The biocompatibility of millimeter-wave devices and systems is an important issue due to the wide number of emerging body-centric wireless applications at millimeter waves. This review article provides the state of knowledge in this field and mainly focuses on recent results and advances related to the different aspects of millimeter-wave interactions with the human body. Electromagnetic, thermal, and biological aspects are considered and analyzed for exposures in the 30-100 GHz range with a particular emphasis on the 60-GHz band. Recently introduced dosimetric techniques and specific instrumentation for bioelectromagnetic laboratory studies are also presented. Finally, future trends are discussed.

The popularity of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is increasing. Therefore, the importance of security systems able to detect and classify them is increasing as well. In this paper, we propose a new approach for UAVs classification using continuous wave radar or high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) pulse radars. We consider all steps of processing required to make a decision out of the raw radar data. Before the classification, the micro-Doppler signature is filtered and aligned to compensate the Doppler shift caused by the target's body motion. Then, classification features are extracted from the micro-Doppler signature in order to represent information about class at a lower dimension space. Eigenpairs extracted from the correlation matrix of the signature are used as informative features for classification. The proposed approach is verified on real radar measurements collected with X-band radar. Planes, quadrocopter, helicopters, and stationary rotors as well as birds are considered for classification. Moreover, a possibility of distinguishing different number of rotors is considered. The obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. It provides the capability of correct classification with a probability of around 92%.

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna is at core of the presently available wireless technologies. The design of MIMO antennas over a limited space requires various approaches of mutual coupling reduction, otherwise gain, efficiency, diversity gain, and radiation patterns will be severely affected. Various techniques have been reported in literature to control this degrading factor and to improve the performance of the MIMO antennas. In this review paper, we have carried out an extensive thorough investigation of diversity and mutual coupling (correlation) reduction techniques in compact MIMO antennas.

In the present paper we review the most recent degradation modes and mechanisms recently observed in AlGaN/GaN (Aluminum Gallium Nitride/Gallium Nitride). High Electron-Mobility Transistors (HEMTs), as resulting from a detailed accelerated testing campaign, based on reverse bias tests and DC accelerated life tests at various temperatures. Despite the large efforts spent in the last few years, and the progress in mean time to failure values, reliability of GaN HEMTs, and millimeter microwave integrated circuits still represent a relevant issue for the market penetration of these devices. The role of temperature in promoting GaN HEMT failure is controversial, and the accelerating degradation factors are largely unknown. The present paper proposes a methodology for the analysis of failure modes and mechanisms of GaN HEMTs, based on (i) DC and RF stress tests accompanied by an (ii) extensive characterization of traps using deep level transient spectroscopy and pulsed measurements, (iii) detailed analysis of electrical characteristics, and (iv) comparison with two-dimensional device simulations. Results of failure analysis using various microscopy and spectroscopy techniques are presented and failure mechanisms observed at the high electric field values typical of the operation of these devices are reviewed.

The correlation coefficient (ρ) is an important metric for the evaluation of multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems because it describes the relationship between the channels in a particular propagation environment. Highly correlated channels will degrade the MIMO system performance. Various methods to calculate ρ are analyzed in this work using three different types of antennas with different efficiencies and radiating properties. While the field-based method for finding ρ gives the most accurate results and should be used all the time. It is independent of antenna efficiency. The the S-parameter-based method might give reasonable results only when the antenna efficiency is very high and the patterns are separated in space, but in most cases, it underestimates ρ values and thus is not a reliable method and should be avoided. Incorporating the antenna efficiency can improve the ρ estimates using the S-parameters method under some specific conditions. The equivalent circuit method provides reasonable results for symmetric antenna structures only, and is the most complex in formulation. As part of the evaluation, two existing methods incorporating the radiation efficiency of the antennas are generalized to N-ports for the first time. Although less accurate than the field-based method, these extensions allow the evaluation of ρ for N-port antennas using only the radiation efficiency and the S-parameters of the antenna. The effect of the beam tilts on ρ estimation is investigated for the first time.

This paper presents a study of losses in substrate-integrated waveguides (SIWs) and cavities. Three mechanisms of losses are considered and separately investigated, namely radiation leakage, ohmic loss, and dielectric loss. A systematic comparison of waveguides with different geometry, operating at different frequencies, is reported. This study permits to give a physical interpretation of the loss mechanisms and to identify design criteria to minimize losses. A similar analysis is also developed in this work for the case of SIW resonant cavities. For these structures, a different variation of losses with respect to frequency is found, which reduces the effectiveness of the design criteria established for SIWs.

