GHz Signal Research Articles

Autonomous nervous system responses to environmental-level exposure to 5G's first deployed band (3.5GHz) in healthy human volunteers.

Following the global progressive deployment of 5G networks, considerable attention has focused on assessing their potential impact on human health. This study aims to investigate autonomous nervous system changes by exploring skin temperature and electrodermal activity (EDA) among 44 healthy young individuals of both sexes during and after exposure to 3.5GHz antenna-emitted signals, with an electrical field intensity ranging from 1 to 2V/m. The study employed a randomized, cross-over design with triple-blinding, encompassing both 'real' and 'sham' exposure sessions, separated by a maximum interval of 1week. Each session comprised baseline, exposure and postexposure phases, resulting in the acquisition of seven runs. Each run initiated with a 150s segment of EDA recordings stimulated by 10 repeated beeps. Subsequently, the collected data underwent continuous decomposition analysis, generating specific indicators assessed alongside standard metrics such as trough-to-peak measurements, global skin conductance and maximum positive peak deflection. Additionally, non-invasive, real-time skin temperature measurements were conducted to evaluate specific anatomical points (hand, head and neck). The study suggests that exposure to 3.5GHz signals may potentially affect head and neck temperature, indicating a slight increase in this parameter. Furthermore, there was a minimal modulation of certain electrodermal metrics after the exposure, suggesting a potentially faster physiological response to auditory stimulation. However, while the results are significant, they remain within the normal physiological range and could be a consequence of an uncontrolled variable. Given the preliminary nature of this pilot study, further research is needed to confirm the effects of 5G exposure.

Optoelectronic oscillator based on a silicon microring modulator

An optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) system is built up with a high-speed silicon microring modulator. The modulator is based on a p-n doped ring resonator with a radius of 10 μm. Its electro-optic (EO) 3 dB bandwidth is ∼31.7 GHz, which makes it suitable for generating multi-GHz radio frequency signals. By using this modulator, one of the essential components of an OEO, the EO converter, has been dramatically miniaturized. At the same time, assisted by the ring resonator, the phase noise of the generated 10 GHz signal (nearly −90 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset) is not compromised compared to other integrated OEOs with mm footprint modulators. This is an important step toward a compact, scalable, and fully integrated silicon photonics-based OEO system together with our existing integrated light sources and photodetectors.

Multiple-signal-joint-processing-based guard interval shortening method for a CS-NFDM system.

Aiming to further improve the spectral efficiency (SE) of a continuous spectrum modulated nonlinear frequency division multiplexing (CS-NFDM) system, we propose a novel ,to the best of our knowledge, multiple-signal-joint-processing (MSJP)-based guard interval (GI) shortening method. In this method, multiple NFDM time-domain signals are jointly processed as a whole to carry out nonlinear Fourier transform and inverse nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT-INFT) operations. These operations can fuse the multiple NFDM time-domain signals together, which is equivalent to the corresponding inverse process of a fiber transmission. Experimental results show that the normalized SE of the proposed method can reach 0.99 when approaching the limit value of 1 and obtain a 2.33 dB Q2-factor improvement compared with the pre-dispersion compensation (PDC) method under the same GI of 0.03 ns in an 80 km SSMF transmission of a 46 GHz signal bandwidth. Furthermore, in comparison with the PDC method, the proposed method can achieve 32.86% normalized SE improvement in the 1120 km SSMF transmission of 32 GHz signal bandwidth under the SD-FEC of 2.4E-2.

Sub6 GHz Non‐Line‐of‐Sight Effects in Mobile Communications: A New Perspective for Rainfall Monitoring?

AbstractSub6 GHz non‐line‐of‐sight signals are a potential opportunistic source of rainfall information that promises to improve the current urgent need regarding near‐surface rainfall detection, but the complex mechanisms in which these signals are impacted by rainfall have hindered further development in this area. In this study, we focus on four types of microwave propagation processes to explore the theoretical basis for Sub6 GHz signal sensitivity to rainfall. We also investigate how these signals change during rainy conditions using a cellphone signal recording experiment. The results demonstrate that the indirect effect of rainfall‐induced changes in the interfacial water film may significantly affect the Sub6 GHz signal, making it an opportunity to reflect rainfall information. Finally, we offer a comprehensive overview of the potential challenges, benefits, and drawbacks of low‐frequency non‐line‐of‐sight links in the context of rainfall inversion.

