Active Antenna Systems
The new 5G wireless communication paradigm requires high-performance antenna systems that are unobtrusively and invisibly integrated and that provide stable radiation characteristics in a wide range of adverse conditions. In addition, such antenna topologies must be low-cost and low-profile and conform to the surface on which they are deployed, or they should be flexible.
Since more than a decade, we have been developed dedicated design frameworks for such antenna systems in the context of body-centric communication, the Internet-of-Things and the 5G wireless system. By applying advanced full-wave-circuit co-optimization, an optimal interconnection between the antenna module and the active transceiver and power management electronics is implemented. Our co-design paradigm has recently been extended to opto-electronic antennas, such that also optical components form an integral part of the antenna system. Such direct integration of all sensing, communication and energy-harvesting functionality on the antenna module yields maximum efficiency and reliability within a compact system. This, in turn, enables deployment of such elements in antenna array configurations, which may be driven by advanced multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signal processing algorithms to optimize throughput and/or reliability while minimizing power consumption.
All proposed antenna solutions in the microwave and millimeter wave frequency range are prototyped and fully tested, both in standardized free-space conditions via measurements in the anechoic chamber (operational from sub-GHz up to 170 GHz), and in real-life deployment conditions.
Staff
Hendrik Rogier, Dries Vande Ginste, Sam Agneessens, Sam Lemey, Patrick Van Torre.
Researchers
Tanja Van Hecke, Jo Verhaevert, Thomas Ameloot, Olivier Caytan, Thomas Deckmyn, Nick De Raeve, Hossein Fazeli Khalili, Gert-Jan Gordebeke, Kamil Yavuz Kapusuz, Igor Lima de Paula, Dries Van Baelen, Quinten Van den Brande, Laura Van Messem.
Projects
- ICON SMART SUITCASES: Realization of a smart suitcase with integrated intelligence
- H2020 Flex5Gware: Flexible and efficient hardware/software platforms for 5G network elements and devices
- ICON LUNAR: Localization based on Ultra wide band technology: optimizing Network protocols, Antennas and localization Algorithms for the Retail industry
Key publications
- C. Hertleer, H. Rogier, L. Vallozzi, and L. Van Langenhove, “A Textile Antenna for Off-Body Communication Integrated into Protective Clothing for Firefighters”, IEEE Trans. on Antennas Propag., vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 919–925, Apr. 2009.
- S. Agneessens, and H. Rogier, “Compact Half Diamond Dual-Band Textile HMSIW On body Antenna”, IEEE Trans. on Antennas Propag., vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 2374–2381, May 2014.
- S. Lemey, F. Declercq, and H. Rogier, “Textile antennas as hybrid energy harvesting platforms”, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 102, no. 11, pp. 1833–1857, Nov. 2014.
- S. Lemey, S. Agneessens, P. Van Torre, K. Baes, J. Vanfleteren, and H. Rogier, “Wearable, flexible, light-weight modular RFID tag with integrated energy harvester”, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 64, no. 7, pp. 2304–2314, DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2016.2573274, Jul. 2016.
- T. Deckmyn, S. Agneessens, A. Reniers, B. Smolders, M. Cauwe, D. Vande Ginste, and H. Rogier, “A Novel 60 GHz Wideband Coupled Half-Mode/Quarter-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide Antenna”, IEEE Trans. on Antennas Propag., vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 6915–6926, Dec. 2017.
- Q. Van den Brande, S. Lemey, J. Vanfleteren and H. Rogier, "Highly-Efficient Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband Cavity-Backed Slot Antenna in Stacked Air-Filled Substrate-Integrated-Waveguide Technology," IEEE Trans. on Antennas Propag., vol. 66, no. 5, pp. 2199–2209, Feb. 2018.