A novel concept of using fractal antenna with metamaterial and slot to achieve multiband operation is investigated. The antenna consists of an L-shaped slot, Sierpinski triangle (used as fractal) as the radiating part and metamaterial circular split ring resonator (SRR) as the ground plane. The introduction of metamaterial in the ground plane makes the antenna operate at 3.3 GHz (middle WiMAX). The etching of Sierpinski triangle and L-shaped slot in the radiating monopole perturbs the surface current distribution; thereby increasing the total current path length which tends the antenna to further operate at 5.5 (upper WiMAX), 7.3 (satellite TV) and 9.9 GHz (X-band), respectively. The extraction of medium parameter of a circular SRR through waveguide medium is discussed in detail. The antenna has a compact dimension of 0.33λ0 × 0.27λ0 × 0.01λ0 = 30 mm × 24.8 mm × 1.6 mm, at a lower frequency of 3.3 GHz. Under simulation, antenna operates at 3.3, 5.5, 7.3 and 9.9 GHz with S11 < −10 dB bandwidth of about 5.9% (3.24–3.44 GHz), 5.6% (5.31–5.62 GHz), 7.3% (6.99–7.52 GHz) and 3.02% (9.78–10.08 GHz), respectively. In measurement, antenna exhibit resonances at 3.1, 5.52, 7.31, 9.72 GHz with S11 < −10 dB bandwidth of about 3.5% (3.04–3.15 GHz), 5.01% (5.44–5.72 GHz), 13.2% (6.76–7.72 GHz) and 5.77% (9.42–9.98 GHz), respectively. Good impedance matching and stable radiation characteristics are observed across the operational bandwidth of the proposed configuration.

Different configurations of leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) based on graphene metasurfaces are studied. The electronic properties of a graphene metasurface in the low THz range are investigated in details in order to discuss the reconfigurability features of the presented structures. Simple exact formulas for evaluating the ohmic losses related to the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation along a suspended graphene sheet, and the relevant figures of merit of SPP propagating over a generic metasurface are given. Such formulas allow us to explain the low efficiency of reconfigurable antennas based on SPPs along graphene metasurfaces. Then, the radiative performance and relevant losses of graphene Fabry–Perot cavity antennas (FPCAs) based on non-plasmonic leaky waves (LWs) are investigated and compared with previous solutions based on SPPs. In particular, a single-layer structure, i.e. a grounded dielectric slab covered with a graphene metasurface, and a multilayered structure, i.e. a substrate–superstrate antenna in which the graphene metasurface is embedded at a suitable position within the substrate, are considered in detail. The results show that the proposed LW solutions in graphene FPCAs allow for considerably reducing the ohmic losses, thus significantly improving the efficiency of the proposed radiators.

A new planar multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna for ultra wideband (UWB) applications is presented. The proposed antenna operates over the frequency band from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and it consists of two identical circular monopoles on an FR4 substrate. The wide isolation is achieved through a novel planar decoupling structure that is being inserted between the dual antennas. Moreover, a center slot is etched on the common ground to further increase isolation. The effectiveness of the decoupling structure is analyzed, and performance study has been performed to investigate the mutual coupling reduction. A good isolation of more than 31 dB has been achieved through the entire UWB band (more than 12 dB improvement over the reference antenna). The proposed UWB antenna with and without the wideband decoupling structure has been investigated and verified both numerically and experimentally. The measurement results of the proposed UWB–MIMO antenna are in good agreement with the simulation results. The proposed UWB antenna has been compared with previous works regarding antenna size, geometric complexity, bandwidth, and isolation level. The proposed antenna has some outstanding characteristics such as a geometric simplicity, compact size, broad bandwidth, and low correlation which give the antenna an excellent diversity performance and a good candidate for UWB applications.

