Dual band (K and Ka) electronically scanning reflectarray with RF MEMS switches is designed, implemented and measured. Unit cell of the reflect array is composed of conductor backed split-ring elements. In order to steer the beam, the phase of the incident circularly polarized wave is controlled by RF MEMS switches that modify the angular orientation of split-rings individually. Reflectarray is designed using unit cell approach with periodic boundary conditions. The antenna is fabricated by using surface micromachining process developed in METU MEMS Center. Radiation patterns of the antenna are measured and compared with the simulations. It has been shown that the reflectarray is capable of beam switching to 35&deg / in Ka band, 24&deg / in K band.

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.

The advances in modern communication systems have brought about devices with more functionality, better performance, smaller size, lighter weight and lower cost. Meanwhile, the requirement for newer devices has become more demanding than ever. Tunability and flexibility are both long-desired features. Tunable devices are ‘smart’ in the sense that they can adapt to the dynamic environment or varying user demand as well as correct the minor deviations due to manufacturing fluctuations, therefore making it possible to reduce system complexity and overall cost. It is also desired that electronics be flexible to provide conformability and portability. Previously, tunable devices on flexible substrates have been realized mainly by dicing and assembling. This approach is straightforward and easy to carry out. However, it will become a “mission impossible” when it comes to assembling a large amount of rigid devices on a flexible substrate. Moreover, the operating frequency is often limited by the parasitic effect of the interconnection between the diced device and the rest of the circuit on the flexible substrate. A recent effort utilized a strain-sharing Si/SiGe/Si nanomembrane to transfer a device onto a flexible substrate. This approach works very well for silicon based devices with small dimensions, such as transistors and varactor diodes. Large-scale fabrication capability is still under investigation. A new transfer technique is proposed and studied in this research. Tunable BST (Barium Strontium Titanate) IDCs (inter-digital capacitors) are first fabricated on a silicon substrate. The devices are then transferred onto a flexible LCP (liquid crystalline polymer) substrate using iv wafer bonding of the silicon substrate to the LCP substrate, followed by silicon etching. This approach allows for monolithic fabrication so that the transferred devices can operate in millimeter wave frequency. The tunability, capacitance, Q factor and equivalent circuit are studied. The simulated and measured performances are compared. BST capacitors on LCP substrates are also compared with those on sapphire substrates to prove that this transfer process does not impair the performance. A primary study of a reflectarray antenna unit cell is also conducted for loss and phase swing performance. The BST thin film layout and bias line positions are studied in order to reduce the total loss. Transferring a full-size BST-based reflectarray antenna onto an LCP substrate is the ultimate goal, and this work is ongoing at the University of Central Florida (UCF). HFSS is used to simulate the devices and to prove the concept. All of the devices are fabricated in the clean room at UCF. Probe station measurements and waveguide measurements are performed on the capacitors and reflectarray antenna unit cells respectively. This work is the first comprehensive demonstration of this novel transfer technique.

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.

本研究は, 広帯域直交偏波共用低交差偏波特性, 偏波変換特性および任意の反射位相差を有する高性能・高機能リフレクトアレー共振素子の開発を行い, 設計・試作したリフレクトアレーアンテナの放射特性の数値的及び実験的検討の研究成果をまとめたものである. / 博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University