From the prevention of natural disasters such as landslide and avalanches, to the enhancement of energy efficiencies in chemical and civil engineering industries, understanding the collective dynamics of granular materials is a fundamental question that are closely related to our daily lives. Using a recently developed multi-static radar system operating at 10 GHz (X-band), we explore the possibility of tracking a projectile moving inside a granular medium, focusing on possible sources of uncertainties in the detection and reconstruction processes. On the one hand, particle tracking with continuous-wave radar provides an extremely high temporal resolution. On the other hand, there are still challenges in obtaining tracer trajectories accurately. We show that some of the challenges can be resolved through a correction of the IQ mismatch in the raw signals obtained. Consequently, the tracer trajectories can be obtained with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. Such an advance can not only shed light on radar particle tracking, but also on a wide range of scenarios where issues relevant to IQ mismatch arise.

A four-way suspended-stripline power divider is presented in this letter. The power dividing network is designed by using the suspended stripline, while the isolation network is designed by using the microstrip line. The vias are used to connect the power dividing network and the isolation network. The even- and odd-mode analysis method is applied to design the presented power divider. The simulated and measured results of the presented power divider show reasonable agreement with each other. The measured input return loss in the band is greater than 28 dB (7.92 to 9.53 GHz), while the measured insertion loss is less than 0.37 dB. The measured output return loss is greater than 20 dB from 7.82 to 9.86 GHz. Besides, the measured output isolation is greater than 20 dB.

In this work, a new reconfigurable discrete 1D beam-steering Fabry–Perot cavity antenna with enhanced radiation performance is presented. It consists of a probe-fed patch antenna printed on the ground plane and a reconfigurable metasurface acting as the upper partially reflective surface to realize beam steering. By utilizing 6 × 6 proposed reconfigurable unit cells on the superstrate, the beam-steering angle can be effectively enhanced from ±7° to ±17° with fewer active elements and a much simpler biasing network. The proposed antenna was fabricated to validate the feasibility. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is achieved. Moreover, the measured realized gains are over 11 dBi with a gain variation from the boresight direction to the tilted direction <0.2 dBi.

This paper proposes a differential sensor based on a pair of open split ring resonators (OSRR) operating in reflection. The output signal is thus the differential reflection coefficient of both resonators, intimately related to their dielectric loading. Thus, for identical loads in both sensing resonators, the individual reflection coefficients are equal, thereby providing an ideally null output signal. By contrast, when unequal dielectric loads truncate the symmetry, the reflection coefficients are different, resulting in a differential output signal related to the level of asymmetry. In order to ease the measurement of the output signal, a rat-race hybrid coupler is used. The OSRR sensing loads are connected to the coupled ports of the hybrid coupler, whereas the input signal is injected to the Δ-port, and the output signal is collected at the isolated port (Σ-port). By this means, the output signal, i.e. the differential reflection coefficient between both sensing loads, is obtained from the transmission coefficient of a simple two-port structure. For experimental validation purposes, the sensor is applied to the measurement of isopropanol content in aqueous solutions, and for that purpose, the sensitive regions are equipped with microfluidic channels.

In this paper, a new reconfigurable microstrip fractal ultra-wideband antenna with a capability of variable rejection frequency bands is presented. The main patch of this antenna has two modified C-shaped gaps. Also, on these c-shaped gaps, 10 ideal MEMS switches are used to produce band-notch frequencies at six different frequencies of: 5.4 GHz (5.2–5.5), 5.8 GHz (5.7–5.9), 6.1 GHz (5.9–6.3), 7 GHz (6.9–7.2), 7.9 GHz (7.7–8.1), and 8.4 GHz (8.2–8.6). This antenna is fed by a 50 Ω microstrip line and works in a wide bandwidth of 2.9–11 GHz. The antenna is designed and fabricated on an inexpensive substrate of FR4. Dimensions of the antenna are 31.2 × 38.4 mm. Measurement and simulation results are in good agreement.

