Open Access
Research on metamaterials for antenna applications
(2005) Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Martínez Pascual, Beatriz; Sáenz Sáinz, Elena; Cantora Álvarez, Pablo; Maagt, Peter de; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
During the last 20 years a lot of attention has been paid to apply Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) technology in different frequency ranges, from microwaves to optics. EBG technology is based on the use of periodic structures to prevent the electromagnetic propagation in certain frequency ranges, known as the bandgap [1]. In the last years the new and revolutionary field of Metamaterials is trying to be applied to similar applications. Although different, both technologies have some similitudes as it has been proven for different authors. For instance when working with EBG structures Left-Handed properties can be obtained in some frequency ranges. In this paper, research efforts focussed on applying EBG technology and the more recent Metamaterials, in particular, left-handed materials, to antenna subsystems at microwave and (sub)millimetre wave frequencies are introduced.
Open Access
Advanced feeds for mm-wave antenna systems
(Springer, 2018) Teniente Vallinas, Jorge; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
Millimeter-wave antenna systems have traditionally required high performance feeds in order to fulfill its stringent requirements. Therefore, this goal has been achieved by corrugated horns. However, in the last years new applications mainly in the communication systems have driven the use of other types of antenna feed with slightly reduced performance but simpler manufacturing at mm-wave and submm-wave frequencies with improvements in cost reduction. These advanced profiles are usually based in smooth waveguide advanced profiles. Besides, the chapter describes different feed configurations based on metamaterial structures and several examples of metamaterial based or inspired antennas are considered. Then, this chapter covers the different alternatives currently used for mm-wave antenna feed: corrugated horns, spline horns, and metamaterial horns. At the end of each section, it includes some research successful results.
Open Access
Broadband radar cross-section reduction using AMC technology
(IEEE, 2013) Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Tellechea Pereda, Amagoia; Martínez de Falcón, José Luis; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Maagt, Peter de; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of a planar broadband chessboard structure to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of an object. The chessboard like configuration is formed by combining two artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) cells. The bandwidth limitations intrinsic to AMC structures are overcome in this work by properly selecting the phase slope versus frequency of both AMC structures. 180 degrees phase difference has been obtained over more than 40% frequency bandwidth with a RCS reduction larger than 10dB. The influence of the incidence angle in the working bandwidth has been performed. A good agreement between simulations and measurements is achieved.
Open Access
A new ABS conductive material to develop fully 3D-printed patch antennas
(IEEE, 2023) Jiménez Peña, Javier; Irigoyen, Joseba; Aresti Bartolomé, Maite; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Bravo Larrea, Javier; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
Additive manufacturing technology is rapidly overcoming some of its initial limitations and, thus, creating a very useful engineering option for prototyping complex geometries for a wide range of electronic devices. Based on important advantages such as turn-around, reliability, material waste reduction, and low implementation costs, the technology is being continuously developed and improved. This paper presents a completely 3D-printed microstrip patch antenna to demonstrate the feasibility of a new conductive Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material in the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) antennas using additive manufacturing method. The prototype of the antenna has been fabricated using Raise3D E2 printer, commercial ABS and a new ABS filament developed by Naitec for dielectric and conductive parts of the antenna, respectively. The fabricated antenna is compact and light. Preliminary prototypes and fabrication techniques are presented.
Embargo
Experimental validation of a Ku-band dual circularly polarized metasurface antenna
(IEEE, 2018) Tellechea Pereda, Amagoia; Caminita, Francesco; Martini, Enrica; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Teniente Vallinas, Jorge; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Maci, Stefano; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica
The experimental validation of a Ku-band dual circularly polarized (CP) broadside-beam metasurface (MTS) antenna is presented. A radially modulated anisotropic single layer MTS has been synthesised employing sub-wavelength elliptical slotted metallic patches printed on top of a thin Arlon grounded substrate. In the structure, two decoupled phasematched transverse magnetic and transverse electric surface waves (SWs) are excited, which interact with the modulated surface leading to a CP broadside radiation. Two different orthomode transducers have been designed to excite the SWs with orthogonal polarization and equal amplitude. The first feeding system is composed of a metallic stepped septum inside an airfilled square waveguide. A conical section is included to match the output port of the square waveguide with the terminal, dielectric filled circular waveguide. The second feed is much more compact and efficient and it is composed of a circular waveguide completely filled by a dielectric. Depending on the input port excited on the feeds, two TE11 modes are excited with ±90° phase shift, which determine the right-hand or left-hand sense of the broadside beam generated by the MTS. Manufacturing details of the MTS and excitations are given and the measurements are compared with the simulation results. Finally, conclusions are drawn.