Optimizing energy harvesting with diversity in cooperative simultaneous wireless information and power transfer systems

SummaryRadio frequency (RF) energy harvesting (EH) for wireless networks provides a green and sustainable solution and offers an energy‐efficient system. It is most crucial for fulfilling the power requirement of the rising number of low‐powered wireless devices and achieving sustainable development goals (SDG). It ensures the longevity of devices in the network even at inaccessible remote locations. Such RF‐EH‐based mechanisms are utilized in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) systems. Most of the prevailing studies have analyzed the SWIPT system over conventional fading channels. However, due to the higher rate requirements, the current paradigm shift in frequency usage shifts towards the GHz band, which also offers better EH efficiency. Hence, SWIPT system analysis over the channel that is suitable for mm‐wave signal propagation is dealt with in this study. This study evaluates SWIPT performance over fluctuating two‐ray (FTR) fading channel that is crucial since it provides the best fit for characterizing GHz signal and also provides a generalized framework for most of the conventional fading channels. This study presents new analytical results assuming time switch relaying (TSR) protocol with (i) amplify and forward (AF) and (ii) decode and forward (DF) relaying. The results are also analyzed for H branches maximal ratio combining (MRC) diversity technique and evaluated the diversity gain for both AF and DF relays. The effectiveness of the system is measured in terms of system outage probability (SOP) to envisage the reliability of SWIPT based system. This work presents the simulation and modeling of such system and its obtained results are validated by Monte Carlo simulations for their accuracy.

Ultra Miniaturization and Transparency Frequency Selective Surface for Dual Band ISM Shielding

This article presents an ultraminiaturized frequency selective surface (FSS) for shielding 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz (ISM) signals. The unit cell size is 0.056λ × 0.056λ (λ is the free space wavelength at the first resonant frequency). It has smaller cell size and good transparency compared to previous ISM band studies, and transparency at 54%. The proposed FSS design consists of a wall structure and a compound square loop with 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz resonance frequencies for ISM band coverage. This FSS structure was fabricated on float glass with a dielectric constant of 8 by a photolithographic process. The fabricated FSS structure has excellent angular stability and polarization stability, which is further verified by experimentation. An easy optimization method is proposed to tune the independent resonant frequencies by optimizing the geometries individually. This FSS is interpreted by filtering through surface induced currents and equivalent circuit models. A prototype of the proposed FSS is fabricated and measured. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measured results. The proposed FSS has polarization insensitivity and 80∘ angle stability and is suitable for solving the EMI problem in ISM band.

Behind the Door: Practical Parameterization of Propagation Parameters for IEEE 802.11ad Use Cases

The integration of the 60 GHz band into the IEEE 802.11 standard has revolutionized indoor wireless services. However, this band presents unique challenges to indoor wireless communication infrastructure, originally designed to handle data traffic in residential and office environments. Estimating 60 GHz signal propagation in indoor settings is particularly complicated due to dynamic contextual factors, making it essential to ensure adequate coverage for all connected devices. Consequently, empirical channel modeling plays a pivotal role in understanding real-world behavior, which is characterized by a complex interplay of stationary and mobile elements. Given the highly directional nature of 60 GHz propagation, this study addresses a seemingly simple but important question: what is the impact of employing highly directive antennas when deviating from the line of sight? To address this question, we conducted an empirical measurement campaign of wireless channels within an office environment. Our assessment focused on power losses and distribution within an angular range while an indoor base station served indoor users, simulating the operation of an IEEE 802.11ad high-speed WLAN at 60 GHz. Additionally, we explored scenarios with and without pedestrian movement in the vicinity of wireless terminals. Our observations reveal the presence of significant antenna lobes even in obstructed links, indicating potential opportunities to use angular combiners or beamformers to enhance link availability and the data rate. This empirical study provides valuable information and channel parameters to simulate 60 GHz millimeter wave (mm-wave) links in indoor environments, paving the way for more efficient and robust wireless communication systems.

