Infrared (IR) dipole antenna-coupled metal-oxide-metal (MOM) tunnel diodes provide a unique detection mechanism that allows for determination of the polarization and wavelength of an optical field. By integrating the MOM diode into a phased-array antenna, the angle of arrival and degree of coherence of received IR radiation can be determined. The angular response characteristics of IR dipole antennas are determined by boundary conditions imposed by the surrounding dielectric or conductive environment on the radiated fields. To explore the influence of the substrate configuration, single dipole antennas are fabricated on both planar and hemispherical lens substrates. Measurements demonstrate that the angular response can be tailored by the thickness of the electrical isolation stand-off layer on which the detector is fabricated and/or the inclusion of a ground plane. Directional detection of IR radiation is achieved with a pair of dipole antennas coupled to a MOM diode through a coplanar strip transmission line. The direction of maximum angular response is altered by varying the position of the diode along the transmission line connecting the antenna elements. By fabricating the devices on a quarter wave layer above a ground plane, narrow beam widths of 35° full width at half maximum and reception angles of ± 50° are achievable with minimal side-lobe contributions. Phased-array antennas can also be used to assess the degree of coherence of a partially coherent field. For a two-element array, the degree of coherence is a measure of the correlation of electric fields received by the antennas as a function of the element separation.

This thesis investigates optical feed methods for phased array antennas. The technical and practical limitations are analyzed and an optimum design is determined. This optimum optical feed is a two-beam interferometric approach which uses acoustooptic phase control. The theory is derived; a computer model is developed; and the limitations are determined. Design modifications are suggested which reduce limitations and greatly extend the range of applications. / Master of Science

L'observation du milieu interstellaire est très importante aux fréquences mm / (sub) mm / Thz pour comprendre comment se forment les étoiles et les planètes. De telles observations dépendent des récepteurs hétérodynes. Ces instruments atteignent une résolution spectrale très élevée en convertissant un signal haute fréquence à une fréquence plus basse. Dans un récepteur hétérodyne, le signal collecté est superposé sur un signal artificiel, bien connu, monochromatique, généré par l'oscillateur local (OL), donc ce signal artificiel est plus-ou-moins la fréquence du signal du ciel. Le mélangeur produit le signal de la fréquence du battement. Cette fréquence est équivalente à la différence entre le OL et la fréquence du signal du ciel. Ainsi, le signal du ciel est traduit à une fréquence plus basse, pour qu'il soit facile à amplifier et détecter. Habituellement, les récepteurs hétérodynes ont seulement un pixel spatial avec de nombreux canaux en fréquences. Notre objectif est de développer des réseaux de centaines de pixels. Pour faire cela, certains composants de l'hétérodyne doivent être repensés radicalement, tels que l'antenne de réception et le diviseur de faisceau OL. En effet, l'antenne réceptrice est généralement constituée d'une antenne à double fentes sur une lentille, ou d'une antenne cornet. Par contre, ces antennes ne sont pas les meilleurs choix pour des réseaux de nombreux pixels car elles doivent être usinées et montées individuellement. Au lieu de cela, il est commode de développer des structures planaires qui peuvent être facilement produites toutes ensembles. En particulier, nous avons conçu et simulé des réseaux d'antennes patch, de réseaux de transmission, et de plaques de zone. Le réseau d'antennes patch consiste d'un réseau de patchs métalliques reliés par une ligne microruban et séparés du plan de masse par un substrat diélectrique. Cette configuration profite du facteur du réseau pour réduire la largeur de faisceau du signal collecté. Cependant, nos simulations nous montrent que la bande RF des réseaux d'antennes patch est étroite. Pour cette raison, nous avons analysé la possibilité d'utiliser une autre solution : le réseau de transmission. C'est un réseau de plusieurs cellules qui déphase une onde afin de transformer son front de phase de forme planaire en forme sphérique. Le but de la matrice de transmission est de focaliser le faisceau collecté vers une antenne et mélangeur à double fentes. La thés démontre qu'un effet de focalisation satisfaisant est atteint sur une ligne. Nous avons fabriqué un tel réseau de transmission et l'avons testé en laboratoire. En raison des petites dimensions de quelques millimètres, ces tests sont difficiles à réaliser. Au sein de l'erreur de mesure, la