Open Access
Radiative cooling properties of portlandite and tobermorite: two cementitious minerals of great relevance in concrete science and technology
(American Chemical Society, 2023-06-23) Dolado, Jorge S.; Goracci, Guido; Arrese-Igor, Silvia; Ayuela, Andrés; Torres Betancourt, Angie Tatiana; Liberal Olleta, Íñigo; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Gaitero, Juan J.; Cagnoni, Matteo; Cappelluti, Federica; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Although concrete and cement-based materials are the most engineered materials employed by mankind, their potential for use in daytime radiative cooling applications has yet to be fully explored. Due to its complex structure, which is composed of multiple phases and textural details, fine-tuning of concrete is impossible without first analyzing its most important ingredients. Here, the radiative cooling properties of Portlandite (Ca(OH)2) and Tobermorite (Ca5Si6O16(OH)2·4H2O) are studied due to their crucial relevance in cement and concrete science and technology. Our findings demonstrate that, in contrast to concrete (which is a strong infrared emitter but a poor sun reflector), both Portlandite and Tobermorite exhibit good radiative cooling capabilities. These results provide solid evidence that, with the correct optimization of composition and porosity, concrete can be transformed into a material suitable for daytime radiative cooling.
Open Access
Wideband circularly-polarized gap waveguide-based antenna design
(IEEE, 2025-03-12) Leoz-Beltrán, Iñigo; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Pérez Quintana, Dayan; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
This paper presents the design of an all-metal antenna based on Gap Waveguide technology. The antenna, which is realized using a Ridge Gap Waveguide, consists of just two layers, maintaining a compact size. The first layer is made up of two perpendicularly placed arms, which comprise the feeding, and the second layer hosts a diamond shaped slot and a horn, which comprise the radiator. Simulations show that the design achieves a remarkable bandwidth equivalent to the 31.43% of the central frequency in terms of both S11 parameter, being below -10 dB, and Axial Ratio, being below 3 dB.
Open Access
Hyperbolic lens antenna in groove gap waveguide technology at sub-millimeter waves
(IEEE, 2022) Pérez Quintana, Dayan; Biurrun Quel, Carlos; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; González-Ovejero, David; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
In this paper, a flat hyperbolic lens antenna using Groove Gap Waveguide (GGW) technology is designed at 300 GHz. A GGW horn antenna is used to feed the metamaterial lens placed in a parallel plate waveguide (PPW), in order to increase the directivity in the direction of propagation. The combination of both devices, the metalens and the GGW antenna, achieves excellent radiation performance.
Open Access
Experimental demonstration of deeply subwavelength dielectric sensing with epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) waveguides
(American Institute of Physics, 2022) Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Engheta, Nader; Pacheco-Peña, Víctor; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
In this Letter, an all metallic sensor based on ε-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials is studied both numerically and experimentally when working at microwave frequencies. To emulate an ENZ medium, a sensor is made by using a narrow hollow rectangular waveguide, working near the cutoff frequency of its fundamental TE 10 mode. The performance of the sensor is systematically evaluated by placing subwavelength dielectric analytes (with different sizes and relative permittivities) within the ENZ waveguide and moving them along the propagation and transversal axes. It is experimentally demonstrated how this ENZ sensor is able to detect deeply subwavelength dielectric bodies of sizes up to 0.04λ and height 5 × 10 −3 λ with high sensitivities (and the figure of merit) up to 0.05 1/RIU (∼0.6 1/GHz) and 0.6 1/RIU when considering the sensor working as a frequency- or amplitude-shift-based device, respectively.
Open Access
Full-space metasurface at millimeter-wave frequencies
(IEEE, 2023) Ruiz Fernández de Arcaya, María; Marzo Pérez, Asier; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Conventional metasurfaces provide control over the electromagnetic waves in a single working frequency operating either in transmission or reflection. Full-Space Metasurfaces (FSM) are an extension that allows operation at two different frequencies with independent functionalities in transmission and reflection. This paper presents a gradient index FSM device based on a 3-layered unit cell where the phase modulation is implemented following the Pancharatman-Berry (PB) principle. The device is designed to operate at millimeter waves, with the lowest frequency operating in reflection and the highest one in transmission. To check the structure performance, a metasurface was designed to provide beam steering in reflection at 49.4 GHz and an amplitude image hologram in transmission at 104 GHz.