Contactless and Fine-Grained Liquid Identification Utilizing Sub-6 GHz Signals

Contactless and Fine-Grained Liquid Identification Utilizing Sub-6 GHz Signals

Measurement and Data Correction of Channel Sampling Timing Walk-Off of Photonic Analog-to-Digital Converter in Signal Recovery.

A two-channel, time-wavelength interleaved photonic analog-to-digital converter (PADC) system with a sampling rate of 10.4 GSa/s was established, and a concise method for measuring and data correcting the channel sampling timing walk-off of PADCs for signal recovery was proposed. The measurements show that for the two RF signals of f1 = 100 MHz and f2 = 200 MHz, the channel sampling timing walk-off was 12 sampling periods, which results in an ENOB = -0.1051 bits for the 100 MHz directly synthesized signal, while the ENOB improved up to 4.0136 bits using shift synthesis. In addition, the peak limit method (PLM) and normalization processing were introduced to reduce the impacts of signal peak jitter and power inconsistency between two channels, which further improve the ENOB of the 100 MHz signal up to 4.5668 bits. All signals were analyzed and discussed in both time and frequency domains. The 21.1 GHz signal was also collected and converted using the established two-channel PADC system with the data correction method, combining the PLM, normalization, and shift synthesis, showing that the ENOB increased from the initial -0.9181 to 4.1913 bits, which demonstrates that our method can be effectively used for signal recovery in channel-interleaved PADCs.

Theoretical Demonstration of Improved Performance in Multi-Channel Photonic RF Signals Based on Optical Injection Locking of Optical Comb and Array Lasers

Multi-channel radio frequency (RF) signal generation, facilitated by photonic technology, offers significant potential for generating coherent signals with a high frequency and low phase noise, providing multifunctional capabilities across diverse platforms, including RF and photonic systems. Traditional methods for multi-channel photonic RF signal generation typically entail the integration of diverse optical components, such as filters and amplifiers. However, this integration often results in compromises related to power efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and implementation simplicity. To address these challenges, we propose a novel method for generating multi-channel photonic RF signals based on optical injection locking technology. This approach eliminates the necessity for traditional optical components, leading to a substantial enhancement in the performance of photonic RF signals. We present the design of an optical injection locking-based multi-channel photonic RF signal generation schematic and theoretically evaluate its Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and eye pattern performance for data modulation using the Lumerical INTERCONNECT simulator. Our results reveal a significant 1.3-dB and 3.6-dB enhancement in SNR for 30-GHz and 60-GHz signals, respectively. Furthermore, we observed an improved communication performance, as evidenced by enhanced eye patterns in 3-Gbps data transmission compared to passive photonic RF signal generation methods.

Photonic MMW Generation Using PM-DPMZM for Full Duplex 32×10 Gbps RoF-WDM System

Abstract This paper presents a study of a 32×10 Gbps Radio over Fiber and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (RoF-WDM) full-duplex system that uses Phase Modulators and a Dual-Port Mach-Zehnder Modulator (PMs-DPMZM) for bidirectional data transfer. The system employs Millimeter-Wave (MMW) signaling over optical fiber and focuses on selecting a technology that provides high transmission capacity per wavelength, improved spectral efficiency, and resistance against optical transmission impairments. The proposed method was validated using simulation results to confirm the efficiency of the proposed system in generating a 40 GHz signal and efficiently detecting and modulating the RF signals. The results demonstrate that the system exhibits strong resistance against dispersion, non-linear effects, and noise, delivering satisfactory performance for distances of up to 220 km. By analyzing the input power, the paper establishes a relationship between input power and signal quality, revealing that an optimal power of 0 dBm leads to an improved Quality Factor (QF) and reduced transmission errors. Furthermore, the evaluation of received optical power indicates the power level required to maintain an acceptable error rate, approximately -20.9690 dBm for downstream data transfer and -20.7245 dBm for upstream data transfer at the BER limit. The simulation performance also demonstrates the transmission efficiency achieved through a high Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) coefficient of up to 0.8. The analytical calculations conducted in this work provide valuable insights for optimizing and enhancing the performance of RoF-WDM networks.