The terahertz (THz) regime of the electromagnetic spectrum is rich with the emerging possibilities in imaging applications with unique characteristics to screening for weapons, explosives and bio-hazards, imaging of concealed objects, water content, and skin, and these advantages can be harnessed by using the effective THz sources and detectors. In THz imaging systems, the pulsed THz sources and detectors find unique applications and thus we have emphasized on re-visiting these kinds of systems. Several novel imaging techniques which exploit the distinctive properties of the THz systems have been presented. Moreover, the THz antenna is one of the most important components of a THz imaging system as it plays a significant role in both impedance matching and power source. Therefore, the recent developments in THz antenna design for imaging applications are reviewed and the potential challenges of such THz systems are investigated. The photoconductive antennas form the basis of many THz imaging and spectroscopy systems and finds promising applications in various scientific fields. However, for the imaging applications, there is a requirement of planar and compact THz antenna sources with on-chip fabrication and high directivity in order to achieve large depth-of-field for better image resolution. Therefore, the key modalities of improving photoconductive dipole antennas performance are identified for imaging applications. Also, the ways to improve the directivity of the photoconductive dipole antenna are discussed. The main purpose of this review is to provide an assortment of all relevant literature to bring researchers up-to-date on the current state-of-the-art and potential challenges of THz antenna technology for imaging applications.

Millimeter-wave wireless space-division-multiplexing signals were discriminated by a newly developed electro-optic modulator using an array of antenna-coupled electrodes and polarization-reversed structures of ferroelectric optical crystals. Discrimination with channel isolation over 13 dB was obtained for two 38 GHz wireless signals with an irradiation angle difference of 15° by use of a fabricated device 30 mm in length.

A design of low mutual coupling between two microstrip patch antennas for multi input multi output antenna is presented. The two antenna elements operate at 5.8 GHz for wireless applications. The reduction of mutual coupling between the antenna elements is achieved by using a defected ground structure (DGS). The DGS is inserted between the microstrip patch antenna elements to limit the surface waves between them. The separation between the edges of the two elements has been achieved to be only 0.058λ0. The analysis of the correlation coefficient, diversity gain and total active reflection coefficient is presented to validate the performance of the multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna. The isolation of the proposed MIMO antenna is 28 dB at 5.8 GHz and the envelope correlation equals 0.003. Owing to these good performances each antenna can operate almost independently. A good agreement is achieved between the simulated and the measured results.

This paper presents a low-profile multi-slotted patch antenna for long term evolution (LTE) and fifth-generation (5G) communication applications. The studied antenna comprised of a stepped patch and a ground plane. To attain the required operating band, three slots have been inserted within the patch. The insertion of the slots enhances the capacitive effect and helps the prototype antenna to achieve an operating band ranging from 3.15 to 5.55 GHz (S11 ≤−10 dB), covering the N77/N78/N79 for sub-6 GHz 5G wireless communications and LTE bands of 22/42/43/46. The wideband antenna presented in this paper offers omnidirectional stable radiation patterns, good gains, and efficiency with a compact size which make this design an ideal contender for wireless fidelity (WiFi), wireless local area network (WLAN), LTE, and sub-6 GHz 5G communication applications.

Fifth generation (5G) is the current hot topic of the world's leading telecommunication companies. The compact designs of antennas made it possible for them to resonate at higher frequencies, thus to enable the devices to attain higher data rate as compared to 4G technology. Data rate of 5G technology for low mobility users is expected to be 50.0 Gbps and for high mobility users it is 5.0 Gbps. On the other hand, International telecommunication union's objective for 5G is 3 times more spectrally efficient thanlong-term evolution (LTE). The paper has carried out meticulous study over the impact of 5G antennas on the size of antenna, size/type of substrate, gain, efficiency, and isolation, etc. Also, different arrays andmultiple input multiple outputs (MIMOs) with patch antenna, magneto electric-dipole, microstrip grid array antenna, folded dipole, series-fed array, connected antenna array, MIMO are studied. The paper also includes the existing technology i.e 4G LTE and their isolation enhancement approaches. Many of the designs used the reflector plates to reduce the back lobe radiation problem in MIMO/array antennas to increase front-to-back ratio. The gain in 5G antennas can be increased by using balun, parasitic element as directors, multiple notch structures, three identical slot sub-arrays, etc. Mathematical equations of multi-element/port antennas are included to model the designed antennas. The beam steering is also included for the 5G technology in this paper.

Directional modulation (DM) is an emerging technology for securing wireless communications at the physical layer. This promising technology, unlike the conventional key-based cryptographic methods and the key-based physical layer security approaches, locks information signals without any requirements of keys. The locked information can only be fully recovered by the legitimate receiver(s) priory known by DM transmitters. This paper reviews the origin of the DM concept and, particularly, its development in recent years, including its mathematical model, assessment metrics, synthesis approaches, physical realizations, and finally its potential aspects for future studies.

