In recent years, tremendous growth of the wireless market can be defined through the following words: smartphone and high-data rate wireless communication. This situation gives new challenges to RF power amplifier design, which includes high-efficiency, multi-band operation, and robustness to antenna mismatch conditions. In addition to these issues, the industry and consumers demand a low-cost small-sized wireless device. A fully integrated single-chip CMOS transceiver is the best solution in terms of cost and level of integration with other functional blocks. Therefore, the effective approaches in a CMOS process for the abovementioned hurdles are highly desirable. In this dissertation, the new challenges are overcome by introducing adaptability to a CMOS power amplifier. Meaningful achievements are summarized as follows. First, a new CMOS switched capacitor structure for high power applications is proposed. Second, a dual-mode CMOS PA with an integrated tunable matching network is proposed to extend battery lifetime. Third, a switchless dual-band matching structure is proposed, and the effectiveness of dual-band matching is demonstrated with a fully-integrated CMOS PA. Lastly, a reconfigurable CMOS PA with an automatic antenna mismatch recovery system is presented, which can maintain its original designed performance even under various antenna mismatch conditions. Conclusively, the research in this dissertation provides various solutions for new challenges of advanced mobile terminals.

This work describes multiband photon detection techniques based on novel semiconductor device concepts and detector designs with simultaneous detection of dierent wavelength radiation such as UV and IR. One aim of this investigation is to examine UV and IR detection concepts with a view to resolve some of the issues of existing IR detectors such as high dark current, non uniformity, and low operating temperature and to avoid having additional optical components such as filters in multiband detection. Structures were fabricated to demonstrate the UV and IR detection concepts and determine detector parameters: (i) UV/IR detection based on GaN/AlGaN heterostructures, (ii) Optical characterization of p-type InP thin films were carried out with the idea of developing InP based detectors, (iii) Intervalence band transitions in InGaAsP/InP heterojunction interfacial workfunction internal photoemission (HEIWIP) detectors. Device concepts, detector structures, and experimental results are discussed. In order to reduce reflection, TiO2 and SiO2 nanostructured thin film characterization and application of these as anti-reflection coatings on above mentioned detectors is also discussed.

Bandpass microwave filters are often modeled as a set of coupled discrete and localized resonators. This model is adequate in the narrow-band case. It, however, fails to describe accurately compact structures where stray couplings can be strong. To address this problem, a new view is proposed in this thesis. Instead of basing the model on localized discrete resonances, we start by constructing a model that is based on the global resonances of the structure. These are the resonances that the ports see and emerge when the entire structure is treated as a single unit. The resulting circuit, the transversal circuit, is universal. It is valid for any coupled resonator filter. The circuit is used in optimization of compact and ultra wideband suspended stripline filters and excellent results were obtained. In order to relate the global-eigen modes model to the conventional model, the issue of representation of microwave filters is investigated in detail. It is shown that a microwave filter can be represented by an infinite number of similar coupling matrices by using different modes as basis. According to this new view, a similarity transformation in microwave coupled resonator filters is interpreted as a change of basis. Two circuits that are related by a similarity transformation represent the same filter structure by using different sets of modes as basis. These conclusions were exploited in establishing a design theory for filters with dual-mode cavities. The new theory leads to direct and accurate design techniques that need no, or minimal, optimization. No tuning is used in the CAD steps. Tuning may only be required to account for manufacturing tolerances. A new tuning configuration is described and validated by computer simulation. A novel dual-mode filter with improved quality factor and reduced sensitivity is developed and designed within the same approach. The filter is fabricated and measured and excellent results are achieved. The same design methodology was used to introduce a new class of dual-mode dual-band microwave filters with improved sensitivity. It is also shown that canonical dual-mode filters can be designed within the same view with minimal local optimization of the input cavity. / Thesis (Ph.D, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-03-31 01:33:36.818

