Performance analysis and comparison of MWCNT loaded ITO and TIO based optically transparent patch antennas for terahertz communications

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) loaded transparent conducting oxide materials (TCOMs) based optically transparent antennas are designed to resonate at 750 GHz. TCOMs such as indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) and titanium-doped tin oxide (TIO) are used for designing the transparent terahertz patch antennas. Shorting pin technique is used to improve the impedance performances of the transparent antennas. The MWCNT is used for shorting the microstrip line with the ground plane of the antenna. By varying the position of short with respect to the antenna patch, the resonant frequency of the antennas are optimized to resonate at 750 GHz. The impedance and radiation performances of the MWCNT loaded transparent antennas are compared. A broad impedance bandwidth (−10 dB) is achieved for both the proposed antennas. The MWCNT shorting pin effect on radiation performances of the transparent antennas are discussed in detail. The antennas are simulated using finite element method (FEM) based electromagnetic solver, Ansys-HFSS.     

Analysis and design of optically transparent antenna on photonic band gap structures

An optically transparent microstrip patch antenna is designed on photonic bandgap structures and its radiation characteristics are computed and analyzed in the visible spectrum region. The proposed antenna consists of indium tin oxide, a transparent conducting material used both as a radiating patch and a ground plane separated by the 5 μm thin glass substrate. The introduction of periodic cylindrical air cavity structures in the glass substrate leads to the formation of photonic band gap. The patch thickness is carefully selected based on the analysis of the optical transmission coefficient with respect to patch thickness. The effective dielectric constant of the photonic band gap loaded glass substrate is computed using the effective medium approach. The refractive index of the proposed antenna is presented and discussed. The radiation efficiency of the antenna is shown to improve significantly due to insertion of proposed photonic band gap structures. The proposed design has yielded a bandwidth of 2–2.3 THz for a return loss (S₁₁) of less than −15dB and achieved a peak gain of 4.97dB at 2.27 THz.     

Analysis on effect of low dielectric permittivity on indium-doped tin oxide based optically transparent terahertz patch antenna

Indium-doped tin oxide based optically transparent rectangular patch antennas are designed to resonate at 750 GHz; one on the glass substrate and the other on the polyimide substrate. Characteristics of both the transparent antennas such as impedance bandwidth, radiation efficiency, directivity and gain are analyzed and compared. Polyimide substrate has a lower dielectric permittivity than the glass substrate. The effect of low dielectric permittivity substrate on the radiation characteristics of the terahertz transparent patch antenna is analyzed. The transparent antenna on polyimide substrate is shown to have gain greater than 3.97dB in 714–795 GHz. The proposed transparent antennas are designed and simulated by using finite element method based electromagnetic solver, Ansys–HFSS.     

Graphene nanoribbon based terahertz antenna on polyimide substrate

Graphene nano ribbon based terahertz patch antenna on polyimide substrate is designed and its radiation characteristics are investigated in the 725–775 GHz band. The terahertz communication system consists of higher data rate transmission, low transmit power with secured wireless communication. The proposed antenna consists of graphene nano ribbon as radiating patch and also the ground plane separated by a 20 μm thin polyimide substrate. The antenna has achieved the broad impedance bandwidth (>5%) in the band of operation. The design has yielded a peak gain of 5.71dB at 750 GHz. The antenna is simulated by using the finite element method based simulator Ansys - HFSS.     

Analysis of graphene based optically transparent patch antenna for terahertz communications

With and without multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) loaded graphene based optically transparent patch antennas are designed to resonate at 6 THz. Their radiation characteristics are analyzed in 5.66–6.43 THz band. The optically transparent graphene is deployed as the patch and ground plane of the antennas, which are separated by a 2.5 μm thick flexible polyimide substrate. By shorting the microstrip line and ground plane of the antenna with a MWCNT via, the return loss of the antenna is improved. The peak gain of 3.3dB at 6.2 THz and a gain greater than 3dB in 5.66–6.43 THz band is obtained for antenna loaded without MWCNT. Both the antennas achieved a −10dB impedance bandwidth of 12.83%. Gain, directivity and radiation efficiency of the proposed antennas are compared with conventional transparent patch antennas and graphene based non-transparent antennas. The antenna structures are simulated by using finite element method based electromagnetic simulator-Ansys HFSS.     

