wide band systems (Ultra Wideband - UWB). This is a prospective analytical study where they tested the changes in the geometry of the antenna, observing their suitability to the proposed objectives. It is known that the UWB antenna must operate in a range of at least 500 MHz, and answer a fractional bandwidth greater than or equal to 25%. It is also desirable that the antenna meets the specifications of track determined by FCC - Federal Communication Commission, which regulates the system in 2002 designating the UWB bandwidth of 7.5 GHz, a range that varies from 3.1 GHz to 10, 6 GHz. by setting the maximum power spectral density of operation in -41.3 dB / MHz, and defining the fractional bandwidth by 20%. The study starts of a structure of geometry in the form of stylized @, which evolves through changes in its form, in simulated commercial software CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, version 5.3.1, and then tested using the ANSOFT HFSS, version 9. These variations, based on observations of publications available from literature referring to the microstrip monopole planar antennas. As a result it is proposed an antenna, called Monopole Antenna Planar Spiral Almost Rectangular for applications in UWB systems - AMQEUWB, which presents simulated and measured results satisfactory, consistent with the objectives of the study. Some proposals for future work are mentioned / Este trabalho consiste na an?lise de uma estrutura de antena de microfita projetada para aplica??o em sistemas de banda ultra larga (ultra wideband UWB). Trata-se de um estudo prospectivo e anal?tico onde s?o experimentadas as modifica??es na geometria da antena, observando-se sua adequa??o aos objetivos propostos. Sabe-se que a antena UWB deve operar numa faixa de no m?nimo 500 MHz, e atender uma banda fracion?ria maior ou igual a 25%. ? desej?vel ainda, que a antena atenda ?s especifica??es de faixa determinadas pela FCC Federal Communication Commission, que em 2002 regulamentou o sistema UWB designando a largura de banda de 7,5 GHz, numa faixa que varia de 3,1 GHz a 10,6 GHz. fixando a densidade espectral de pot?ncia m?xima de opera??o em -41,3 dBm/MHz, e definindo a banda fracion?ria em 20%. O estudo parte de uma estrutura de geometria em forma de @ estilizada, que evolui atrav?s de modifica??es na sua forma, simuladas nos softwares comerciais CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, vers?o 5.3.1, e, em seguida, testado com o uso do ANSOFT HFSS, vers?o 9. Varia??es estas, com base em observa??es de publica??es dispon?veis na literatura, referentes a antenas de microfita monopolo planar. Como resultado ? proposta uma antena, denominada Antena Monopolo Quase-Espiral Planar Retangular para aplica??es em sistemas UWB AMQEUWB, que apresenta resultados simulados e medidos satisfat?rios, coerente com os objetivos do estudo. Algumas propostas para trabalhos futuros est?o citadas

The goal for this master thesis is to develop a prototype that uses ultra-wideband (UWB) communications to wirelessly transfer electrocardiogram (ECG) data from an ECG measurement unit to an Android device (smartphone or similar) which is used to process and display the ECG signals. The prototype should consist of two hardware nodes; (1) Node one having a ECG measurement unit (an AD8232 single lead heart rate monitor), an UWB communication module (a Decawave DWM1000 module) and a microcontroller (an Arduino DUE); and (2) Node two having an Android device (an Android smartphone), an UWB communication module (a Decawave DWM1000 module) and a microcontroller (an Arduino DUE). On Node one the AD8232 monitor for ECG measurements is connected to an analog input (with an analog to digital converter (ADC)) on the Arduino and the DWM1000 module is connected to the Arduino via serial peripheral interface (SPI). On Node two the DWM1000 is connected to the Arduino via SPI to receive ECG data from Node one, and the Arduino is connected to the smartphone through a serial USB cable with an USB on-the-go adapter to send the ECG data to the smartphone, where it is filtered and displayed with an Android application. The application has the potential to add, for example, ECG analysis for diagnosing heart activities with artificial intelligence (AI) and further transmit the ECG data for remote medical care. The Arduino is programmed in Arduino IDE (integrated development environment) to handle ECG measurements and UWB communications (transmitting and receiving ECG data), which is limited to a single UWB channel because of limitations of the DWM1000 module. The Android application is created using Android studio, and it can process (with a notch filter) and display 1-12 channel ECG. The prototype has been built and tested. The results show that a single lead ECG measurement can be sent via UWB communication to a smartphone to display in real time. Multiple data channels (1-12 analog inputs on the Arduino) can be multiplexed, transmitted and displayed in real time. This thesis concludes that UWB has huge development potential, and will likely be used for various wireless devices in the future.