Wideband and dual band stacked microstrip patch antennas are investigated for the new wideband and dual band applications in the area of telecommunications. In this thesis, aperture-coupled stacked patch antennas are used to increase the bandwidth of the microstrip patch antenna. By this technique, antennas with 51% bandwidth at 6.1 GHz and 43% bandwidth at 8 GHz satisfying S11&lt / -15 dB are designed, manufactured and measured. A dual-band aperture coupled stacked microstrip patch antenna operating at 1.8 GHz with 3.8% bandwidth and at 2.4 GHz with 1.6% bandwidth is designed, produced and measured for mobile phone and WLAN applications. In addition, an aperture coupled stacked microstrip patch antenna which operates at PCS frequencies in 1.7-1.95 GHz band is designed. Dual and circularly polarized stacked aperture coupled microstrip patch antennas are also investigated. A triple band dual polarized aperture coupled stacked microstrip patch antenna is designed to operate at 900 MHz, at 1.21 GHZ and at 2.15 GHz. Mutual coupling between aperture coupled stacked microstrip patch antennas are examined and compared with the coupling of aperture coupled microstrip patch antennas

With code division multiple access (CDMA) systems being the prominent multiple access scheme for the air interface for 3G cellular systems, most standardisation bodies have based their terrestrial cellular systems on DS-CDMA (W-CDMA, UMTS, cdma2000). With 4G systems fast approaching, bringing with them improved services and quality of service standards, there is growing interest in further investigating and developing more efficient multiple access techniques such as multicarrier CDMA (MC-CDMA) systems. MC-CDMA combines multicarrier modulation (MCM), namely OFDM, with CDMA profiting from the benefits of both multiplexing techniques; as such, MC-CDMA is emerging as a possible candidate for the air interface multiple access scheme for 4G cellular systems. Multiple access interference (MAI) is a limiting factor of CDMA systems in terms of system capacity as orthogonally designed spreading sequences lose their orthogonality in the presence of timing misalignments amongst mobile subscribers in a cell; such is the case over the uplink channel. Ensuring orthogonal code properties minimises the MAI over synchronous environments, however, it is when the users are allowed to transmit asynchronously, as is the case over the uplink channel, that MAI inflicts significant performance degradation. In CDMA systems, all subscribers are active on the same frequency band simultaneously and signal separation is facilitated upon reception via the properties of the assigned spreading codes. Under asynchronous conditions the code properties alone do not provide the necessary separation and an additive MAI term remains in the detection process. In addition to the separation abilities of the spreading codes, a further method of deciphering the desired subscriber signal from the interfering subscriber signals is sought. In this thesis we propose a statistical model for both the probability density function (pdf) of the total MAI power and the corresponding bit-error rate (BER) observed during asynchronous CDMA transmission. The modelling offers the full statistic the MAI power and resulting BER, not just the first and second order statistics. In addition to statistically quantifying the MAI power, the thesis also proposes a technique for the successful reduction of MAI caused by asynchronous transmission. This interference reduction technique is derived from an ambiguity domain analysis of the asynchronous CDMA detection problem and its application to both the DS-CDMA and MC-CDMA multiplexing techniques is presented and the results show significant MAI reduction, and thus an improved the BER. A methodology for the approximation of the total MAI power pdf and the resulting BER pdf is proposed for the asynchronous DS-CDMA and MC-CDMA techniques. This methodology is derived for the use of Walsh-Hadamard (WH) and Gold spreading sequences, however, it is applicable to any given set of deterministic spreading sequences. The total MAI power pdfs of both systems are statistically modelled as being Nakagamim distributed and the corresponding BER modelling is derived from the Nakagami-m formulation offering the full statistic of both the incurred MAI power and the achievable BER. The proposed pdf acquisition methodology and statistical models can be used as analysis tools to assess the relative performances of the DS-CDMA and MC-CDMA techniques for a variety of communications