一种高增益低雷达散射截面的新型圆极化微带天线设计

设计了一种基于人工电磁材料覆层的高增益低雷达散射截面(radar cross section, RCS)圆极化微带天线. 人工电磁材料覆层是由介质板及其两侧的人工周期表面构成, 上表面是加载集总电阻的方环贴片, 具有宽带吸波特性; 下表面是开条带缝和圆环缝的金属贴片, 具有部分反射特性. 将其加载到圆极化微带天线上方, 通过覆层上表面的电阻可吸收入射的雷达波, 结合下表面与接地板构成Fabry-Perot谐振腔的多次反射, 可实现圆极化微带天线辐射和散射性能的同时改善. 实测结果表明: 加载人工电磁材料覆层后, 天线的相对轴比带宽由5.9%扩展为7.1%; 天线增益在整个工作频带内都得到了提升, 最大提高了6.61 dB; 天线RCS在宽频带宽角域内实现了明显的减缩, 在天线工作频带内也实现了3 dB以上减缩. 实测结果与仿真结果符合较好.     

A simple method for preparation of transparent hydrophobic silica-based coatings on different substrates

A facile, inexpensive, and general approach is explored for the fabrication of transparent silica/organic silicon hybrid sol, which could form transparent hydrophobic coatings on different substrates conveniently. The sol was prepared by using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) as a surface-modifying agent and the source of base catalyst required for the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The resulting silica-based coatings on glass slide have shown an optical transmission over the visible range up to 89% (in reference to 100% transmission defined by a plain glass substrate) and high thermal stability. The water contact angle of the film reached 152^○. Hydrophobic coatings with excellent optical transmittance were also successfully formed on writing paper and aluminum foils. The transparent hydrophobic silica-based hybrid sol will have potential applications in creating outdoor building glass, protecting paper files from moisture and preventing metals from corrosion.     

Visibly Transparent Multifunctional Metascreen for Tunable Infrared Coloration and Microwave Transmission

Metascreens are remarkable optical materials that have attracted significant research interest owing to their ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves by selectively transmitting, reflecting, and absorbing specific wavelengths. The present study introduces a new metascreen concept called visibly transparent multifunctional metascreen (VTMM), which is capable of simultaneously transmitting visible light, selectively transmitting microwaves, and modulating infrared (IR) emissions, all through a single surface. The VTMM is fabricated by patterning a thin metal film in a square-loop pattern on a transparent substrate, resulting in frequency-selective transmission characteristics in the X-band and visible transparency. Before demonstrating independent control of the visible and IR coloration of the VTMM by varying the metal film thickness and using color backgrounds, the visible and IR coloration characteristics of the ultrathin metal film on glass (MFG) are analyzed. Based on the findings, the VTMM preserves optical images behind the metascreen while reducing the average IR signature from 89.0 to 69.3 W m⁻² sr^-1, with up to 23.5% reduction compared to a glass substrate, as the metal film thickness increases from 40 to 100 nm is confirmed. Furthermore, the designed selective transmission characteristics are shown to remain consistent across varying metal film thicknesses.     

Plasma-aided hydrogenation and Al-doping: Increasing the conductivity and optical transparency of ZnO transparent conducting oxide

Plasma-assisted magnetron sputtering with varying ambient conditions has been utilised to deposit Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent conductive thin films directly onto a glass substrate at a low substrate temperature of 400 °C. The effects of hydrogen addition on electrical, optical and structural properties of the deposited AZO films have been investigated using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Hall effect measurements and UV-vis optical transmission spectroscopy. The results indicate that hydrogen addition has a remarkable effect on the film transparency and conductivity with the greatest effects observed with a hydrogen flux of approximately 3 sccm. It has been demonstrated that the conductivity and the average transmittance in the visible range can increase simultaneously contrary to the effects observed by other authors. In addition, hydrogen incorporation further leads to the absorption edge shifting to a shorter wavelength due to the Burstein-Moss effect. These results are of particular relevance to the development of the next generation of optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices based on highly transparent conducting oxides with controllable electronic and optical properties.     

Rectangular patch antennas over electromagnetic band gap structures

In this paper, I propose a new design of a defected structure (DS) for use as an electromagnetic band gap (EBG) configuration to enhance the performance of low profile microstrip antennas. The proposed defected structure embodies a honeycomb lattice of cylindrical air holes. The proposed DS is applied to three different configurations using a dielectric substrate (dielectric constant 6 and thickness 1.5 mm); namely: a dielectric substrate backed by a defected ground plane, a defected dielectric substrate backed by a normal substrate and a defected dielectric substrate backed by a defected ground plane. The simulated values of the transmission coefficient S ₂₁ for the last one show two well-defined stop bands around 8.5 and 9.5 GHz, respectively. The first band has been used to reduce mutual coupling in a microstrip array. On the other hand, the stop band defined around 9.5 GHz has been applied to enhance the characteristics of a rectangular patch antenna and improve the operational 10-dB bandwidth.     

