Diagramme de rayonnement | EPFL Graph Search

thumb|Différents diagrammes d'émission d'antennes en deux dimensions thumb|Diagramme en trois dimensions Un diagramme de rayonnement ou d'émission est la représentation graphique de la distribution angulaire d'une grandeur caractérisant le rayonnement d'une antenne radioélectrique, et, par extension, cette répartition elle-même. Un autre sens de ce terme en fibres optiques, en lasers et optique intégrée est la répartition du champ électrique rapproché, soit la zone de diffraction de Fresnel, juste à l'avant d'une source. Le diagramme de rayonnement d'une antenne permet de visualiser les lobes d'émission dans les trois dimensions, dans le plan horizontal ou dans le plan vertical incluant le lobe le plus important. La proximité et la conductibilité du sol ou des masses conductrices environnant l'antenne peuvent avoir une influence importante sur le diagramme de rayonnement. Les mesures sur les antennes sont effectuées en espace libre ou en chambre anéchoïque. Principe Une a

Design of novel radiating elements for SATCOM phased arrays in Ku-Band

Baptiste Fernand Hornecker

The present thesis deals with the design of a planar antenna array for the communication between a civil aircraft (Dassault's Falcon) and an Inmarsat satellite. The final goal is to provide high speed Internet access in X/Ku-Band (8-12GHz / 12-18GHz), and possibly even in K/Ka- Band (18-27GHz / 17-40GHz). The study starts with the Ku-Band only, then evolves towards the transmission band and finishes with their Ka-Band counterparts. The main constraint of the thesis is that the final result should be a low profile antenna that will be easy to integrate below the fuselage of an aircraft. At the same time, the antenna has to provide a beam steering mechanism in order to track the position of the targetted satellite while the aircraft is moving. The usual way to achieve it is to implement some dedicated electronic chips below each radiating element of array. Dassault Aviation has its own alternate and more mechanical oriented solutions. Since the communication system is intended for top-notch business jets produced in small series, cost is not here a decisive criterion. This thesis assumes the existence of the beam-steering system and concentrates on a proof of concept and careful design of the antenna elements that will constitute the final array. They have to satisfy tight constraints in terms of size, return loss, mutual coupling with neighbors, efficiency, radiation pattern and dual circular polarization quality. Printed multilayer antennas have been retained as the best candidates, and themain parts of the thesis have been dedicated to their study. The thesis concludes with the presentation of an apparently completely unrelated and independant topic, namely the simulation of nanoscale 2D planar structures based on Graphene. The rationale for this last chapter is to provide a prospective study of the use of Graphene to create a variable capacitance. This component is always needed in the beamforming network of reconfigurable and scanning arrays. Our laboratory is developing a deep knowledge of the electromagnetic properties of Graphene-based devices and these varicaps could lead to very interesting applications in high frequencies, once the Graphene technology has definitely progressed. Thanks to electrostatics Green's functions, a variable capacitor based on Graphene has been simulated, and a Quantumeffect -the Quantum capacitance of Graphene- has been successfully tackled from a numerical point of view.

EPFL2016

A portable picocell antenna for 5G

Danelys Rodríguez Avila

Deployable emergency communication systems are a backbone solution for replacing damaged network infrastructures and/or providing high-end services in case of an emergency event. It is important that such systems are up-to-date with the latest mobile network technology, for enabling connectivity to users and profiting from its enhanced capabilities. The advent of 5G promises higher data rates, lower latencies and improved quality of services when compared to previous generations. To achieve that, mm-Waves have been identified as a key element due to the wide available spectrum. The implementation of deployable emergency communication systems compatible with 5G mm-Waves technologies, thus benefiting from its prospective advantages, is of great interest. This thesis focuses on 5G mm-Waves antenna design for this kind of applications. The high network capacity demand, the unfavourable channel conditions at mm-Waves and the still underdeveloped related radio frequency (RF) technology define a group of challenging requirements on the antenna design. While directive antennas are required to mitigate the attenuation with distance at these bands, omnidirectional coverage still needs to be provided. In addition, wide bandwidth operation, high efficiency, and low cost and power consumption are desired. In this context, antennas with multibeam forming capabilities have been widely acknowledged as a key enabling technology to support 5G wireless communications, representing an attractive solution to provide omnidirectional coverage while supporting Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques. In this thesis, the design and implementation of a broadband efficient multibeam antenna for a portable picocell station are investigated. The picocell scenario in the context of emergency communications is studied and the antenna link budget is calculated considering mm-Waves propagation properties and available information on the upcoming standard. This leads to the definition of the design requirements and a preliminary antenna architecture that consists of an MxN antenna fed by a hybrid beamforming network (HBFN). This architecture is a promising approach for making multibeam antennas cost- and energy-efficient according to the latest research. The synthesis of the HBFN was realized considering the design constraints in elevation and azimuth such that the subarray, fed by an analog beamforming network, provides a csc2 pattern shape in elevation while M subarrays are controlled by a digital beamforming network to generate multiple orthogonal beams in azimuth. The antenna subarray was designed, fabricated and measured. Based on this, a study of the antenna array beamsteering capabilities in azimuth was carried out. After investigating the main parameters involved in improving its performance, the subarray design was optimized accordingly. The proposed antenna consists in a 12x6 array that works at 26 GHz with an impedance bandwidth higher than 12%. The radiation pattern shape in elevation is preserved over 7.3% of bandwidth. The antenna gain is superior to 10 dBi along the band of interest with a maximum value of 15 dBi. Simulated and measured results were compared, and the antenna beamsteering performance was tested for different sets of constraints indicating promising capabilities for a wide range of deployment scenarios. The proposed and validated design meets the requirements of the targeted applications on a practical low-profile implementation.

EPFL2021

Tunable radiator for small satellite application

Frédéric Bongard, Tomislav Debogovic, Mikaël Krummen, Jean-Daniel Landis, Pedro Robustillo Bayon, Nevena Saponjic

A tunable radiator for space application has been developed to meet stringent requirements in terms of electrical and environmental specifications but also low mass, simple manufacturing and low cost. The element is based on the folded PIFA antenna, with size of one quarter of wavelength. It is mechanically tunable to adjust input impedance for any various positions on the satellite body and possible obstacles and protrusions. Results in terms of radiation pattern, S parameters, shock and vibration tests are presented. The antenna operates in UHF band (400 MHz) and it has been designed to act as the basic element for miniaturised multi-function antenna systems on board of small satellites that can operate in three different radiating modes.

2016