Funding entity and duration: Proyecto PID2019-107885GB-C32 de la Agencia Estatal de Investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, 2020-2022.
Summary of the project: The main goal of this project is to conceive and develop a new generation of reconfigurable antennas operating into the microwave and millimeter frequency (x-Wave) domains of the electromagnetic spectrum, to face the challenges and requirements of incoming applications. Specifically, the project will focus on various areas:
- Development of an integral equation approach for computational modelling of dielectric mediums. The code presents high efficiency, and it has direct application to the study of dielectric lenses.
- Design of multibeam and mutimode antennas for the sub-6 GHz band, using the Theory of Characteristic Modes. Different antenna designs for 5G base stations with MIMO capability have been developed for the sub-6 GHz band, based on the combined use of multiple feed points and resonant cavities of arbitrary shape.
- Design of a time-multiplexed array, according to new standards for determining the angle of arrival of the waves. Antenna arrays have been developed for angle-of-arrival detection applications and digital beamforming at the LTE-A (1.8 GHz) and 5G (2.6 GHz) bands.
- Fabrication and measurement of a set of LTCC antennas with ceramic materials for the sub-6 GHz band.
Different models of chip-type antennas have been manufactured with ceramic substrates using Low Temperature CoFired Ceramic (LTCC) technology. The new development features a compact size, good efficiency, does not require a «clearance» zone to be integrated into the PCB, and does not detune when installed on IoT devices and sensors of different sizes.
- Fabrication and measurements of a prototype of a reconfigurable multibeam mm-wave indoor low-cost for 5G and beyond base station, based on metallic planar lenses. A multi-beam multi-feed antenna prototype based on a low-cost flat metallic lens has been fabricated and characterized at UPV. In order to obtain a reconfigurable beam antenna for applications in the 5G millimeter wave band, the focal point is controlled by feeding the lens in different positions. Channel measurement are being performed at UPCT, yielding good results.