A new double L-shaped multiband patch antenna on a polymer resin material substrate

The design and prototyping of a new double L-shaped patch antenna on substrate of available low cost polymer resin composite material is presented. The designed microstrip line fed compact antenna consists of a planar double L-shaped slotted radiating patch, 1.6 mm thick substrate and ground plane. The proposed small antenna was designed and analyzed using a finite-element method-based, commercially available, high frequency structure simulator, and fabricated on a printed circuit board. The measured ?10 dB return loss bandwidths were 220 MHz and 650 MHz at 4.85 GHz and 8.10 GHz center frequencies. The corresponding symmetric and almost steady radiation patterns have peak gains of 7.6 dBi and 4.1 dBi, making the proposed antenna suitable for C and × band wireless applications, especially for WLANs, mobiles and satellites. The radiation efficiency, input impedance and current distribution of the proposed antenna were also analyzed.     

Controlled fabrication of transparent and superhydrophobic coating on a glass matrix via a Green method

A facile, green method was explored for the organic-inorganic complex coating with superhydrophobic and transparent property on glass matrix. The glass surface was firstly treated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and SiO₂ organic-inorganic solution and then modified with a layer of 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS). The glass samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle (CA) measurement, and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The results showed that the optical transmission over the visible range up to 89 % (in reference to 100 % transmission defined by bare glass substrate), and the water CA of the film reached 168^°. Superhydrophobic coatings with excellent optical transmittance will have potential applications in our daily life.     

一种新型宽带定向性贴片天线设计

利用超材料概念,通过在接地面上蚀刻条形缝隙图案,并引入"八木"天线中的反射器和引向器的设计思想,设计并且制作了一种超宽带强定向型贴片天线.仿真结果表明,天线相对带宽为65.3%(6.9—13.6 GHz),带内回波损耗均在-10 d B以下,整个频段内天线的增益均在4.4 d Bi以上.由于接地板上蚀刻的超材料结构的左手特性影响了天线介质基底的等效媒质参数,天线电磁场的传播方向被改变,天线辐射场主要集中在水平方向而不是传统贴片天线的垂直方向.在传统的贴片天线上引入反射器和引向器增强了天线的方向性.实验结果与仿真结果有较好的一致性.     

Optical band-edge absorption of oxide compound SnO2

Tin oxide (SnO₂) is an important oxide for efficient dielectrics, catalysis, sensor devices, electrodes and transparent conducting coating oxide technologies. SnO₂ thin film is widely used in glass applications due to its low infra-red heat emissivity. In this work, the SnO₂ electronic band-edge structure and optical properties are studied employing a first-principle and fully relativistic full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method within the local density approximation (LDA). The optical band-edge absorption α(ω) of intrinsic SnO₂ is investigated experimentally by transmission spectroscopy measurements and their roughness in the light of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. The sample films were prepared by spray pyrolysis deposition method onto glass substrate considering different thickness layers. We found for SnO₂ qualitatively good agreement of the calculated optical band-gap energy as well as the optical absorption with the experimental results.     

宽带高增益双层硅基MEMS微带天线阵列

针对传统微带天线带宽窄和增益低等问题,设计了一种易与射频（RF）前端集成的硅基微带天线。该天线设计结合MEMS工艺,将高阻硅和低阻硅通过键合工艺形成双层硅基底,来改善微带天线介质基板的等效介电常数,有效增大了天线的带宽。同时通过在地面引入缺陷地结构（DGS）,有效的抑制谐波的产生。在此基础上设计了中心频率为10 Hz,22天线辐射阵列。仿真结果表明,天线相对阻抗带宽达到15.9%,增益超过10.9 dB,比传统微带天线有明显提升,同时满足引信中天线抗干扰的要求。     

Investigated new embedded shapes of electromagnetic bandgap structures and via effect for improved microstrip patch antenna performance

Three novel shapes of mushroom-like electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures are presented in this paper. The three shapes are based on a rectangular metal strip with different combinations. The performances of the three-shape structures are studied by using both an incident plane wave method and transmission coefficient approach. The effect of height and via location is also studied to achieve multi or wide bandgap. These shapes are embedded in microstrip patch antenna substrates. The performance of the MPA is improved as increasing the antenna gain by 5 dBi, decreasing the surface current so improving the antenna radiation pattern as well as reducing the antenna size by more than 70% compared to the original size. The new shapes of EBG structures are integrated with MPA as a ground plane, where the conducting ground plane is replaced by a high impedance surface EBG layer. Parametric studies are conducted to maximize their impedance bandwidth and gain. It is found that the antenna bandwidth increased by approximately four times than the original band and its gain is similarly increased. Sample of these antennas are fabricated and tested to verify the designs.     