This paper presents compact rectenna arrays for ambient RF energy harvesting on the 2.45 GHz ISM band. The arrays are based on four and nine series-connected rectenna cells. Each cell is composed of a stacked fractal antenna and an RF-to-dc conversion circuit. The antenna is a compact third Koch fractal shape, fed by a coaxial probe for more compactness. The conversion circuit is a full-wave rectifier with a differential output, each DC polarity is provided by a two-stage Dickson voltage multiplier. Measurement results show a significant increase of the output DC voltage for the one, four, and nine cells rectenna arrays. They provide, for power density of 1.7 μW/cm2, an output DC voltage of 0.9, 2.2, and 4.1 Volts, respectively. The 9 cells rectenna array is used in a remote supply experiment of a temperature and acceleration wireless sensor, where the data are transmitted via a Bluetooth low energy link to a distant smartphone every 1 min.

Each of the various methods for mixed-mode load-pull measurements, which can be found in literature, has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this publication, we analyze two of the most commonly used setups and a third setup of which we provided an initial treatment in a previous publication. We investigated the impact of 180° hybrids on the tuning capabilities of a mixed-mode load-pull system. Furthermore, we provide a rule-of-thumb to easily estimate this impact using only some specifications of hybrids. For all analyzed setups, we use measurement results to show that the tuning range of the newly proposed setup is superior compared to the other setups, though hardware effort and tuning complexity are greater.

The surface impedance characteristics of a wire grid composed of infinitely long parallel conducting wires embedded in lossless and lossy frequency-dispersive chiral background media have been investigated. Using wavefield decomposition approach for a chiral background and with the application of impedance boundary conditions for a wire grid, an analytic expression for the surface impedance of a wire grid with a chiral background has been derived. It is shown that the surface impedance magnitude of a wire grid with chiral nihility background is close to zero and almost independent of incident polar angles. A strong chiral background significantly enhances the surface impedance magnitude of a wire grid for incident polar angles closer to right angle as compared to the free space background. The same electromagnetic appearance of a wire grid with frequency-dispersive chiral and free space background media at some critical frequency has also been discussed which may find applications in electromagnetic illusions. It is also shown that if the value of incident polar angles are closer to right angle then the impedance magnitude of a wire grid embedded in the realistic chiral background is smaller as compared to the same wire grid when placed in the free space background.

In this paper, two asymmetric co-planar waveguide (ACPW) fed circularly polarized (CP) zeroth-order resonance (ZOR) antennas (Antenna I and II) are presented using a composite right and left-handed transmission line (CRLH-TL) approach. By adding a stub on the left side of the ACPW ground and adjusting its length, circularly polarization property has been achieved in Antenna I. The simulated 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of Antenna I is 1750 MHz (3.50–5.25 GHz). Next, the left side ground plane of Antenna I is further defected by etching a quarter wavelength slit to introduce a notch band (Antenna II). Antenna II has an extended 10 dB return loss bandwidth of 2200 MHz (3.28–5.48 GHz) with a band notch from 4.18–4.65 GHz that isolates the WiMAX and 5.2 GHz WLAN bands. ARBWs of 1080 and 870 MHz are achieved in the first and second band of Antenna II. The overlapping 3 dB ARBW and 10 dB return loss bandwidths of Antenna II in these two bands are 770 and 830 MHz, respectively.

This paper presents the integration and channel characterization of a highly integrated dual-band digital beamforming space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) receiver. The proposed SAR sensor is a low-cost, lightweight, low-power consumption, and dual-band (X/Ka) dual-polarized module ready for the next-generation space-borne SAR missions. In previous works, by the authors, the design and experimental characterization of each sub-system was already presented and discussed. This work expands upon the previous characterization by providing an exhaustive experimental assessment of the fully integrated system. As it will be shown, the proposed tests were used to validate all the instrument channels in a set-up where the SAR sensor was illuminated by an external source minim the ground reflected waves. Test results demonstrate how the system channels are properly operating allowing the reception of the input signals and their processing in the digital domain. The possibility to easily implement a calibration procedure has also been validated to equalize, in the digital domain, the unavoidable amplitude differences between the different channels.