environments. Here the asynchronous uplink channel is considered in the absence of fading and the results show a clear distinction between the BER performances of the MC-CDMA and DS-CDMA systems, for which the MC-CDMA system offers a superior performance for the purely asynchronous channel considered. The results suggest a higher resistance to MAI in the MC-CDMA technique in comparison to the DS-CDMA system for the considered transmission scenario. Following ambiguity function analysis of the asynchronous CDMA detection problem, the concept of dual-frequency switching is introduced to the existing DS-CDMA and MC-CDMA techniques giving rise to the proposed dual-frequency DS-CDMA (DF/DSCDMA) and dual-frequency MC-CDMA (DF/MC-CDMA) schemes. Periodically switching the carrier frequency between dual frequency bands at consecutive symbol boundaries facilitates partial CDMA signal separation upon asynchronous reception. Such switching of the carrier frequency induces a separation in frequency between offset interference signals and the reference signal; this is equivalent to shifting the energy concentration of the interference signals away form the ambiguity domain origin (representing the decision variable of the matched filter). Further MAI reduction is demonstrated through careful design of the dual carrier frequencies. The newly proposed DF systems clearly outperform the standard DS-CDMA and MC-CDMA systems when adopting equivalent spreading factors. The DF/DS-CDMA technique in particular achieves the most MAI reduction and in doing so, surpasses all other considered techniques to offer the best BER performance for the purely asynchronous channel considered. In terms of bandwidth usage, the DF/DS-CDMA band width is 1.5 times that of the DF/MC-CDMA system and from the BER results presented, one may argue that DF/MC-CDMA offers the better BER given the bandwidth usage. The multicarrier systems presented, MC-CDMA and DF/MC-CDMA, offer attractive BER performances for the bandwidth used and it is concluded that MC-CDMA is a genuine candidate for the uplink air interface multiple access scheme for future mobile cellular technologies.

Cette thèse étudie l'intérêt des architectures SDR à échantillonnage direct pour des récepteurs Galileo dans le contexte particulier de l'Aviation Civile, caractérisé notamment par une exigence de robustesse à des interférences bien spécifiées, principalement les interférences causées par les signaux DME ou CW. Le concept de Software Defined Radio traduit la migration toujours plus grande, au sein des récepteurs, des procédés de démodulation d'une technologie analogique à du traitement numérique, donc de façon logicielle. La quasi généralisation de ce choix de conception dans les architectures nouvelles nous a conduit à le considérer comme acquis dans notre travail. La méthode d'échantillonnage direct, ou Direct Sampling, quant à elle consiste à numériser les signaux le plus près possible de l'antenne, typiquement derrière le LNA et les filtres RF associés. Cette technique s'affranchit donc de toute conversion en fréquence intermédiaire, utilisant autant que possible le principe de l'échantillonnage passe-bande afin de minimiser la fréquence d'échantillonnage et en conséquence les coûts calculatoires ultérieurs. De plus cette thèse s'est proposée de pousser jusqu'au bout la simplification analogique en renonçant également à l'utilisation de l'AGC analogique qui équipe les récepteurs de conception traditionnelle. Seuls des amplificateurs à gain fixe précéderont l'ADC. Ce mémoire rend compte des travaux menés pour déterminer si ces choix peuvent s'appliquer aux récepteurs Galileo multifréquences (signaux E5a et E1) destinés à l'Aviation Civile. La structure du document reflète la démarche qui a été la notre durant cette thèse et qui a consisté à partir de l'antenne pour, d'étape en étape, aboutir au signal numérique traité par la partie SDR. Après une introduction détaillant le problème posé et le contexte dans lequel il s'inscrit, le deuxième chapitre étudie les exigences de robustesse aux interférences auquel doit se soumettre un récepteur de navigation par satellites destiné à l'Aviation Civile. Il s'agit de la base qui conditionne toute la démarche à suivre. Le troisième chapitre est consacré au calcul des fréquences d'échantillonnage. Deux architectures d'échantillonnage sont proposées. La première met en oeuvre un échantillonnage cohérent des deux bandes E5a et E1 tandis que la seconde implémente un échantillonnage séparé. Dans les deux cas, la nécessité de filtres RF supplémentaires précédant l'échantillonnage est mise en évidence. L'atténuation minimale que doivent apporter ces filtres est spécifiée. Ces spécifications sont suffisamment dures pour qu'il ait été jugé indispensable d'effectuer