Open Access
Exploring strategies for performance enhancement in micro-LEDs: a synoptic review of III-V semiconductor technology
(Wiley, 2024-12-26) Mouloua, Driss; Martin, Michael; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Jany, Christophe; Hassan, Karim; Baron, Thierry; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
III-V semiconductors, known for their optoelectronic properties and versatile engineering capabilities, play a crucial role in the fabrication of Micro light-emitting diodes (Micro-LEDs). Recent advances in research underscore that the optoelectronic performance of Micro-LEDs can be significantly enhanced using various strategies, such as passivation and distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs), the incorporation of metamaterials and plasmonics, and the integration of 2D materials. By implementing these diverse integration strategies, Micro-LEDs based on III-V semiconductors have demonstrated remarkably high External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) spanning orders of magnitude across the spectrum, from deep-ultraviolet (DUV) to the long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) regions. In this review, the main III-V semiconductors used in Micro-LEDs are discussed. Additionally, an overview of the fabrication processes and integration techniques relevant to Micro-LED-based technologies is provided. Furthermore, the factors that influence the figure of merit in a wide range of Micro-LEDs based on III-V semiconductors, taking into account quantum efficiency, emission wavelength, and electrical injection, are examined. Finally, the discussion highlights several applications of Micro-LEDs, provides a summary, and outlines future directions for the development of Micro-LEDs based on III-V semiconductors.
Open Access
Nanoparticle derived suppressed-scattering bands for radiative cooling
(IEEE, 2023) Lezaun Capdevila, Carlos; Pérez Escudero, José Manuel; Torres García, Alicia E.; Caggiano, Antonio; Peralta, Ignacio; Dolado, Jorge S.; Liberal Olleta, Íñigo; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Light scattering using resonant nanoparticles is crucial for improving sun irradiance reflection in a daytime radiative cooler. Popular nanoparticles in radiative cooling literature are analyzed in terms of scattering performance due to material dispersion. Different scattering properties in the infrared range have been detected while a similar behavior can be achieved in the solar range due to changes in material dispersion. Also, suppressed scattering windows are produced by dispersive nanoparticles, allowing high reflectance while enabling thermal emission selectively. Material dispersion alone produces such scattering windows, thus, given a material, they will always remain in the same region regardless geometry and location of particles. Lastly, calcium silicate hydrate (CSH), the main phase of concrete, is studied as a dispersive host example. These results demonstrate the importance of a co-design between host and nanoparticles dispersion for daytime radiative cooling and that nanoporosities design are a key ingredient that could allow concrete-based daytime radiative coolers.
Open Access
Flat lens antenna using gap waveguide technology at millimeter waves
(IEEE, 2021) Pérez Quintana, Dayan; Bilitos, Christos; Ruiz-García, Jorge; González-Ovejero, David; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
In this paper, a flat lens antenna using Gap Waveguide (GW) technology working in the millimeter waves band was designed. The metamaterial lens is fed using a Groove Gap Waveguide (GGW) horn antenna in order to achieve a plane wavefront at broadside. Both devices, metalens and GGW antenna achieve excellent radiation results when combined together. Due to metallic composition, the structure presents more robustness, low loss, and adaptability to a flat surface, able to be used in millimeter wave application.
Open Access
Highly efficient focusing of terahertz waves with an ultrathin superoscillatory metalens: experimental demonstration
(Wiley, 2021-05-06) Legaria Lerga, Santiago; Teniente Vallinas, Jorge; Kuznetsov, Sergei A.; Pacheco-Peña, Víctor; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The performance of an ultrathin (thickness < 0.04λ 0) metasurface superoscillatory lens (metaSOL) is experimentally demonstrated in the terahertz (THz) range. The metaSOL is designed using two different hexagonal unit cells to improve the efficiency and properties of the conventional transparent–opaque zoning approach. The focusing metastructure produces, at a frequency f exp = 295 GHz, a sharp focal spot 8.9λ exp away from its output surface with a transversal resolution of 0.52λ exp (≈25% below the resolution limit imposed by diffraction), a power enhancement of 18.2 dB, and very low side lobe level (−13 dB). Resolution below the diffraction limit is demonstrated in a broad fractional operation bandwidth of 18%. The focusing capabilities of the proposed metaSOL show its potential use in a range of applications such as THz imaging, microscopy, and communications.
Open Access
Design of multi-layered radiative cooling structures using evolutionary algorithms
(IEEE, 2022) Lezaun Capdevila, Carlos; Jorajuria Gómez, Tania; Torres García, Alicia E.; Herrera, Pilar; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
In this work we present a novel way to design thinfilm radiative cooling metamaterials based on genetic algorithms. Three simulations with different design constraints have been done, resulting in three structures that achieve 39.96 W/m2 , 57.78 W/m2 and 61.77 W/m2 under direct sunlight, respectively. These structures are shorter than 5 µm of height and are composed of 9, 15 and 24 layers. This design method has the advantages of being automatable, needs fewer design experience in metamaterials and does not rely on commercial simulators. This work opens the path to an easy way of automated design of thin-film multi-layered devices for radiative cooling and other applications in the infrared range.