This paper presents a close but a beginner's perspective and a comprehensive review of microstrip filters with defected ground structure (DGS). The concept of DGS is inspired by photonic/electromagnetic bandgap structures (EBG/PBG) and metamaterials that are employed in microwave components to achieve a variety of performance enhancement features. Modeling of DGS and metamaterials as an L-C equivalent lumped circuit is much simpler in comparison with complex EBGs/PBGs. In this review, we have given a detailed account of the microstrip filters using DGS.

This paper presents a hexa-band frequency reconfigurable planar antenna, printed on a 1.6 mm thicker FR 4 substrate and backed by a truncated ground plane. The given antenna operates in four different frequency modes, depending on the state of the two lumped element switches. The proposed antenna works at six frequencies, 2.10, 2.40, 3.35, 3.50, 5.28, and 5.97 GHz. These frequency bands are dedicated to useful wireless applications, including 3G Advanced (2.10 GHz), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (2.40 GHz), WiMAX (3.35 GHz), WiMAX (3.5 GHz), WLAN (5.28 GHz) and fixed-satellite and mobile satellite services (5.97 GHz). Satisfactory gain of 1.96, 2.20, 2.671, 2.81, 3.80, and 3.88 dBi, efficiency of 92.5, 94.5, 94.56, 95.0, 93.8, and 97.0% and bandwidth of 332, 485, 1020, 1080, 512, and 465 MHz has been obtained at 2.10, 2.40, 3.35, 3.50, 5.28, and 5.97 GHz, respectively. The modeling and simulations are conducted in CST MWS (2014). The simulated reflection coefficient and radiation pattern are validated in antenna measurement facility. In addition, the specific absorption rate of the antenna on a flat section of human body is also studied. The antenna is compact, low profile, and vastly suitable for multi-band wireless devices.

The article describes the IRCTR PARSAX radar system, the S-band high-resolution Doppler polarimetric frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) radar with dual-orthogonal sounding signals, which has the possibility to measure all elements of the radar target polarization scattering matrix simultaneously, in one sweep. The performance of such radar depends of the level of sounding signals orthogonality. In the main operational mode, the radar will be used for atmospheric remote sensing and polarimetric studies of ground-based targets. In such mode it will use a pair of synchronous linearly- frequency modulated (LFM) continuous signals with opposite frequency excursions of 50 MHz and duration of 1 ms. Such a combination of sounding signals has limited orthogonality even for huge BT-products, which produce cross-channel interferences. These interferences in case of radar scene with multiple pointed and distributed targets can completely degrade radar operational performance. In this article, we propose simple and effective technique to suppress interferences and to restore radar performance. The technique has been tested using simulation and has been implemented in multi-channel digital receiver of the PARSAX radar. The real radar measurements presented to illustrate effectiveness of cross-channel interferences suppression. The proposed technique can be useful not only for polarimetric radar design, but also in much wide radar applications, which use waveforms with high orthogonality.

Directional modulation (DM) is a recently introduced technique for secure wireless transmission using direct physical layer wave-front manipulation. This paper provides a bit error rate (BER)-based DM array synthesis method. It is shown for the first time that the standard constellation mappings in In-phase and Quadrature (IQ) space to a pre-specified BER can be exactly achieved along a given specified spatial direction. Different receiver capabilities are investigated and different assessment metrics for each case are discussed. The approach is validated for a 1 × 4 element dipole array operating at 1 GHz.

An engineered novel tunable dual-band metamaterial antenna based on stacked split ring resonator (SRR) array is presented. The μ-negative SRR array present at two sublayers of stacked microstrip patch antenna substrate adds tuning capability to the antenna with marginal trade-off between antenna gain and cross-polarization. If the size of resonator element is considerably smaller than resonance wavelength, ideally lesser than λ/10, the resonator would support the resonating mode of antenna. Compact SRR array embedded in radiator facilitate the antenna tuning to intended allocated spectrum of L5- and S-band frequencies without modifying external dimensions of patch antenna, which in turn helps the satellite payload design. The variations in SRR array dimensions and inter-element spacing are subsequently utilized to maintain the antenna gain and voltage-standing wave ratio. The proposed design of inset fed antenna, matched at 50 Ω, was validated by experimental results and it is suitable for global positioning satellite applications.