une étude de faisabilité. C'est l'objet du chapitre quatre où une approche expérimentale à base d'un composant disponible sur étagère a été menée. La problématique de la gigue de l'horloge d'échantillonnage, incontournable ici eu égard à la haute fréquence des signaux à numériser, est étudiée dans le chapitre cinq. Des résultats de simulation sont présentés et un dimensionnement de la qualité de l'horloge d'échantillonnage est proposé. Dans le chapitre six, la quantification, second volet de la numérisation, est détaillée. Il s'agit très précisément du calcul du nombre minimum de bits de quantification que doit exhiber l'ADC pour représenter toute la dynamique, non seulement du signal utile mais aussi des interférences potentielles. Au vu des débits de données conséquents mis en évidence dans les chapitres trois et six, le chapitre sept évalue la possibilité de réduire la dynamique de codage du signal à l'aide de fonctions de compression. Le dernier chapitre est focalisé sur la séparation numérique des bandes E5a et E1 dans l'architecture à échantillonnage cohérent introduite au chapitre deux. Ici aussi l'atténuation minimale que doivent apporter les filtres requis est spécifiée. / This thesis studies the relevance of DS SDR architectures applied to Galileo receivers in the specific context of Civil Aviation, characterized in particular by strict requirements of robustness to interference, in particular, interference caused by DME or CW signals. The Software Defined Radio concept renders the major tendency, inside the receiver, to move the demodulation part from an analog technology to digital signal processing, that is software. The choice of this kind of design is nearly generalized in new receiver architectures so it was considered the case in this work. The Direct Sampling method consists in digitizing the signal as close as possible to the antenna, typically after the LNA and the associated RF bandpass filter. So this technique does not use any conversion to an intermediate frequency, using as much as possible the bandpass sampling principle in order to minimize the sampling frequency and consequently the downstream computational costs. What is more, this thesis aiming at the greatest simplification of the analog part of the receiver, the decision was made to suppress the analog AGC which equips the receivers of classical architecture. Only fixed gained amplifiers should precede the ADC. This document exposes the work done to determine if these choices can apply to a multifrequency (E5a and E1 signals) Galileo receiver intended for a Civil Aviation use. The structure of the document reflects the approach used during this thesis. It progresses step by step from the antenna down to the digital signal, to be processed then by the SDR part. After an introduction detailing the problem to study and its context, the second chapter investigates the Civil Aviation requirements of robustness to interference a satellite navigation receiver must comply with. It is the basis which completely conditions the design process. The third chapter is devoted to the determination of the sampling frequency. Two sampling architectures are proposed: the first implements coherent sampling of the two E5a and E1 bands while the second uses separate sampling. In both cases the necessity to use extra RF filters is shown. The minimum attenuation to be provided by these filters is also specified. These requirements are strong enough to justify a feasibility investigation. It is the subject of chapter four where an experimental study, based on a SAW filter chip available on the shelf, is related. The issue of the sampling clock jitter, of concern with the Direct Sampling technique because of the high frequency of the signal to digitize, is investigated in chapter five. Some simulation results are presented and a dimensioning of the quality of the sampling clock is proposed. In chapter six, quantization, a byproduct of digitization, is detailed. Precisely it is the calculation of the number of bits the ADC must have to digitally represent the whole dynamic of, not only the useful signal, but also of the potential interference. Considering the high binary throughput highlighted in chapters three and six, chapter seven evaluates the possibility to reduce the coding dynamic of the digital signal at the output of the ADC by means of compression functions. The last chapter is focused on the digital separation of the two E5a and E1 bands in the coherent sampling architecture presented in chapter two. Here also specifications of minimum attenuation are given. Lastly the conclusions synthesize the contributions of this thesis and proposes ideas for future work to enrich them and more generally the subject of DS-SDR Galileo receivers for Civil Aviation.

