The design and use of metamaterials have shown exciting applications in electrical engineering, physics, optics, and other science fields that are expanding our physical understanding and leading to unprecedented performance of many standard devices such as antennas, microwave circuits, and sensors. The manufacturing of metamaterials, while ingenious, has typically been exotic and depended on the inclusion of sub-wavelength particles in a host medium to tailor the effective characteristics of a material. This work verifies a much more simple approach to realizing a kind of metamaterial, the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial. The intriguing aspect of this metamaterial is that while it is simple to realize, it is a novel approach to many practical applications such as the tunneling energy through highly discontinuous bends and abruptions, cloaking of sensors, miniaturization of microwave components, and design of highly directive antennas. Further, the physics and mathematical formulation of these ENZ materials is both intriguing and counterintuitive. / text

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper baselines the performance of common, single band telemetry blade antennas in two telemetry bands and compares that performance to two very differing multi-band antenna designs. A description of each antenna is presented followed by flight testing results and conclusions. Results are in the form of received signal strength versus geographic location, derived in-flight antenna patterns, link availability, and bit error analysis.

The thesis deals with numerical modeling of planar Sierpinski monopole and modified Sierpinski monopole, outgoing from Sierpinski structure. Next, it focuses on modeling of the conical modified monopole and conical Sierpinski monopole created by transferring of modified structure to conical surface. The properties of these multi-band antennas are verified by simulations in CST Microwave Studio 2009 and compared with the results published in available literature. The conical Sierpinski monopole is then optimized according to specified criteria. The optimized antenna is designed and its properties are experimentally verified.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le projet FUI-2011 BELOCOPA (Bouée Éjectable pour la LOcalisation et la COllecte des Paramètres de vol d'un Aéronef abîmé en mer). Il s'agissait de concevoir et de développer un équipement embarqué, extractible et autonome pour localiser rapidement et avec précision un aéronef abîmé en mer et récupérer par liaisons radio les principales données de vol à partir d'un patrouilleur maritime. Le but de cette thèse, au sein de l'Institut Fresnel, concernait l'étude et la réalisation de l'antenne principale de la balise. Cette antenne devait être très flexible et de petites dimensions pour être pliée et insérée dans un espace réduit de la balise et résistante lors son déploiement après son éjection de l'avion. La première partie du travail a eu pour objectif de caractériser en terme de permittivité les différents matériaux diélectriques entrant dans la constitution de la balise, à savoir les substrats sur lesquels sont fixées les antennes et le radôme. La deuxième partie de la thèse porte sur la conception d'antennes multi-bandes fonctionnant en modes dipolaires sur le plan de fréquences du cahier des charges du projet. Ces antennes ont la particularité d'être extrêmement souples. Cette souplesse a été obtenue en réalisant des motifs métalliques rayonnants sur une toile polyamide. Plusieurs motifs ont été étudiés et testés pour converger vers une antenne méandre fonctionnant à trois fréquences distinctes. A l'issue de cette étude, un prototype de l'antenne finale positionnée dans son radôme constitue le dernier maillon du prototype de la balise de détresse du projet BELOCOPA. / This thesis is part of the BELOCOPA project FUI-2011 (BELOCOPA means Ejected Buoy to LOcalize and COllect the data of a crashed plane in sea). It was about designing and developing an on-board, removable and autonomous, equipment to localize quickly and precisely an aircraft crashed in the sea, and to collect by telecommunication the main flight data from a patrol boat. The aim of this thesis, in the Fresnel Institute, was the study and the realization of the main antenna of the beacon. This antenna had to be very flexible with small dimensions to be folded and integrated in a reduced space of the beacon, and had to be strong during its deployment after the ejection of the plane. The aim of the first part of the work was to characterize in term of permittivity the different dielectric materials included in the composition of the beacon, namely the substrates of the antennas and the radome. The second part of the thesis was on the design of multi-band antennas working in dipolar modes on the frequency plan of the specification of the project. The characteristic of these antennas is to be very flexible. This flexibility was obtained realizing metal radiating pattern on a polyamide material. Several patterns have been studied and tested to get the final antenna with meander working at three different resonance frequencies. Following this study, a prototype of the final antenna integrated in the radome is the last link of the prototype of the distress beacon BELOCOPA.

Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology refers to an antenna with multiple radiators at both transmitter and receiver ends. It is designed to increase the data rate in wireless communication systems by achieving multiple channels occupying the same bandwidth in a multipath environment. The main drawback associated with this technology is the coupling between the radiating elements. A MIMO antenna system merely acts as an antenna array if the coupling between the radiating elements is high. For this reason, strong decoupling between the radiating elements should be achieved, in order to utilize the benefits of MIMO technology. The main objectives of this thesis are to investigate and implement several printed MIMO antenna geometries with integrated decoupling approaches for WLAN, WiMAX, and 5G applications. The characteristics of MIMO antenna performance have been reported in terms of scattering parameters, envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), channel capacity loss (CCL), diversity gain (DG), antenna efficiency, antenna peak gain and antenna radiation patterns. Three new 2×2 MIMO array antennas are proposed, covering dual and multiple spectrum bandwidths for WLAN (2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz) and WiMAX (3.5 GHz) applications. These designs employ a combination of DGS and neutralization line methods to reduce the coupling caused by the surface current in the ground plane and between the radiating antenna elements. The minimum achieved isolation between the MIMO antennas is found to be better than 15 dB and in some bands exceeds 30 dB. The matching impedance is improved and the correlation coefficient values achieved for all three antennas are very low. In addition, the diversity gains over all spectrum bands are very close to the ideal value (DG = 10 dB). The forth proposed MIMO antenna is a compact dual-band MIMO antenna operating at WLAN bands (2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz). The antenna structure consists of two concentric double square rings radiating elements printed symmetrically. A new method is applied which combines the defected ground structure (DGS) decoupling method with five parasitic elements to reduce the coupling between the radiating antennas in the two required bands. A metamaterial-based isolation enhancement structure is investigated in the fifth proposed MIMO antenna design. This MIMO antenna consists of two dual-band arc-shaped radiating elements working in WLAN and Sub-6 GHz 5th generation (5G) bands. The antenna placement and orientation decoupling method is applied to improve the isolation in the second band while four split-ring resonators (SRRs) are added between the radiating elements to enhance the isolation in the first band. All the designs presented in this thesis have been fabricated and measured, with the simulated and measured results agreeing well in most cases. / Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq (HCED)

Characteristic modes (CMs) provide deep insight into the electromagnetic behaviour of any arbitrarily shaped conducting structure because the CMs are unique to the geometry of the object. We exploit this very fact by predicting a perhaps surprising number of important antenna metrics such as resonance frequency, radiation efficiency and antenna Q (bandwidth) without needing to specify a feeding location. In doing so, it is possible to define a collection of objective functions that can be used in an optimizer to shape-synthesize antennas without needing to define a feed location a priori. We denote this novel form of optimization “feedless” or “excitation-free” antenna shape synthesis. Fundamentally, we are allowing the electromagnetics to dictate how the antenna synthesis should proceed and are in no way imposing the physical constraints enforced by fixed feeding structures. This optimization technique is broadly applied to three major areas of antenna research: electrically small antennas, multi-band antennas and reflectarrays. Thus, the scope of applicability ranges from small antennas, to intermediate sizes and concludes with electrically large antenna designs, which is a testament to the broad applicability of characteristic mode theory. Another advantage of feedless electromagnetic shape synthesis is the ability to synthesize antennas whose desirable properties approach the fundamental limits imposed by electromagnetics. As an additional benefit, the feedless optimization technique is shown to have greater computational efficiency than traditional antenna optimization techniques.

Characteristic modes (CMs) provide deep insight into the electromagnetic behaviour of any arbitrarily shaped conducting structure because the CMs are unique to the geometry of the object. We exploit this very fact by predicting a perhaps surprising number of important antenna metrics such as resonance frequency, radiation efficiency and antenna Q (bandwidth) without needing to specify a feeding location. In doing so, it is possible to define a collection of objective functions that can be used in an optimizer to shape-synthesize antennas without needing to define a feed location a priori. We denote this novel form of optimization “feedless” or “excitation-free” antenna shape synthesis. Fundamentally, we are allowing the electromagnetics to dictate how the antenna synthesis should proceed and are in no way imposing the physical constraints enforced by fixed feeding structures. This optimization technique is broadly applied to three major areas of antenna research: electrically small antennas, multi-band antennas and reflectarrays. Thus, the scope of applicability ranges from small antennas, to intermediate sizes and concludes with electrically large antenna designs, which is a testament to the broad applicability of characteristic mode theory. Another advantage of feedless electromagnetic shape synthesis is the ability to synthesize antennas whose desirable properties approach the fundamental limits imposed by electromagnetics. As an additional benefit, the feedless optimization technique is shown to have greater computational efficiency than traditional antenna optimization techniques.

Characteristic modes (CMs) provide deep insight into the electromagnetic behaviour of any arbitrarily shaped conducting structure because the CMs are unique to the geometry of the object. We exploit this very fact by predicting a perhaps surprising number of important antenna metrics such as resonance frequency, radiation efficiency and antenna Q (bandwidth) without needing to specify a feeding location. In doing so, it is possible to define a collection of objective functions that can be used in an optimizer to shape-synthesize antennas without needing to define a feed location a priori. We denote this novel form of optimization “feedless” or “excitation-free” antenna shape synthesis. Fundamentally, we are allowing the electromagnetics to dictate how the antenna synthesis should proceed and are in no way imposing the physical constraints enforced by fixed feeding structures. This optimization technique is broadly applied to three major areas of antenna research: electrically small antennas, multi-band antennas and reflectarrays. Thus, the scope of applicability ranges from small antennas, to intermediate sizes and concludes with electrically large antenna designs, which is a testament to the broad applicability of characteristic mode theory. Another advantage of feedless electromagnetic shape synthesis is the ability to synthesize antennas whose desirable properties approach the fundamental limits imposed by electromagnetics. As an additional benefit, the feedless optimization technique is shown to have greater computational efficiency than traditional antenna optimization techniques.