conception et les simulations sont cohérentes. Une troisième option (d'une lentille planaire) a été étudiée dans la thèse : la plaque de zone. C'est un type particulier de réseau de transmission qui ne présente que deux déphasages de 0 ° et 180 °. Le plaque de zone focalise bien, mais est peu efficace. La dernière partie de la thèse introduit un type de diviseur de faisceau particulier qui permet une division du faisceau du signal OL vers un réseau de quatre mélangeurs très serrés. Diviser le faisceau avec des angles suffisamment petits est très difficile avec les réseaux de Fourier et Dammann classiques. Pour cette raison la méthode que nous avons proposée pour concevoir un tel diviseur est très novatrice. En effet, il permet la formation de motifs de faisceaux de forme arbitraire, qui ne sont pas limités par les ordres de diffraction. Les simulations montrent des efficacités allant jusqu'à 80% qui sont très bonnes en comparaison avec les réseaux classiques. En résumé, dans cette thèse, j'ai essayé plusieurs moyens radicalement différents pour simplifier les récepteurs hétérodynes et ouvrir la voie aux grandes matrices hétérodynes avec des centaines de pixels. / The observation of the interstellar medium is very important at mm/(sub)mm/THz frequencies to understand how stars and planets form. Generally such observations rely on heterodyne receivers. These are instruments that achieve very high spectral resolution by down converting a high frequency signal towards a lower frequency one. In a heterodyne receiver the incoming signal is superimposed onto an artificial, well-known, monochromatic signal generated by the local oscillator (LO), chosen to be close to the frequency of the sky signal. The mixer produces the beat frequency signal. It has a frequency equivalent to the difference between the LO and sky signal frequency. Thus the sky signal is translated to a lower frequency, and it is easier to amplify and detect. Usually heterodyne receivers have only one spatial pixel with many frequency channels. Some prototypes have been realized recently with few pixels. Our objective is to develop arrays of hundreds of pixels. In order to do that, some components which compose the heterodyne receiver must be radically rethought, such as the receiving antenna and the LO beam divider.Indeed the receiving antenna generally consists of a double slot antenna on a lens, or a horn antenna. Such antennas are not the best choice for arrays of many pixels since they have to be machined and mounted individually. Instead it is convenient to develop planar structures which can be easily produced in bulk in a single process. In particular we designed and simulated arrays of patch antennas, transmit-arrays and zone plates. The array of patch antennas consists of an array of metallic patches connected via a microstrip line and separated from the ground plane by a dielectric substrate. This configuration takes advantage of the array factor to reduce the beamwidth of the incoming signal in place of the lens. However our simulations showed the array of patch antennas to be quite narrowband for a general purpose application, and quite difficult to realize. For this reason we also analyzed the possibility to use another solution such as the transmit-array. It is an array of several cells which provide a certain phase shift to an incoming wave in order to transform its phase front from planar to spherical. The purpose of the transmit-array is to focus the incoming beam towards a double slot antenna and a mixer placed below it. The simulations showed that a good focusing effect can be reached on a line. We fabricated such a transmit-array and tested it in the laboratory. Because of the small dimensions of a few millimeters these tests are difficult to carry out. Within the measurement error design and simulations are consistent. A third option of a planar lens was studied in the thesis: the zone plate. This is a particular kind of transmit-array which presents only two phase shift of 0° and 180°. The zone plates focus well, but are unfortunately not very efficient.The final part of the thesis introduces a particular kind of beam divider which allows beam splitting of the LO signal towards an array of four very closely packed mixers. To split the beam with such small relative angles is very difficult with the classical Fourier and Dammann grating, for this reason the method we proposed to design such a beam divider is very innovative. Indeed it allows the forming of arbitrary shaped beam patterns, which are not limited by the diffraction orders. Simulations show efficiencies up to 80% which are very good in comparison with classical gratings.In summary in this thesis I have tried several radically different approaches to simplify heterodyne receivers and made a first step towards for large heterodyne arrays with hundreds of pixels.