Dans les systèmes de communication et de détection sans fil, l'antenne est un élément indispensable pour transformer l'énergie électrique en ondes électromagnétiques rayonnée dans l'espace, et vice versa. Les antennes sont utilisées dans de nombreux dispositifs militaires et civils, tels que les radars (SAR, secteur automobile, détection de débris, etc.), les instruments biomédicaux, les systèmes de télécommunication (téléphones mobiles, stations de base) pour les communications point à multi-point ou point à point par exemple. Les antennes jouent aussi un rôle essentiel pour le développement de futurs réseaux connectés reliant plusieurs appareils à des utilisateurs en temps réel, par exemple pour l'Internet des objets (IoT). Les réseaux transmetteurs sont une solution attrayante pour de nombreuses applications telles que les communications par satellite (Satcom) ou les futurs réseaux 5G. L'architecture des antennes à réseau transmetteur les rend extrêmement compétitifs comparés aux réseaux phasés par exemple grâce à leur alimentation par onde d’espace et car ils ne souffrent pas du blocage induit par la source primaire, comme c’est le cas pour les réseaux réflecteurs ou les antennes à réflecteur. Grâce à leur fonctionnement en mode transmission, les réseaux transmetteurs peuvent être également facilement montés sur des plates-formes mobiles.Les applications Satcom en bande Ka constituent le secteur applicatif majeur de cette thèse. Cette bande fournit un débit de données élevé à la fois pour les liaisons descendantes et les liaisons montantes, en remplacement des systèmes actuels en bande Ku. Dans ce contexte, il convient aussi de prêter une attention particulière aux communications avec des plates-formes mobiles, par exemple les trains à grande vitesse, les avions, etc., ce qui nécessite de mettre au point des antennes à balayage de faisceau. De nombreuses propriétés avancées sont exploitées depuis ces dernières années pour accroître les débits et la flexibilité des systèmes de communication sans fil, par exemple la polarisation circulaire, la double polarisation, le fonctionnement multi-fréquence ou large bande, le dépointage électronique de faisceau. Pour réduire les coûts, des preuves de concept de réseaux transmetteurs non diélectriques sont également proposées. Cette thèse s’est déroulée dans le cadre du projet ANR TRANSMIL (Reconfigurable TRANSmitarrays for beam steering and beam forming at MILlimetre wave). Les objectifs de cette thèse sont de proposer de nouvelles architectures de réseaux transmetteurs fonctionnant en bande Ka en liaison descendante (de 17,7 GHz à 21,2 GHz) et en liaison montante (de 27,5 GHz à 31 GHz). Différents prototypes ont été conçus et fabriqués afin de valider les concepts proposés en bande X et en bande Ka. Un bon accord entre les résultats numériques et mesurés a été obtenu systématiquement. En particulier, les réseaux transmetteurs à double polarisation que nous avons conçus en bande X présentent un gain de 25 dBi et une bande passante à 3 dB de 20% à 10 GHz. Ces propriétés sont indépendantes de la polarisation du champ rayonné, ce qui signifie que des faisceaux de polarisation linéaire orthogonale peuvent être rayonnés indépendamment dans des directions différentes. Un réseau transmetteur bi-bande fonctionnant en bande Ka a également été mis au point. Sa bande passante à 3 dB est de 10% autour des fréquences centrales (19,5 GHz et 29 GHz) et son efficacité de rayonnement atteint 60%. D’autres concepts ont également été étudiés (réseaux transmetteurs sans diélectrique, réseau transmetteur reconfigurable). / Transmitarray is an attractive solution for front-end devices in the next generation of communications (5G). The spatial-fed architecture of transmitarray antennas can compete with phase-arrays due to the absence of feeding network and with reflectarrays since they do not suffer from feed blockage. Thanks to their operation in transmission mode, transmitarrays can be easily mounted on platforms for outdoor environment applications. With mature printed-circuit board technology, there are unstoppable experiments in various frequency bands from cm-wave to mm-wave and up to terahertz in upcoming years for potential applications. Many advanced properties are exploited in transmitarrays in recent years to meet high demands of communications facilities, for example, circular-polarization, dual-/multi-polarization or frequencies through many techniques. Some experiments are consid-ered to validate eligibility of this antenna type in commercial services or military missions, namely electronically steering beam, broad bandwidth, etc. In terms of cost reduction and rigidity, non-dielectric prototypes are also proposed. The Ka-band Satcom applications are the main objective of this thesis through trans-mitarray solution. This band provides high data rate for both down-link and up-link in replacement of the current Ku-band systems with miniaturized module in next dec-ades. Hence, it is worth to pay attention to communications for moving platforms, for example, high-speed trains, planes, etc.

