European Conference on Antennas and Propagation 

About: European Conference on Antennas and Propagation is an academic conference. The conference publishes majorly in the area(s): Antenna (radio) & Antenna measurement. Over the lifetime, 13894 publications have been published by the conference receiving 70861 citations.

Channel measurements and analysis for very large array systems at 2.6 GHz

Abstract: Very large MIMO is a technique that potentially can offer large network capacities in multi-user scenarios where the users are equipped only with single antennas. In this paper we are investigating channel properties for a realistic, though somewhat extreme, outdoor base station scenario using a large array. We present measurement results using a 128 element linear array base station and 26 different user position in line-of-sight (LOS) and 10 different user position in non line-of-sight (NLOS). We analyze the Ricean K-factor, received power levels over the array, antenna correlation and eigenvalue distributions. We show that the statistical properties of the received signal vary significantly over the large array. Near field effects and the non-stationarities over the array help decorrelating the channel for different users, thereby providing a favorable channel conditions with stable channels and low interference for the considered single antenna users.

Graphene-based nano-antennas for electromagnetic nanocommunications in the terahertz band

Abstract: Nanotechnology is enabling the development of devices in a scale ranging from one to a few hundred nanometers. Coordination and information sharing among these nano-devices will lead towards the development of future nanonetworks, boosting the range of applications of nanotechnology in the biomedical, environmental and military fields. Despite the major progress in nano-device design and fabrication, it is still not clear how these atomically precise machines will communicate. Recently, the advancements in graphene-based electronics have opened the door to electromagnetic communications in the nano-scale. In this paper, a new quantum mechanical framework is used to analyze the properties of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) as nano-dipole antennas. For this, first the transmission line properties of CNTs are obtained using the tight-binding model as functions of the CNT length, diameter, and edge geometry. Then, relevant antenna parameters such as the fundamental resonant frequency and the input impedance are calculated and compared to those of a nano-patch antenna based on a Graphene Nanoribbon (GNR) with similar dimensions. The results show that for a maximum antenna size in the order of several hundred nanometers (the expected maximum size for a nano-device), both a nano-dipole and a nano-patch antenna will be able to radiate electromagnetic waves in the terahertz band (0.1–10.0 THz).

Three metamaterial-based gap waveguides between parallel metal plates for mm/submm waves

Abstract: This paper presents the basic ideas of how local waveguides and transmission lines can be designed to propagate along desired paths in the air gap between two metal surfaces. The principle of operation is related to the performance of artificial magnetic conductors, EBG surfaces and soft and hard surfaces. Three different major types of gap waveguides are described: ridge gap waveguides, microstrip gap lines and groove gap waveguides. Different realizations of the cut-off structures suppressing normal parallel plate modes are described, as well as expected applications, and possible problem areas preferably seen as research challenges.

Antennas and propagation for body centric communications

Abstract: Body centric wireless communication is now accepted as an important part of 4th generation (and beyond) mobile communications systems, taking the form of human to human networking incorporating wearable sensors and communications. There are also a number of body centric communication systems for specialized occupations, such as paramedics and fire-fighters, military personnel and medical sensing and support. To support these developments there is considerable ongoing research into antennas and propagation for body centric communications systems, and this paper will summarise some of it, including the characterisation of the channel on the body, the optimisation of antennas for these channels, and communications to medical implants where advanced antenna design and characterisation and modelling of the internal body channel are important research needs. In all of these areas both measurement and simulation pose very different and challenging issues to be faced by the researcher.

Inkjet Printing of Ultrawideband (UWB) Antennas on Paper-Based Substrates

Abstract: For the first time, we demonstrate the feasibility of realizing ultra-wideband antennas through ink-jetting of conductive inks on commercially available paper sheets (paper as an RF substrate). The characterization of the conductive ink as well as of the electrical properties of the paper substrate is reported for frequencies up to 10GHz. This work is one step further towards the development of low-cost environmentfriendly conformal printed antennas/electronics for ad-hoc wireless sensor networks operating in rugged environments.