近十年來，無線通訊技術、流動電話服務以及無線網絡的發展一日千里。不單止為社會帶來很多新的技術及先進的設備，更加帶來了許多新穎的應用構想。其中最被廣泛討論的要數室內無線實時定位系統。室內定位，顧名思義就是一種對一個或多個室內目標進行定位及追蹤的技術。這種技術的潛在應用非常多元化，例如倉庫管理、人力資源調配等等。透過這種技術可以使一些室內位置信息相關的服務更加自動化，從而提升服務效率。正因為市場狂熱的需求，近年來室內無線實時定位系統一直都是一個熱門的研究課題。 / 本論文的上半部主要是討論一種基於無線射頻識別技術的室內無線實時定位系統。這個系統的特點是在閱讀器的天線上應用了模擬一維綫相控陣列天線。系統的定位原理是基於三角測距法，透過相控陣的主波束掃描配合信號強度測量去估算出信號入射角。比較其他入射角測量的方法，應用這種方法的硬件成本更低而且能確保一定的精度。整個系統的開發包括有無線射頻標籤、閱讀器、模擬一維綫相控陣列天線、網絡控制器、數據庫、圖像應用界面及一種有效壓抑室內多徑問題的定位算法。這個系統的最大好處就是它不像其他一些現存的定位系統一樣，在安裝後需要進行大量的離線實地校準。我們進行了大量的實驗去客觀地驗證系統的定位性能，實驗的結果指出系統的定位誤差平均值小於一米。 / 為了控制系統的硬件成本，上述所提及到的模擬一維綫相控陣列天線會採用一種非常便宜的板材：FR4。但是FR4這種板材便宜的代價便是它相對較高的介質損耗。較高的介質損耗對模擬一維綫相控陣列天線的實現存在着一個重要的難題：模擬360º移相器的插入損耗相對電壓變化不平滑。有見及止，本論文的下半部會討論一種新穎而有效壓抑因高介質損耗而導致插入損耗不平滑的反射式移相器。新的移相器設計包含兩種壓抑插入損耗不平滑的技術。在仿真結果中，新的設計把傳統設計的插入損耗不平滑從1.4分貝大幅降低至0.3分貝。實驗的結果指出，在360o 的移相範圍內只存在着0.6分貝的插入損耗不平滑。 / 最後在此作一個總結。本論文主要是討論一種高效、低成本、基於無線射頻識別技術及模擬一維綫相控陣列天線技術的室內無線實時定位系統。大量的實驗數據證明了它良好的定位性能。而且系統的網絡設計使到它可以更彈性地應用到不同的場所。 / In recent years, the rapid development in wireless communication technologies, mobile computing devices and wireless networks has stimulated a fast growing interest in various location-aware systems that can provide real time information of physical locations of objects or persons. In this thesis, an active radio frequency identification (RFID) indoor positioning system utilizing analog linear phased array antenna (PAA) technology has been proposed and demonstrated. By using beam steering of an analog linear PAA and measuring the corresponding received signal strength indicator (RSSI), one can determine the angle of arrival (AoA) of the transmitted signal from a tag. In this work, a complete locationing system has been built, which includes RFID tag, reader integrated PAA, network controller and database with event driven functions. Besides that, a novel positioning algorithm that can effectively overcome indoor multipath effect is also proposed. The major advantage of the proposed system is that it doesn’t require any on-site calibration. Therefore, the setup of the proposed system is scenario-independent. A large number of experiments and results have demonstrated that the probabilities of spatial errors of less than 1 meter and 1.5 meters of the proposed system are about 80% and 95% respectively. / In order to have a cost-effective system, those analog linear PAAs are fabricated in FR4 substrate, with which constant insertion loss under phase steering of a 360º analog phase shifter is difficult to realize due to the substrate loss. In order to overcome this difficulty, a novel loss-compensated microstrip 360º reflection-type diode phase shifter with constant insertion loss has been proposed and concept proven. In this regard, two techniques have been investigated to reduce the insertion loss variation which is caused by using lossy substrate. As compared with the conventional design, simulation results have shown a considerable improvement on the insertion loss variation from 1.4dB to 0.3dB. Measurement results have demonstrated a 0.6dB insertion loss variation over 360º phase steering range. / In conclusion, a low-cost but with moderate performance RFID indoor locationing system based on analog linear PAA technology has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The prototype system has shown its high accuracy, flexibility in network deployment, and scenario-independent operation. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Hung, Wing Hung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-87). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.I / 論文摘要 --- p.III / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.V / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.VI / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.IX / LIST OF TABLES --- p.XIII / LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS --- p.XIV / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- RESEARCH MOTIVATION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2. --- OVERVIEW OF THE THESIS ORGANIZATION --- p.5 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- FUNDAMENTALS IN LINEAR PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA AND REFLECTION-TYPE PHASE SHIFTER --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1. --- LINEAR PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.1. --- Operating Principle --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.2. --- Simulation Example --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2. --- REFLECTION-TYPE PHASE SHIFTER --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.1. --- Operating Principle --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Simulation Example --- p.12 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- CONVENTIONAL INDOOR POSITIONING METHODOLOGIES --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1. --- RSSI RANGING --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.1. --- Radio Fingerprint --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.2. --- Radio Propagation Model --- p.17 / Chapter 3.1.3. --- Reference Tags --- p.18 / Chapter 3.1.4. --- Ordered Signal Strength Sequence --- p.19 / Chapter 3.2. --- UWB RANGING --- p.20 / Chapter 3.3. --- NEAR FIELD ELECTROMAGNETIC RANGING (NFER) --- p.21 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- CONVENTIONAL 360º REFLECTION-TYPE PHASE SHIFTER DESIGNS --- p.23 / Chapter 4.1. --- PARALLELING TWO SERIES-RESONANT VARACTOR CIRCUIT --- p.23 / Chapter 4.1.1. --- 360º Phase Shift --- p.24 / Chapter 4.1.2. --- Constant Insertion Loss --- p.24 / Chapter 4.1.3. --- Performance --- p.25 / Chapter 4.2. --- PARALLELING TWO ARMS HAVING 180O PHASE CHANGE WITH 90º OUT OF PHASE --- p.27 / Chapter 4.2.1. --- Linearity and 180º Phase Shift --- p.27 / Chapter 4.2.2. --- Constant Insertion Loss --- p.29 / Chapter 4.2.3. --- 360º Phase Shift --- p.29 / Chapter 4.2.4. --- Performance --- p.30 / Chapter 4.3. --- CONNECTING TWO ARMS HAVING 180O PHASE CHANGE WITH 90O OUT OF PHASE IN-SERIES --- p.31 / Chapter 4.3.1. --- Constant Insertion Loss --- p.31 / Chapter 4.3.2. --- 360º Phase Shift --- p.32 / Chapter 4.3.3. --- Performance --- p.32 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- AN ACTIVE RFID INDOOR POSITIONING SYSTEM UTILIZING ANALOG LINEAR PHASED ARRAY --- p.34 / Chapter 5.1. --- POSITIONING METHODOLOGY --- p.35 / Chapter 5.2. --- SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE --- p.37 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- Analog Linear Phased Array Antenna --- p.39 / Chapter 5.3. --- POSITIONING ALGORITHM --- p.51 / Chapter 5.3.1. --- Zone Decision --- p.51 / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Point Location --- p.52 / Chapter 5.4. --- EXPERIMENTAL RESULT --- p.58 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- NOVEL 360º REFLECTION-TYPE DIODE PHASE SHIFTER WITH CONSTANT INSERTION LOSS UNDER LOSSY SUBSTRATE --- p.65 / Chapter 6.1. --- REVIEW --- p.66 / Chapter 6.2. --- PROBLEMS --- p.68 / Chapter 6.3. --- PROPOSED SOLUTIONS --- p.71 / Chapter 6.3.1. --- Closed Reflection Coefficient Circle --- p.71 / Chapter 6.3.2. --- Centered Reflection Coefficient Circle --- p.74 / Chapter 6.4. --- SIMULATION AND MEASUREMENT RESULT --- p.77 / Chapter CHAPTER 7 --- CONCLUSION --- p.83 / REFERENCES --- p.85 / AUTHOR’S PUBLICATIONS --- p.88 / Chapter APPENDIX 1: --- DESIGN OF RFID TAG --- p.89 / Chapter APPENDIX 2: --- DESIGN OF RFID READER --- p.98 / Chapter APPENDIX 3: --- DESIGN OF RFID CONTROLLER --- p.100