Phase noise of a microwave photonic channel: direct-current versus external electro-optic modulation

We characterize the phase noise of a microwave photonic channel, where a 10 GHz signal is carried by an intensity-modulated light beam over a short optical fiber, and detected. Two options are compared: (i) an electro-optic modulator (EOM), and (ii) the direct modulation of the laser current. The 1.55 µm laser and the detector are the same. The effect of experimental parameters is investigated, the main being the microwave power and the laser bias current. The main result is that the upper bound of the phase flicker is −117dBrad2 in the case of the EOM, limited by the background noise of the setup. In contrast, with direct modulation of the laser, the flicker is of −114 to −100dBrad2, depending on the laser bias current (50–90 mA), and the highest noise occurs at the lowest bias. Our results are of interest in communications, radar systems, instrumentation, and metrology.

Continuous optical generation of microwave signals for fountain clocks.

For the optical generation of ultrastable microwave signals for fountain clocks, we developed a setup based on a cavity stabilized laser and a commercial frequency comb. The robust system, in operation since 2020, is locked to a 100MHz output frequency of a hydrogen maser and provides an ultrastable 9.6GHz signal for the interrogation of atoms in two cesium fountain clocks, acting as primary frequency standards. Measurements reveal that the system provides a phase noise level that enables quantum projection noise limited fountain frequency instabilities at the low 10-14(τ/s)-1/2 level. At the same time, it offers largely maintenance-free operation.

Analysis of Bandwidth Reduction and Resolution Improvement for Photonics-Assisted ADC

To keep pace with increasing data rates in the worldwide communication networks and the increased bandwidths requirements in measurement devices, sensors, radar, and many other applications, photonics-assisted analog-to-digital converters (PADCs) may be promising alternatives to circumvent the bandwidth bottleneck in pure electronic analog-to-digital converters (EADCs). Here we analyze optical sub-Nyquist orthogonal sampling with sinc-pulse sequences for the time-interleaving of high-bandwidth input signals into parallel low-bandwidth sub-signals (first sampling stage). These sub-signals are then detected and further processed with low-bandwidth electronic devices in parallel branches (second sampling stage). Orthogonal sampling with ideal devices is error-free. Additionally, in contrast to electronic sample and hold circuits, the first sampling stage is based on a multiplication and not a switching. Therefore, it adds no aperture jitter and the low jitter of today's oscillators can be directly transferred to the sampling of high-bandwidth signals. Compared to the direct detection, in simulations and a proof of concept experimental demonstration, we show around 8.5 dB signal-to-noise and distortion (SINAD) and 1.4 bit effective number of bits (ENOB) improvement for the detection of a 14.5 GHz signal with the proposed method in a three-branch system. With further simulations we analyze the possibilities and limits of the method and derive an equation for the resolution. In a nine-branch system with a jitter of 10 fs for the oscillator and 100 fs for the electronics, 100 GHz input signals can be processed with a resolution of 6 bit in 11 GHz electronics, for instance. The scheme is only based on a modulator and standard RF equipment. Therefore, integration into a single chip, together with the following electronic ADCs is straightforward.

Efficient optical fiber communication in the metro access domain based on an optical multicarrier source

AbstractThis paper proposes an efficient optical fiber communication scheme for an optical metro access network (OMAN) based on an optical multicarrier (OMC) generator. The central office (CO)'s foundation is a novel, cost‐effective OMC‐generating technique. The OMC is designed from a pulsed laser source and three cascaded electro‐optic modulators (EOMs) driven by an amplified RF source of 20 GHz signal that has generated more than 60 frequencies with excellent tone‐to‐noise ratio (TNR) ~ 40 dB and amplitude excursions from zero to 3 dB. The conventional CO is replaced with a cost‐effective OMC‐based source with an effective switching mechanism, which is necessary and equally important to be handled reliably. The downstream data of 20 Gbps per carrier is transmitted using a duo‐binary coding scheme. Six remote nodes (RNs) supported by the suggested OMC source, at each RN 10 optical network units (ONUs), can be deployed having distance laps of 5 km between the RNs, the distance between the RNs and the ONUs is kept at 2 km, the ONUs were tested w.r.t the bit error rate (BER) and the power penalties for the proposed transmissions. The BER for different fiber lengths from 5 to 25 km at various RNs and ONUs ranges were calculated and demonstrated from 1e−3 to 1e−13, showing the feasibility of the proposed OMAN.

