Open Access
Sistema de medición de condiciones atmosféricas basado en el estudio del flujo de muones
(Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, 2024) Armendáriz Armenteros, Miguel Ángel; Vertiz Conde, Amaia; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Muro Pérez, Aitor; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
To date, there is no straightforward method for monitoring meteorological conditions in real-time through experimental measurements. Consequently, all weather predictions rely on forecasting models, which are unable to adapt to actual weather changes, thereby compromising their accuracy. The project described in this paper seeks to establish a weather measurement system that leverages the relationship between climatic conditions and the phenomena of cosmic ray degradation and muon generation. If this relationship is accurately defined, it could lead to the development of a model that predicts atmospheric conditions based on the flux of muons and cosmic rays and the occurrence of the aforementioned phenomena. This paper provides a theoretical foundation to support the viability of the project, outlines the proposed configuration of the system, and discusses the implementation of its most crucial components. This project was undertaken by students from the Degree in Engineering in Telecommunication Technologies at the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), within the course Projects in Telecommunication Systems
Embargo
Additive manufacturing-oriented designs for space RF/microwave applications and high-power considerations
(2025) Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Boria Esbert, Vicente; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektriko eta Elektronikoaren eta Komunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
This thesis delves into the intricate relationship between additive manufacturing and high-power operation within the field of RF/microwave components. Two fundamental themes guide this research: advancements in materials and a deep understanding of material characterization, particularly focusing on the impact of properties like surface roughness on Secondary Electron Emission (SEE) and high-frequency performance. These themes are deeply intertwined, with a comprehensive grasp of one significantly influencing the others. For instance, a thorough understanding of a specific additive manufacturing process and its inherent characteristics is crucial for optimizing the design of components that fully exploit the process’s unique capabilities, streamlining the design and analysis phases, and ultimately pushing the boundaries of RF performance by increasing power handling or miniaturizing components. This understanding serves as the foundation for selecting the most suitable additive manufacturing process for a given application. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 provide concrete examples of this interplay, demonstrating how surface roughness can be strategically manipulated to minimize multipactor risk and enhance peak power handling, intentionally increased to create effective metal loads with good impedance matching, or carefully reduced to optimize performance at high power levels. Furthermore, this thesis introduces a novel material with exceptional thermal stability, promising significant advancements in high-power device performance by offering a compelling pathway towards improved thermal conductivity and enhanced operational stability.
Open Access
Integrating multiple stubs in stepped-impedance filter aiming for high selectivity
(IET, 2022) Sami, Abdul; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Calero Fernández, Ibai; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Benito Pertusa, David; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
A design technique to include multiple and fully-controlled transmission zeros (TZs) in the frequency response of rectangular waveguide commensurate-line stepped-impedance filters is presented in this letter. These bandpass filters (BPFs) are known for having reduced sensitivities against manufacturing inaccuracies and are composed of multiple waveguide sections. In order to improve their selectivity, 3λg/4 and λg/4-stubs are included to create multiple TZs around the passband. The proposed technique allows us to add multiple stubs in a single section and, therefore, only minor adjustments in the affected part of the filter are required, which simplifies the overall design process. The technique has been verified with a design example with four TZs (two on each side) near the passband.
Open Access
Diseño de filtros en tecnología de línea coaxial sin dieléctricos mediante impresión 3D
(Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, 2024) Pons Abenza, Alejandro; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Álvarez Botero, Germán Andrés; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
This article presents the design and manufacturing of a fully metallic X-band bandpass filter in coaxial-line technology. The device is 3D-printed as a self-supported structure without any dielectric inside. A short-circuit λ/4 parallel stub bandpass filter provides the required mechanical support for the self-supported 3D-printing process. To enhance filter out-of-band performance, a second stage consisting of a stepped-impedance low-pass filter is integrated, also using coaxial-line technology. Both filters are designed separately and then combined to achieve desired frequency specifications. A prototype with a passband at X-band (between 8 and 12 GHz) is manufactured using Selective Laser Melting, showing excellent agreement between simulations and measurements. This approach promises highly integrated, multifunctional monoblock coaxial filters with additional benefits such as increased RF shielding and protection against electrostatic discharge.
Open Access
Multipactor breakdown analysis of Ku-band meandered low-pass filter
(2022) Sami, Abdul; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
In this work, a very compact rectangular waveguide low-pass filter with meandered topology based on commensurate lines for Ku-band satellite applications is analysed for high-power handling capabilities. The device consists of rectangular waveguide sections properly cascaded to form a meandered topology to obtain the desired value of the local reflection coefficients. which are essential to achieve the target frequency response and also to keep large mechanical gaps. Hence, this technique allows us not only to design a filter with compact size but a filter geometry which is suitable for high power applications. In the paper, the low-pass filter based on commensurate lines is first designed by cascading E-plane mitered bends (±90° EMBs) in CST Microwave Studio (MWS) and then the values of the electromagnetic fields at the passband frequencies are exported to Spark3D to perform a multipactor analysis. The critical areas inside the device where the multipactor discharge occurs will also be identified in the high-power analysis. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7343236
Open Access
Improvement of corona breakdown threshold (peak power handling) in smooth-profiled microstrip filters
(2022) Ahmad, Jamil; Hussain, Jabir; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
In this paper, the PPHCs of two filter design techniques, stepped-impedance (SI) and smooth-profile (SP), are presented for four design prototypes. Smooth-profiled filters feature smooth variations in the characteristic impedance profile, avoiding sharp edges, which accumulate electric fields. The absence of sharp edges in SP reduces the voltage magnification factor, which in turn improves the PPHC of the filter. The phenomenon of electric fields accumulation at the sharp corners of the SI filters is presented and compared with smooth transitions in SP filters. Furthermore, 1D graphs of electric field intensity are presented along the strip contour of the microstrip lines. Finally, SPARK3D results clearly demonstrate that SP filters can handle higher peak powers than their SI counterparts between critical pressure and ambient pressure, for all the studied designs.
