An antenna apparatus, which can increase capacity in a cellular communication system or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such as an 802.11 network, operates in conjunction with a mobile subscriber unit or client station. At least one antenna element is active and located within multiple passive antenna elements. The passive antenna elements are coupled to selectable impedance components for phase control of re-radiated RF signals. Various techniques for determining the phase of each antenna element are supported to enable the antenna apparatus to direct an antenna beam pattern toward a base station or access point with maximum gain, and, consequently, maximum signal-to-noise ratio. By directionally receiving and transmitting signals, multipath fading is greatly reduced as well as intercell interference.

Adaptive antenna for use in wireless communication systems

Directional antennas can adaptively select radio signals of interest in specific directions, while filtering out unwanted interference from other directions. Although a couple of medium access protocols based on random access schemes have been proposed for networks with directional antennas, they suffer from high probability of collisions because of their dependence on omnidirectional mode for the transmission or reception of control packets in order to establish directional links. We propose a distributed receiver-oriented multiple access (ROMA) channel access scheduling protocol for ad hoc networks with directional antennas, each of which can form multiple beams and commence several simultaneous communication sessions. Unlike random access schemes that use on-demand handshakes or signal scanning to resolve communication targets, ROMA determines a number of links for activation in every time slot using only two-hop topology information. It is shown that significant improvements on network throughput and delay can be achieved by exploiting the multi-beam forming capability of directional antennas in both transmission and reception. The performance of ROMA is studied by simulations, and compared with a well-know static scheduling scheme that is based on global topology information.

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Transmission scheduling in ad hoc networks with directional antennas

An antenna apparatus that can increase capacity in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The antenna operates in conjunction with a station and comprises a plurality of antenna elements (101-n), each coupled to a respective weight control component (111-n) to provide a weight to the signal transmitted from (or received by) each element. The weight for each antenna element is adjusted to achieve optimum reception during, for example, an idle mode when a pilot signal is received. The antenna array creates a beam former for signals to be transmitted from the mobile station, and a directional receiving array to more optimally detect and receive signals transmitted from the base station. By directionally receiving and transmitting signals, multipath fading and intercell interference are greatly reduced. The weights are adjusted in a coarse and a fine mode. In the coarse mode all the weight control components are jointly adjusted or changed so that the antenna beam scans through a predetermined sector of a circle until a signal quality metric of the received signal is optimized. The coarse adjustment mode is followed by a fine adjustment mode during which the weights of are independently adjusted to further optimize the signal quality metric.

Method and apparatus for adapting antenna array using received predetermined signal

In this paper we introduce a new perspective to the implementation of wireless MIMO transmission systems with increased bandwidth efficiency. Unlike traditional spatial multiplexing techniques in MIMO systems, where additional information can be sent through the wireless channel by feeding uncorrelated antenna elements with diverse bitstreams, we use the idea of mapping diverse bitstreams onto orthogonal bases defined in the beamspace domain of the transmitting array far-field region. Using this approach we show that we can increase the capacity of wireless communication systems using compact parasitic antenna architectures and a single RF front end at the transmitter, thus paving the way for integrating MIMO systems in cost and size sensitive wireless devices such as mobile terminals and mobile personal digital assistants.

A Novel Approach to MIMO Transmission Using a Single RF Front End

The design of an optimized electronically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR) antenna is presented. A genetic algorithm using a finite element based cost function optimized the antenna's structure and loading conditions for maximal main lobe gain in a single azimuth direction. Simulated gain results of 7.3 dBi at 2.4 GHz were attained along the antenna's elemental axis. The optimized antenna was fabricated and tested with the corresponding experimental gain better than 8 dBi. The 0.7 dB error between simulated and measured gain was constant for numerous structures and therefore did not affect the optimization. The optimized antenna reduced average main lobe elevation by 15.3/spl deg/ to just 9.7/spl deg/ above the horizontal.

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Seven-element ground skirt monopole ESPAR antenna design from a genetic algorithm and the finite element method

Base-station tracking in mobile communications benefits from a directional antenna and so requires direction finding technology. A novel technique for electronically directing the radiation pattern of an antenna array employs a directional array with only one active element and three parasitic elements operating near resonance. Three different methods of direction finding are assessed; a coarse angular location method, a precise angular location method assuming one incident beam, and a precise angular location method with multiple incident beams. An array with n elements, if used in conjunction with a relatively simple controller, can be used to resolve n-1 signals. This technology can be implemented using both wire and patch antenna-array elements and either linear or circular polarization can be used, lending the technology to applications in both terrestrial and satellite communications systems.

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Base-station tracking in mobile communications using a switched parasitic antenna array

A new technique is presented demonstrating the use of switched parasitic elements in electronic beam steering applications. Experimental and theoretical results are presented for a linearly polarised five element steerable patch antenna array operating at 1.55 GHz. Shorted parasitic elements have been used to steer the beam in two directions for tracking polar orbiting satellites. The minimum gain of the system for elevation angles >20/spl deg/ above the horizon is -1.5 dBi in the forward direction.

Electronic beam steering using switched parasitic patch elements

An electronically controlled antenna array consisting of one active element and a number of parasitic elements can be used for direction finding. Array directivity is controlled by exchanging the position of the feed and the parasitic elements. An array of four monopoles on a ground plane provides 360 degree azimuthal coverage with no moving parts, provides excellent directional resolution and can be controlled using a simple microcontroller. The antenna design, its application to direction finding and reliability in noisy environments are presented.

/pdf/direction-finding-using-a-switched-parasitic-antenna-array-1j9xgre5wk.pdf

S.L. Preston

Papers

Base-station tracking in mobile communications using a switched parasitic antenna array

Electronic beam steering using switched parasitic patch elements

Direction finding using a switched parasitic antenna array