<p>This dissertation examines the use of artificial structured materials -- known as metamaterials -- in two antenna applications in which conventional dielectric materials are otherwise used. In the first application, the use of metamaterials to improve the impedance matching of planar phased array antennas over a broad range of scan angles is explored. A phased array antenna is composed of an array of antenna elements and enables long-distance signal propagation by directional radiation. The direction of signal propagation is defined as the scan angle. The power transmission ratio of a phased array is the ratio of the radiated power to the input power, and depends on the scan angle. The variation in the power transmission ratio is due to the different mutual coupling contributions between antenna elements at different scan angles. An optimized stack of dielectric layers, known as a wide-angle impedance matching layer (WAIM), is used to optimize the power transmission ratio profile over a broad range of scan angles. In this work, the use of metamaterials to design anisotropic WAIMs with access to a larger range of constitutive parameters -- including magnetic permeability -- to offer an improved power transmission ratio at a broad range of scan angles is investigated. </p> <p>In the second antenna application, a strategy to create maximally transmissive and minimally reflective electromagnetic radome materials using embedded metamaterial inclusions is introduced. A radome is a covering used to protect an antenna from weather elements or provide structural function such as the prevention of aerodynamic drag. A radome should be made from a fully transparent and non-refractive material so that radiated fields from and to the enclosed antenna are not disrupted. The aim of this research was to demonstrate that embedded metamaterial inclusions can be used to isotropically adjust the dielectric properties of a composite material to a desired value. This strategy may lead to the creation of a structural material with electromagnetic properties close to air, thus reducing the detrimental scattering effects often associated with conventional radome materials.</p> <p>Chapter 1 introduces the concept of metamaterials and discusses the use of subwavelength metallic structures to artificially engineer constitutive parameters such as permeability of permittivity. In Chapter 2, the analytical formulations that enable the characterization of the transmission performance of a planar phased array covered with anisotropic impedance matching layers are developed. Chapter 3 discusses the design rules that must govern the design parameters of anisotropic WAIMs realizable using metamaterials, and also presents examples of anisotropic impedance matching layers that provide a maximum power transmission ratio for most scan angles. In addition, numerical and experimental results on a metamaterial placed over a phased array are presented. In Chapter 4, the feasibility of using metamaterials to realize a minimally transparent and fully transmissive radome material is numerically investigated. In Chapter 5, experimental results that corroborate earlier numerical simulation results are analyzed.</p> / Dissertation

Novel and low-cost antennas suitable for WLAN access points are presented. The operating bandwidths of the proposed antennas can cover the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN bands, and the antenna gain is larger than 2 and 4 dBi in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands; respectively. Besides, they can also generate the good omnidirectional radiation patterns in the azimuthal plane. Dipole antenna, folded dipole antenna, monopole antenna and circularly polarized antenna has been applied in the proposed designs, and good antenna performance has been obtained.