复合左右手技术的二元阵天线的计算及测量

为了克服微带天线的横向尺寸需要满足半个波长的限制,本文提出了一种基于复合左右手传输线技术的二元阵天线.该天线阵由结构相同的两个天线阵单元构成:天线阵单元由3个辐射片、辐射片之间的交指电容和导通辐射片和接地板的短路针组成.辐射片、短路针、天线阵的基片和接地板构成了复合左右手传输线结构.天线阵单元之间通过弓形连接线连接,通过调节弓形连接线两个端口到馈源之间的距离来调节天线阵单元之间的初始相位差.在关心频段内,数值计算得到的二元阵天线的S参数与实际测量结果符合得很好,并且零阶谐振频率与用等效电路理 关键词： 天线 异向介质 左右手传输线 增益     

Compact ellipse shaped patch with ground slotted broadband monopole patch antenna for head imaging applications

This paper represents an ellipse-shaped patch with a ground slotted broadband patch antenna for microwave head imaging systems. The proposed antenna constructs with a simple ellipse shaped square patch and modified slotted plane. The proposed design is very simple to fabricate and is enclosed in a microwave imaging system. The slotted patch, and the partial ground plane improves the antenna's efficiency, operating frequency range, and gain. The size of the proposed antenna is 70 × 60 × 1.5 mm³ with the electrical dimension being 0.277λ × 0.238λ × 0.006λ at a lower frequency of 1.19 GHz and connected to a 50Ω microstrip feeding line. This antenna is printed onto a low-cost FR-4 substrate whose relative permittivity is 4.4, and whose thickness is 1.5 mm. CST and HFSS software have been used for simulation and thereafter successful completion of the measurements and the fabrication. The comprehensive simulation exhibits that this design provides a bandwidth of 2.37 GHz (1.19 – 3.56 GHz) and 100% of the fractional bandwidths (% BW) with the reflection coefficient of <-10 dB. This antenna on FR-4 can produce an average gain of around 3.63 dBi with 5.95 dBi peak gain at whole operation frequencies. The prototype has a peak radiation efficiency of approximately 97% across the active frequency spectrum with 93% of average. The antenna does have an improved fidelity-factor (> 90 %) with a shorter group-delay. Several design modifications have been performed to get perfect, effective, and suitable results for microwave imaging applications. A 3D-realist Hugo head model is fitted with a single antenna and a 9-antenna array component to verify the performance of both the single antenna, and the configured array antenna. The antenna penetrates the brain human tissues satisfactorily. Across the operational range, the specific absorption rate (SAR) attains a limit of <1 W/kg. The analysis of both numeric and experimental evidence clearly indicates that the suggested antenna is ideal for microwave head-imaging implementations.     

Transparent conducting AZO and ITO films produced by pulsed laser ablation at 355 nm

Thin films of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and indium tin oxide (ITO) were deposited on glass substrates by laser ablation in an oxygen environment. The electrical and optical properties of films grown at various oxygen pressures were compared. With no substrate heating, highly transparent and conducting films were obtained with oxygen pressures between 15 and 23 mTorr for both materials. We obtained a specific resistivity of 1.8᎒^-3 Q cm for AZO and 1.1᎒^-3 Q cm for ITO. By heating the substrate to 160 °C or 200 °C, the resistivity was further reduced to 1.1᎒^-3 Q cm for AZO and 3.9᎒^-4 Q cm for ITO. The average transmission of visible light (450-750 nm) was between 82% and 98% in most cases. The results suggest that AZO is a promising alternative to ITO.     

基于缺陷接地结构的太赫兹双频微带天线

提出了一种工作在太赫兹频段的双频微带天线。在普通矩形微带天线的基础上,在辐射贴片上加载45°和135°的矩形贴片增大辐射面积,增大高频谐振点处阻抗带宽。通过引入缺陷接地结构使得天线在接地板处的电流路径改变,并与辐射贴片相互耦合,从而实现双频特性。为提高天线增益,在辐射贴片边缘加载若干寄生矩形贴片,并增加了寄生贴片处的基板厚度。该款天线可以同时在520 GHz(508~532 GHz)和680 GHz(581~766 GHz)的频段下工作,其中高频段的相对带宽达到了27.5%,最大增益达到了3.54 dB和4.11 dB。该双频天线结构相对简单,各项性能指标稳定,对于工作在太赫兹频段上的通信系统和无线传输系统具有一定的应用价值。