Open Access
A water content continuous monitoring of grapevine xylem tissue using a portable low-power cost-effective FMCW radar
(IEEE, 2019) Quemada Mayoral, Carlos; García González, Cebrián; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Marín Ederra, Diana; Gastón Beraza, Diego; Miranda Jiménez, Carlos; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Maestrojuán Biurrun, Itziar; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, PI025 VITHZ; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, 0011-1365-2016-000084 RAFF
This paper presents the real-time monitoring of a grapevine’s water content that flows up through the xylem tissue by means of a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar. The application of an optimization process, based on the super-resolution multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm, has enabled the reduction of the bandwidth required to discern the xylem water content, and thus the operating frequency, achieving a depth resolution of at least 3 mm. This design advantage has resulted in a significant step forward towards a real life application, allowing the use of fully-integrated off-the-shelf components in order to implement a completely portable low-power cost-effective radar at 23.1 GHz with a 3.4 GHz bandwidth. The sensor performance has been evaluated by means of three different experiments: irrigation cycles, day/night cycles and comparison between irrigation cycles at different temperatures. From the experimental results, it is possible to assert that the contactless sensor presented in this work is very sensitive to changes in the plant’s water content, differentiating between daytime and nighttime. In addition, it has been proved that temperature has a noticeable influence over the evapotranspiration, observing negative drying slopes of 5.62 mV/cycle and 6.28 mV/cycle at 23ºC and 26ºC respectively.
Open Access
Assessment of mm-wave high resolution inverse SAR imaging both with compact and sparse data
(IEEE, 2023) Iqbal, Muhammad Amjad; Anghel, Andrei; Datcu, Datcu; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) provides images of objects that are rotated with respect to the radar. An efficient image-focusing algorithm is required to generate ISAR images from the echoes of the raw data. In this study, a monostatic model was deployed to collect radar backscattering data in the millimeter (mm) wave band (67-110 GHz) using targets with circular, rectangular, and non-canonical shapes. The ISAR experiments were performed to assess the imaging performance of the three methods. The ISAR image reconstruction implemented in the wave-number (¿ - k) domain solves the target reflectivity and allows the target to be close to the radar. This shows that the mm-wave radar can achieve a sufficient resolution in the range and azimuth dimensions. Finally, we compared the results with those of spherical wavefront compensation (SWFC) and back-projection (BP) methods. The efficiencies of the three methods were tested using compressible data with wavelet-decomposition-based sparse measurements. To demonstrate the performance of the given methods, the point spread function (PSF) for the impulse response of the mm-wave wire was computed. There is a trade-off: the ¿ - k domain loses resolution compared to the SWFC and BP methods but can obtain a satisfactory image at a lower computational cost.
Open Access
Moisture content estimation models of flour matrices in the 67-110 GHz frequency range using a nondestructive and contactless monitoring system
(IEEE, 2023) Quemada Mayoral, Carlos; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
This work addresses the lack of moisture content estimation models for food products in the millimeter-wave frequency range and showcases the potential of this range for designing compact, cost-effective, and in-line food moisture sensors. The moisture content estimation models developed in this study are intended for flour-based mixtures in the 67-110 GHz frequency range and are derived by means of a nondestructive and contactless monitoring system. To this aim, data obtained by continuous-wave (CW) vector network analyzer (VNA) spectroscopy is used to create two different models, both with a coefficient of determination ( R2 ) of 0.97. One model is based on the theoretical response obtained by means of the Looyenga effective medium theory (EMT) model, while the other is based on measured data. Both models have been experimentally validated with root mean square error (RMSE) values of 0.4% and 0.35%, respectively. These small estimation errors show the potential of this frequency range to design compact, cost-effective, and in-line food moisture sensors. This research contributes to improving quality control and monitoring of moisture levels in flour-based mixtures.
Open Access
Hexagonal CORPS-BFN to feed OLAF SAR instrument
(IEEE, 2021) Biurrun Quel, Carlos; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Río Bocio, Carlos del; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The concept of Coherently Radiating Periodic Structures-based Beam Forming Networks is applied to feed OLAF (OverLapped SubArray Fed) antenna for SAR Instrument at L-Band. The proper feeding of this system requires the multiple beams to be highly overlapped, and that is generated by a CORPS-BFN using a new 4-port Gysel power combiner/divider implemented in a suspended stripline technology. The network provides high isolation between inputs/outputs, low insertion loss, great return loss and the desired ovelapping of the different beams.
Open Access
EBG superstrate antenna for WAAS bands
(2008) Osés de León, Ángel; Iriarte Galarregui, Juan Carlos; Ederra Urzainqui, Íñigo; Gonzalo García, Ramón; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
Multiband antennas can simplify considerably the complexity of receivers and transmitters, reducing the size and the mass of the conventional configurations. On the other hand, applications with high directivity requirements need array designs to comply with the directivity specifications using conventional technology. EBG superstrate designs have been satisfactory applied to single band applications using a single EBG superstrate layer. The number of number of radiating elements of conventional technology designs are considerably reduced when using EBG technology. Dual band configurations have also been designed in a single layer, but when working frequencies are too close a second EBG layer is needed. A dual layer EBG superstrate which can easily be adjusted to the desired operational frequencies is presented. The design has been realized to comply with the navigation antenna requirements of Wide Area Augmentation system (WAAS) application in L1 and L2 bands.