This paper presents a two-elements based, dual polarized, single layer, patch antenna array with improved isolation between transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) ports for 2.4 GHz in-band full duplex (IBFD) or simultaneous transmit and receive wireless applications. The differential feeding deployed at the Rx port effectively suppresses the coupling which is termed as self-interference from the Tx port to achieve high Tx–Rx interport isolation. A simple 3 dB/180° ring hybrid coupler with nice amplitude and phase balance characteristics has been used for differential Rx operation. The mathematical description for a differential feeding based self-interference cancellation mechanism is also presented for the proposed dual polarized IBFD antenna array. The measurement results for the implemented prototype of the antenna array demonstrate very nice levels of Tx–Rx interport isolation. The implemented single layer, compact antenna array presents 10 dB return-loss bandwidth of more than 50 MHz for both Tx and Rx ports. The prototype achieves >80 dB peak interport isolation and 75 dB (65 dB) isolation in 20 MHz (50 MHz) bandwidth.

Airbus Italia recently developed enhanced passive components as key elements for its telecommunication Ku-band antenna product lines, tailored to reconfigurable payloads. This paper describes the design and qualification of a dual linear polarization Ku-band-radiating chain, developed for the DRA receive (Rx) active antennas embarked on the Eutelsat Quantum satellite. The feed chain covers the entire Ku-band frequency range allocated for fixed satellite services providing receive functionality and embedding sharp rejection features over the adjacent transmit band. The proposed design provides high radiation efficiency (>90%) and polarization purity (XPD > 33 dB), together with low RF losses and flat group-delay variation over a 13% fractional bandwidth, keeping a compact size and reduced axial length. The unit has been optimized for high reproducibility in high volume productions, typical of large DRA applications, for which stringent mass and dimensional constraints, as well as excellent amplitude and phase tracking among similar units, are key features. Details of the feed chain design and an overview of RF and environmental qualification test results are presented.

A novel waveguide resonator is proposed in the paper. The resonator is composed of three rectangular partial-height posts inserted along a rectangular waveguide cross-section. A pair of lateral posts is mounted symmetrically whereas the third antipodal post is centered. The resonator enables bandreject, singlet-type, and pseudoelliptic responses. The operating regimes are achieved by a manipulation with the pair of lateral posts, namely by changing their heights or their locations in a waveguide cross-section. A filtering function is realized as the third mode is exploited as the resonant one. Measurement data are presented for WR90 waveguide. An explanation of the resonant phenomena in post-based sections in terms of eigen regimes and interacting oscillations is proposed.

The goal of this study is to analyze the specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution of the projected 5G frequencies below 6 GHz and at Wi-Fi frequency (2.45 GHz) on a human head, for eyewear device applications. Two separate tri-band printed dipole antennas for this purpose are designed and fabricated at operating frequencies of 2.45/3.8/6 GHz for prototype-1 and at operating frequencies of 2.45/3.6/4.56 GHz for prototype-2. In order to obtain the desired frequencies: first, the prototypes of the proposed antennas are fine-tuned via Computer Simulation Technology Microwave Studio (CST) and then fabricated on the FR4 layer. The reflection coefficient (S11) is tested and the simulation results are confirmed. In order to analyze the effect of wearing a pair of glasses' frame including a tri-band 5G antenna, a frame is designed and produced via 3D printer with polylactic acid material which has high dielectric constant (ɛr = 8.1). The SAR results of the proposed antennas have been examined for the cases where the antenna is embedded in the frame and is used alone. Both cases were analyzed by using the homogeneous specific anthropomorphic mannequin and the heterogeneous visible human head phantoms and the results have been evaluated in terms of SAR10 g values.

In this work, the scattering characteristics of 3D-printed samples are being investigated by using a single-polarized and a cross-polarized radar system. The 3D-printed technology participates in a wide range of applications nowadays. The idea of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been utilized to investigate the reflected electromagnetic energy from the 3D-printed samples by setting each of the radar systems in a fixed position and the mounting sample on an x-y positioning table which has been used to achieve rectangular-scan mode for SAR. The data have been ported and processed by the matched filter approach. For better image interpretation, the data have been further processed by the median filter in order to reduce noise level while preserving the main image details. Afterwards, the data have been further investigated for determining and classifying any possible defects. This process has been accomplished by deploying the unsupervised learning concept to cluster the SAR responses into two groups, compromising the defected positions responses and the non-defected responses. The obtained results of both radar sensors have been compared and evaluated using different quality assessment factors. Moreover, unsupervised learning techniques have been investigated and the obtained results show a high degree of efficiency in clustering the SAR responses.

