J. Costantine

Implementation of a Cognitive Radio Front-End Using Rotatable Controlled Reconfigurable Antennas

This communication presents a new antenna system designed for cognitive radio applications. The antenna structure consists of a UWB antenna and a frequency reconfigurable antenna system. The UWB antenna scans the channel to discover “white space” frequency bands while tuning the reconfigurable section to communicate within these bands. The frequency agility is achieved via a rotational motion of the antenna patch. The rotation is controlled by a stepper motor mounted on the back of the antenna structure. The motors rotational motion is controlled by LABVIEW on a computer connected to the motor through its parallel port. The computers parallel port is connected to a NPN Darlington array that is used to drive the stepper motor. The antenna has been simulated with the driving motor being taken into consideration. A good agreement is found between the simulated and the measured antenna radiation properties.

The Analysis of a Reconfigurable Antenna With a Rotating Feed Using Graph Models

This letter investigates a new reconfigurable antenna technique based on the rotation of a slot. The surface currents are redistributed for each slot position. The antenna is simulated, fabricated, and tested. The return loss frequency tuning matches the simulated data. The antenna radiation pattern remains unchanged for different slot positions. Finally, the process for automatic rotation and control of the slot is investigated using graph models.

Reconfigurable Antennas: Design and Applications

The advancement in wireless communications requires the integration of multiple radios into a single platform to maximize connectivity. In this paper, the design process of reconfigurable antennas is discussed. Reconfigurable antennas are proposed to cover different wireless services that operate over a wide frequency range. They show significant promise in addressing new system requirements. They exhibit the ability to modify their geometries and behavior to adapt to changes in surrounding conditions. Reconfigurable antennas can deliver the same throughput as a multiantenna system. They use dynamically variable and adaptable single-antenna geometry without increasing the real estate required to accommodate multiple antennas. The optimization of reconfigurable antenna design and operation by removing unnecessary redundant switches to alleviate biasing issues and improve the systems performance is discussed. Controlling the antenna reconfiguration by software, using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or microcontrollers is introduced herein. The use of Neural Networks and its integration with graph models on programmable platforms and its effect on the operation of reconfigurable antennas is presented. Finally, the applications of reconfigurable antennas for cognitive radio, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channels, and space applications are highlighted.

Demonstration of a Cognitive Radio Front End Using an Optically Pumped Reconfigurable Antenna System (OPRAS)

A cognitive radio front end using an optically pumped reconfigurable antenna system (OPRAS) is investigated. The scheme consists of a ultrawideband antenna and a reconfigurable narrowband antenna in close proximity to one another. The narrowband reconfigurability is achieved by a integrating laser diodes within the antenna structure to control the switching state of photoconductive silicon switches. This scheme has the advantage of eliminating the use of optical fiber cables to guide light to the switches, and enables easier integration of the reconfigurable antenna in a complete communication system. The performance of the proposed technique is presented, and comparisons are made to other commonly used switching techniques for reconfigurable antennas, such as techniques based on PIN diodes and RF microlectromechanical systems integration. The application of this antenna design scheme serving as the receive channel in a cognitive radio communication link is also demonstrated.

A Varactor-Based Reconfigurable Filtenna

This letter details a new reconfiguration technique for implementing frequency-tunable bandpass filters. This is achieved by changing the filter total capacitance via an integrated varactor within its structure. The reconfigurable bandpass filter is then incorporated within the feeding line of a printed antenna to form one structure. This combination allows the tuning of the antenna operating frequency without incorporating active components and biasing lines on the antenna radiating surface. The integrated antenna-filter combination, with filtering ability while preserving the radiation performance, is referred to as a “filtering antenna” or a filtenna. A prototype for the reconfigurable filter and the reconfigurable filtenna are fabricated and tested. A good agreement is found between the simulated and the measured data.

Cognitive-radio and antenna functionalities: A tutorial [Wireless Corner]

This paper discusses the fundamental principles of a cognitive-radio RF system. The key points required to achieve a true cognitive-radio device are outlined. The operation of a cognitive-radio system is mainly divided into two tasks. In the first task, a cognitive-radio device searches and identifies any part of the spectrum that is not occupied. The second task consists of achieving an optimal mode of communication by allocating the appropriate channels to be used. In this paper, the RF requirements required to operate a cognitive-radio device are detailed. Such a device can adopt one of two scenarios of a cognitive-radio system: the ?interweave? or ?underlay? mode of operation. For both scenarios, a cognitive cycle is followed. This cycle consists of the following four steps: (1) observe, (2) decide, (3) act, and (4) learn. A cognitive-radio engine is responsible for managing and integrating these four functions together into a single cognitive-radio device. In this tutorial, the realization of the four functions of a cognitive-radio cycle are detailed for both types of cognitive radio, and various RF front-end examples are presented and discussed.

FPGA-Controlled Switch-Reconfigured Antenna

In this letter, p-i-n diodes are used as switches to connect and disconnect four patch sections to a midsection of a planar antenna. The antenna system is connected to the field programmable gate array (FPGA) board controlling the activation of these switches. The antenna with the incorporated diodes is designed, installed, and measured. The methodology for using an FPGA to optimally control and produce the desired antenna frequency operation is presented and analyzed. The analogy between the measured and simulated results is found to be satisfactory. The proposed control methodology can be used with various antenna designs to obtain different possible states in an easy, fast, and low-cost manner.

New Multi-Band Microstrip Antenna Design for Wireless Communications

This paper presents a new approach for the design of a multi-wideband microstrip-patch antenna. The radiating elements in this antenna are composed of rectangular slots following a Chebyshev distribution of order 10 around a center rectangular slot, and an additional triangular slot. These slots are engraved in the rectangular and triangular patch, joined together in one structure, and fed by one probe feed. A sample antenna was analyzed, simulated, fabricated, and tested. There was good agreement between the computed and test results. The new antenna can be used for several applications, especially in the GSM domain, and for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and several other applications, as detailed in this paper.

Reconfigurable Filtennas and MIMO in Cognitive Radio Applications

In this paper cognitive radio is described, discussed and compared with software defined radio (SDR). The two types of cognitive radio are presented and examples on both spectrum interweave and spectrum underlay cognitive radio antenna systems are detailed. Reconfigurable filtennas are proposed as communicating antennas in a MIMO setting for both cases of cognitive radio. The benefits of resorting to filtennas as well as to MIMO configuration is shown and discussed herein. The various antenna examples are designed, tested and compared with each other. Conclusions are drawn based on the presented results.

CubeSat Deployable Antenna Using Bistable Composite Tape-Springs

In this letter, a new conductive composite tape-spring is proposed for CubeSat deployable antennas that is constructed using a glass fiber reinforced epoxy with an embedded copper alloy conductor. The tape-spring is bistable enabling the antenna to be elastically stable in both the deployed and stowed states. A dipole antenna is designed, simulated, and tested to prove the viability of the electrical properties of this material.