This master’s thesis introduces to the reader with a modern antenna type the microstrip patch antennas. The most common types of microstrip antennas and their parameters and feeding methods are introduced in the theoretical section of this master’s thesis. This section deals with the circularly polarized microstrip antennas. Design of an active dual-band circularly polarized antenna for global navigation satellite application in the AWR Microwave Office is presented in the practical section. The proposed single-fed dual-band circularly polarized design is achieved using two stacked square microstrip patches. The antenna operates at the L1 + E1 and L5 + E5a frequency bands. Antenna preamplifier consists of a low-noise transistor and a dual-band band-pass filter. The thesis describes realization and measurement results of the dual-band antenna performance in the anechoic chamber. Measured results of the preamplifier performance are presented.

This master’s thesis deals with user influence on miniature antennas in mobile application. Electrically small antennas including fundamental performance properties and limitations are introduced in the theoretical section of this thesis. This section also deals with microstrip antennas and their common types. The accent is on PIFA antennas, their typical constructions and methods of miniaturization. In the practical section, dual-band PIFA antenna for operation at frequencies of systems GSM900 and GSM1800 is designed with the assistance of electromagnetic field simulator CST Microwave Studio. On this type of antenna, the user influence on impedance matching and radiation pattern in data mode (the user is typing message or browsing with the phone) is investigated. For this purpose the hand phantom, corresponding to author’s right hand, was made from agar based material. For typical position of human hand is designed matching network, which eliminate the user influence and ensure correct function of antenna.

The infrared and millimeter-wave portions of the spectrum both have their advantages for development of imaging systems. Because of the difference in wavelengths, infrared imagers offer inherently high resolution, while millimeter-wave systems have better penetration through atmospheric aerosols such as fog and smoke. Shared-aperture imaging systems employing a common focal-plane array that responds to both wavebands are desirable from the viewpoint of overall size and weight. We have developed antenna-coupled sensors that respond simultaneously at 30 THz and at 94 GHz, utilizing electron-beam lithography. Slot-antenna designs were found to be particularly suitable for coupling radiation into metal-oxide-metal (MOM) tunnel diodes at both frequencies. The MOM diodes are fabricated in a layered structure of Ni-NiO-Ni, and act as rectifying contacts. With contact areas as low as 120 nm × 120 nm, these diodes have time constants commensurate with rectification at frequencies across the desired millimeter-wave and infrared bands. One challenge in the development of true focal-plane array imagers across this factor-of-300 bandwidth is that the optimum spatial sampling interval on the focal plane is different in both bands. We have demonstrated a focal plane with interleaved infrared and millimeter-wave sensors by fabricating infrared antennas in the ground plane of the millimeter-wave antenna. Measured performance data in both bands are presented for individual antenna-coupled sensors as well as for devices in the dual-band focal-plane-array format.