The present work describes a unique planar low-profile wideband circularly polarized Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna operating in the X-band, with pattern and polarization diversity over the entire axial-ratio bandwidth (ARBW). The design is unique in the sense that a simple grounded stub introduced between two linearly polarized monopole antennas has been used to realize wideband circular polarization, pattern diversity, and high isolation between antennas. The ARBW of the MIMO antenna is 2.45 GHz (8.11–10.56) 3 dB and its impedance matching bandwidth is 3.52 GHz (8.07–11.59). The isolation is better than 20 dB. The antenna can be easily adapted to operate other frequency bands by simple frequency scaling. It has been fabricated on an FR-4 substrate and its performance has been compared against several existing available antennas.

A magnetic dipole quasi-Yagi antenna based on a dielectric resonator (DR) is proposed in this letter. The dominate TE1δ1 mode of the rectangular DR is used as a magnetic dipole which can be differentially fed by the coplanar strip line (CPS). Thanks to the DR employment, the proposed antenna has several advantages such as compact size and flexible design which means the 3-D dimensions of the DR can be easily adjusted to cater for various applications. Meanwhile, the gain of the proposed DR quasi-Yagi antenna is higher than that of traditional electric dipole counterparts. Furthermore, since the DR driver is horizontally polarized, both the metal strip and DR can be used as a director for enhancing the end-fire gain. To verify the design concept, a prototype operating at the X-band is fabricated and measured. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results can be observed.

Spatial telemetry links on nanosatellites require more and more reconfigurable beam antennas to improve the Earth coverage. The bi-mode Agile Radiating Matrix Antenna (8.0–8.4 GHz) was successfully designed to solve such kind of problems by using an isoflux mode associated with a switchable directive one. However, such an antenna introduces some manufacturing problems for the isoflux mode, mainly due to the small available volume on the nanosatellite platform. This paper describes a solution to this problem thanks to the ARMA concept. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results for the isoflux mode in circular polarization is presented to validate the results.

Electromagnetic scattering from the sea surface is of great significance in radar detection, target recognition, ocean remote sensing, etc. By introducing the action spectrum, the modified spatio-temporal variation wave spectrum is used to establish a nonlinear sea surface with currents in this paper. Traditional capillary wave modification facet scattering model (CWMFSM) can only calculate the backscattering from the wind-driven sea surface. By using the new spatio-temporal variation wave spectrum to modify the scattering amplitude of every facet, the new CWMFSM can be used to calculate the nonlinear sea surface scattering with surface currents. Therefore, the model simultaneously considers the modulation of sea surface wind and currents to the radar back echo. The dependence of backscattering coefficient from nonlinear sea surface on the incident angle and the polarization are discussed. The results verify that the nonlinear model is more consistent with the measurement data. This paper also investigates the Doppler spectrum characteristics of the sea with currents. It is found that the effect of wave–current interaction on Doppler spectra is weaker than that of wave–wave interaction. The SAR images of nonlinear sea surfaces are also simulated and different bands, polarizations, and baseline length effects on sea current detection performance of along-track interference SAR are analyzed.

In this paper, a novel compact dual-band microstrip patch antenna with dual-radiation modes is investigated. The proposed antenna consists of a rectangular ground plane, a U-shaped feed probe, and an H-shaped slot radiating patch. By adjusting the size of these structures, a dual-band antenna can be obtained. In the low-frequency band, the antenna can radiate one radiation beam with high gain. In the high-frequency band, the antenna can achieve monopole-like radiation pattern. Therefore, an antenna prototype is fabricated and measured for validation. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is observed in this paper. The antenna's operating frequency ranges are 3.6–3.85 GHz in the low-frequency band and 5.1–6.1 GHz in the high-frequency band with the reflection coefficient less than −10 dB. At 3.7 GHz, the antenna radiate one beam with 8.8 dBi realized gain. At 5.5 GHz, it exhibits dual-radiation beams directed to −48 and 48° with 5.6 and 5.5 dBi realized gain in the xoz-plane and −48 and 48° with 2.9 and 3.0 dBi realized gain in the yoz-plane. Therefore, the proposed antenna is a good candidate for wireless communication systems.