The objective of this research is to understand the design and performance of state-of-the-art silicon-germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS high-frequency circuits for phased- array radar and wireless communication systems operating in extreme environment conditions. This work investigates the performance of RF circuits over a wide- temperature and exposure to a radiation intensive environment. The design and characterization of a fully integrated transmit/receive (T/R) module and integra- tion onto a multi-element antenna array is presented. In addition, individual circuit blocks are characterized in these extreme environments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-155).

abstract: The objective of this work is to design a low-profile compact Terahertz (THz) imaging system that can be installed in portable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or CubeSats. Taking advantage of the rotational motion of these platforms, one can use linear antennas, such as leaky-wave antennas or linear phased arrays, to achieve fast image acquisition using simple RF front-end topologies. The proposed system relies on a novel image reconstructing technique that uses the principles of computerized tomography (Fourier-slice theorem). It can be implemented using a rotating antenna that produces a highly astigmatic fan-beam. In this work, the imaging system is composed of a linear phased antenna array with a highly directive beam pattern in the E-plane allowing for high spatial resolution imaging. However, the pattern is almost omnidirectional in the H-plane and extends beyond the required field-of-view (FOV). This is a major drawback as the scattered signals from any interferer outside the FOV will still be received by the imaging aperture and cause distortion in the reconstructed image. Also, fan beams exhibit significant distortion (curvature) when tilted at large angles, thus introducing errors in the final image due to its failure to achieve the assumed reconstructing algorithm. Therefore, a new design is proposed to alleviate these disadvantages. A 14×64 elements non-uniform array with an optimal flat-top pattern is designed with an iterative process using linear perturbation of a close starting pattern until the desired pattern is acquired. The principal advantage of this design is that it restricts the radiated/received power into the required FOV. As a result, a significant enhancement in the quality of images is achieved especially in the mitigation of the effect of any interferer outside the FOV. In this report, these two designs are presented and compared in terms of their imaging efficiency along with a series of numerical results verifying the proof of concept. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2018

M.Ing. / This study considers improving the azimuth beam steering resolution of the circular Switched Parasitic Array (SPA) antennas (made up of dipoles) by a factor of two or more. In circular SPA antennas, beam steering is conventionally achieved by open-circuiting and shortcircuiting different parasitic elements and usually only one parasitic element is open-circuited at a time. However, such an approach results in low beam steering resolutions especially for the SPA antennas with few parasitic elements. In order to increase the azimuth beam steering resolution for the circular SPA antennas, two beam steering methods are proposed in this research work. In the first method, parasitic elements are open-circuited and short-circuited based on different combinations of the parasitic elements and the possible switch states. The proposed method was first validated by simulation tests using the MATLAB tool and WIPL-D. A prototype of the circular SPA antenna consisting of five elements was then implemented. It is noted that the simulation and measurement results match very well at 2.4 GHz. In order to have at least two combinations (from the first method) with almost similar gain and return loss, another simpler beam steering method was developed. The latter method is based on simultaneously open-circuiting either two or three neighbouring parasitic elements. The performance of the second method was studied through simulations using the circular SPA antenna geometries consisting of five, seven and nine elements. These geometries were first optimized (for gain and input impedance) and then modelled using WIPL-D. It was observed that the two methods double the azimuth beam steering resolution of the circular SPA antennas when compared to the conventional beam steering approaches of open-circuiting one parasitic element at a time. Variations in the structural parameters of the five elements circular SPA antenna at 2.4GHz were also investigated. In this procedure, the effects of variations (also considered as random errors) in the structural parameters (or antenna dimensions) on the performance of the SPA antennas were examined. Firstly, variations in each structural parameter were modelled with other structural parameters fixed as per specifications. Thereafter, effects of combined errors were also investigated. The simulation results demonstrated that variations in the structural parameter can either increase or decrease the gain and input impedance of the SPA antenna depending on the given specifications. The gain and input impedance sensitivities per variations in each structural parameter were computed to determine the degree at which the gain and input impedance can vary for a predefined change (error) in the structural parameter.