Zhi Ning Chen

Bio: Zhi Ning Chen is an academic researcher from National University of Singapore. The author has contributed to research in topics: Antenna (radio) & Microstrip antenna. The author has an hindex of 58, co-authored 416 publications receiving 11085 citations. Previous affiliations of Zhi Ning Chen include Institute for Infocomm Research Singapore & Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Small Printed Ultrawideband Antenna With Reduced Ground Plane Effect

Abstract: A small printed antenna is described with a reduced ground-plane effect for ultrawideband (UWB) applications. The radiator and ground plane of the antenna are etched onto a piece of printed circuit board (PCB) with an overall size of 25mmtimes25 mmtimes1.5 mm. A notch is cut from the radiator while a strip is asymmetrically attached to the radiator. The simulation and measurement show that the miniaturized antenna achieves a broad operating bandwidth of 2.9-11.6 GHz for a 10-dB return loss. In particular, the ground-plane effect on impedance performance is greatly reduced by cutting the notch from the radiator because the electric currents on the ground plane are significantly suppressed at the lower edge operating frequencies. The antenna features three-dimensional omni-directional radiation with high radiation efficiency of 79%-95% across the UWB bandwidth. In addition, a parametric study of the geometric and electric parameters of the proposed antenna will be able to provide antenna engineers with more design information

Low-Profile Wideband Metasurface Antennas Using Characteristic Mode Analysis

Abstract: A metasurface (MTS) antenna is proposed for low-profile and wideband operation based on characteristic mode analysis (CMA). An MTS radiator formed by a diamond-slotted patch is fed by a microstrip line at its bottom through a slot centered on a ground plane. The CMA is used for the modeling, analysis, and optimization of the proposed antenna in order to reveal the underlying modal behaviors of the MTS and to guide the mode excitation. It is found that an extraordinary quisi-TM30 MTS mode and a slot mode both with wideband broadside radiation are formulated and well excited simultaneously, leading to a broadband operation. Empirical equations are outlined for speeding up design. To verify the concept, a $2\times2$ array with the overall size of $1.78\lambda _{\mathrm {\mathbf {0}}}\times 1.78\lambda _{\mathrm {\mathbf {0{}}}}\times 0.07\lambda _{\mathrm {\mathbf {0}}}$ ( $\lambda _{\mathrm {\mathbf {0}}}$ is the free-space wavelength at 5.5 GHz) is designed and prototyped at 5-GHz Wi-Fi bands. The achieved impedance bandwidth for 10-dB return loss is 31% with the gain of 13–14.5 dBi over the operating bandwidth.

Considerations for source pulses and antennas in UWB radio systems

Abstract: This paper addresses two vital design considerations in ultrawide-band radio systems. One is that radiated power density spectrum shaping must comply with certain emission limit mask for coexistence with other electronic systems. Another is that the design of source pulses and transmitting/receiving antennas should be optimal for the performance of overall systems. The design of source pulses and transmitting/receiving antennas under the two considerations is discussed. First, the characteristics of transmitting/receiving antenna systems are described by a system transfer function. Then, the design of source pulses and transmitting antennas are studied based on the considerations for emission limits. Finally, the design of transmitting and receiving antennas are investigated in terms of pulse fidelity and system transmission efficiency. In the studies, thin wire dipoles with narrow bandwidths and planar dipoles with broad bandwidths are exemplified.

Metamaterial-Based Low-Profile Broadband Mushroom Antenna

Abstract: A metamaterial-based broadband low-profile mushroom antenna is presented. The proposed antenna is formed using an array of mushroom cells and a ground plane, and fed by a microstrip line through a slot cut onto the ground plane. With the feeding slot right underneath the center gap between the mushroom cells, the dual resonance modes are excited simultaneously for the radiation at boresight. A transmission-line model integrated with the dispersion relation of a composite right/left-handed mushroom structure is applied to analyze the modes. The proposed dielectric-filled (er=3.38) mushroom antenna with a low profile of 0.06λ0 ( λ0 is the operating wavelength in free space) and a ground plane of 1.10λ0×1.10λ0 attains 25% measured bandwidth with(|S11| <; - 10dB) 9.9-dBi average gain at 5-GHz band. Across the bandwidth, the antenna efficiency is greater than 76%, and cross-polarization levels are less than -20 dB.

Asymmetric-Circular Shaped Slotted Microstrip Antennas for Circular Polarization and RFID Applications

Abstract: Novel asymmetric-circular shaped slotted microstrip patch antennas with slits are proposed for circularly polarized (CP) radiation and radio frequency identification (RFID) reader applications. A single-feed configuration based asymmetric-circular shaped slotted square microstrip patches are adopted to realize the compact circularly polarized microstrip antennas. The asymmetric-circular shaped slot(s) along the diagonal directions are embedded symmetrically onto a square microstrip patch for CP radiation and small antenna size. The CP radiation can be achieved by slightly asymmetric (unbalanced) patch along the diagonal directions by slot areas. Four symmetric-slits are also embedded symmetrically along the orthogonal directions of the asymmetric-circular shaped slotted patch to further reduce antenna size. The operating frequency of the antenna can be tuned by varying the slit length while keeping the CP radiation unchanged. The measured 3-dB axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth of around 6.0 MHz with 17.0 MHz impedance bandwidth is achieved for the antenna on a RO4003C substrate. The overall antenna size is 0.27λo × 0.27λo × 0.0137λo at 900 MHz.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Study of a printed circular disc monopole antenna for UWB systems

Abstract: This paper presents a study of a novel monopole antenna for ultrawide-band (UWB) applications. Printed on a dielectric substrate and fed by a 50 /spl Omega/ microstrip line, a planar circular disc monopole has been demonstrated to provide an ultra wide 10 dB return loss bandwidth with satisfactory radiation properties. The parameters which affect the performance of the antenna in terms of its frequency domain characteristics are investigated. A good agreement is achieved between the simulation and the experiment. In addition, the time domain performance of the proposed antenna is also evaluated in simulations.

Multibeam Antenna Technologies for 5G Wireless Communications

Abstract: With the demanding system requirements for the fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications and the severe spectrum shortage at conventional cellular frequencies, multibeam antenna systems operating in the millimeter-wave frequency bands have attracted a lot of research interest and have been actively investigated. They represent the key antenna technology for supporting a high data transmission rate, an improved signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, an increased spectral and energy efficiency, and versatile beam shaping, thereby holding a great promise in serving as the critical infrastructure for enabling beamforming and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) that boost the 5G. This paper provides an overview of the existing multibeam antenna technologies which include the passive multibeam antennas (MBAs) based on quasi-optical components and beamforming circuits, multibeam phased-array antennas enabled by various phase-shifting methods, and digital MBAs with different system architectures. Specifically, their principles of operation, design, and implementation, as well as a number of illustrative application examples are reviewed. Finally, the suitability of these MBAs for the future 5G massive MIMO wireless systems as well as the associated challenges is discussed.

The art of UHF RFID antenna design: impedance-matching and size-reduction techniques

Abstract: Radio-frequency identification technology, based on the reader/tag paradigm, is quickly permeating several aspects of everyday life. The electromagnetic research mainly concerns the design of tag antennas having high efficiency and small size, and suited to complex impedance matching to the embedded electronics. Starting from the available but fragmented open literature, this paper presents a homogeneous survey of relevant methodologies for the design of UHF passive tag antennas. Particular care is taken to illustrate, within a common framework, the basic concepts of the most-used design layouts. The design techniques are illustrated by means of many noncommercial examples.