Open Access
Metal 3D printing for RF/microwave high-frequency parts
(Springer, 2022) Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Marechal, M.; Calves, P.; Hazard, M.; Pambaguian, L.; Brandao, A.; Rodríguez Castillo, S.; Martin, T.; Percaz Ciriza, Jon Mikel; Iza, V.; Martín-Iglesias, Santiago; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
Space Systems have been historically characterised by high performance, high reliability and high cost. Every new generation of space systems tends to improve performance, keep as much as possible reliability, speeding the lead time and lower the cost. Aggressive approach is nowadays followed by some of the players of the new space ecosystem where, for instance, reli- ability can be relaxed thanks for the in-orbit redundancy or robustness to failures by having a constellation with a high number of satellites. This push towards the technology and system limit requires to investigate new methods for the manufacturing of RF/Microwave parts. RF devices such as those based on waveguide structures, benefit from an additive manufacturing approach in terms of radio frequency (RF) performance and compactness. However each manufacturing approach comes with specific features and limitations which need to be well understood and, in some cases, even taking advantage of them. This paper provides a short review of some of the RF/Microwave parts already manufactured using this technology. The paper will focus mainly on metal 3D printing parts since this technology is, at the moment, well accepted by the space community.
Open Access
Synthesis of rectangular waveguide filters with smooth profile oriented to direct metal additive manufacturing
(IEEE, 2023) Percaz Ciriza, Jon Mikel; Hussain, Jabir; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Benito Pertusa, David; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
In this paper, a novel design method for rectangular waveguide filters intended for fabrication using direct metal additive manufacturing is proposed. The synthesized filters will feature a smooth profile that allows us to fabricate them orienting the filter propagation axis in the vertical building direction, achieving an optimum configuration for direct metal additive manufacturing fabrication. The novel design method is valid for any all-pole transfer function, which is initially implemented with a commensurate-line distributed unit element prototype. The impulse response of that initial prototype is then properly interpolated to obtain the target response for a smooth-profiled filter with similar length and profile excursion. Finally, the target impulse response just generated is implemented in rectangular waveguide technology employing a novel inverse scattering synthesis technique that relies on the coupled-mode theory to model the electromagnetic behavior of the waveguide filter. The novel inverse scattering synthesis technique is general and also valid for the case of filters with very high rejection levels, which is of great relevance in rectangular waveguide technology. A Ku-band low-pass filter with stringent satellite specifications is designed using the proposed method, fabricated by means of a direct metal additive manufacturing technique, and measured with a vector network analyzer. A very good agreement is achieved between the simulated and measured results, fulfilling the required specifications and demonstrating the feasibility and performance of the novel design method.
Open Access
Compact harmonic rejection filter for C-band high-power satellite applications
(IEEE, 2020) Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
A compact high-power low-pass filter for C-band broadband satellite applications is presented in this paper. The filter is composed of three different sections. A 9th-order compact high-power multi-ridge structure achieves the fundamental mode stopband and the suppression of all-higher order modes. The required slope between the pass- and the stopband is accomplished by means of two step-shaped bandstop elements separated by very short waveguide sections. The passband of the filter is achieved through two compact matching networks. The filter is only 164-mm long, has less than 0.05 dB of insertion loss, handles 9.6 kW (single-carrier multipactor analysis), and has a very wide stopband (up to Ku-band). A dramatic size reduction has been achieved with respect to other commercially available solutions.
Open Access
Robust tolerance design of bandpass filter with improved frequency response for Q-band satellite applications
(IEEE, 2021) Sami, Abdul; Teberio Berdún, Fernando; Miranda Santafé, Luis; Arnedo Gil, Israel; Martín Iglesias, Petronilo; Benito Pertusa, David; Lopetegui Beregaña, José María; Gómez Laso, Miguel Ángel; Arregui Padilla, Iván; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
A rectangular waveguide bandpass filter for Q-band with simple fabrication is proposed in this letter. The design is based on the use of the first passband replica of commensurate-line stepped-impedance structures and achieves the suppression of their inherent low-pass response. In order to do it, the filter is implemented by rectangular waveguide sections with different widths and heights that can be analytically calculated. The technique is validated by a 9th order Chebyshev filter with passband between 40 and 43 GHz and fabrication yield equal to 84 % for a manufacturing error of ± 20 μm. The measured results of the prototype fabricated with CNC milling are in good agreement with the simulated ones.