In vitro exposure of neuronal networks to the 5G-3.5 GHz signal.

The current deployment of the fifth generation (5G) of wireless communications raises new questions about the potential health effects of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields. So far, most of the established biological effects of RF have been known to be caused by heating. We previously reported inhibition of the spontaneous electrical activity of neuronal networks in vitro when exposed to 1.8 GHz signals at specific absorption rates (SAR) well above the guidelines. The present study aimed to assess the effects of RF fields at 3.5 GHz, one of the frequencies related to 5G, on neuronal activity in-vitro. Potential differences in the effects elicited by continuous-wave (CW) and 5G-modulated signals were also investigated. Spontaneous activity of neuronal cultures from embryonic cortices was recorded using 60-electrode multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) between 17 and 27 days in vitro. The neuronal cultures were subjected to 15 min RF exposures at SAR of 1, 3, and 28 W/kg. At SAR close to the guidelines (1 and 3 W/kg), we found no conclusive evidence that 3.5 GHz RF exposure impacts the activity of neurons in vitro. On the contrary, CW and 5G-modulated signals elicited a clear decrease in bursting and total firing rates during RF exposure at high SAR levels (28 W/kg). Our experimental findings extend our previous results, showing that RF, at 1.8 to 3.5 GHz, inhibits the electrical activity of neurons in vitro at levels above environmental standards.

Performance Evaluation of a Quadcopter by an Optimized Proportional–Integral–Derivative Controller

This paper presents an analysis of a quadcopter’s stability and its sensors’ data reading using an IMU (inertial measurement unit). Firstly, the angular velocity and acceleration data are read by an Stm® development board embedded with an Stm32f401ccu6 microcontroller. The altitude of the measurement instrument platform was determined using an MS5611 barometric pressure sensor combined with a temperature sensor. The quadcopter’s control was achieved by connecting a brushless DC motor to the Stm® board, which received four PWM (pulse-width modulation) signals via the output port. An electronic governor was utilized to control the brushless DC motor, while a pre-existing remote control was designated as the transmitter. The quadcopter receiver received a 2.4 GHz signal from the transmitter using the BLE (Bluetooth low-energy) protocol, which was used to ensure the simultaneous operation of the four brushless DC motors. Finally, a PID (proportional–integral–derivative) controller was employed for parameter adjustment. The collected PID parameter program was developed in the Simulink software as a simulation platform, allowing for the execution of the Simulink model on the Stm® MCU. The Stm® module facilitates monitoring of the performance of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and enables immediate parameter adjustments to ensure flight stability. This research aims to reduce calculation errors in sensor and controller usage and improve the efficacy of the remote machine module for future industrial applications.

Flexible mm-Wave Sigma-Delta-Over-Fiber MIMO Link

Millimeter-wave and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technologies combine broad bandwidth with spatial diversity to offer a greater data rate. This paper investigates a flexible millimeter-wave sigma-delta-over-fiber based transmitter solution with digital beamforming MISO and MIMO functionality. Those functions are controlled by a central unit connecting a remote radio head with a standardized QSFP28 fiber link. The central unit generates binary encoded intermediate frequency signals using bandpass sigma-delta modulation. The QSFP28 based fiber link transmits the intermediate frequency bitstreams to the remote radio head. The remote radio head consists of a QSFP28 module, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$90^{\circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula> hybrids, and upconverters. The remote radio head feeds four parallel, independent, coherent, and central-unit controlled 28 GHz signals to a linear array transmitting antenna. The transmitter performance is experimentally verified, demonstrating up to 800 Msym/s at an EVM/NMSE of 6.7%/-23.5 dB when tested with a 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM) modulation scheme. Digital over-the-air beamforming MISO functionality is demonstrated up to 700 Msym/s across 1 m wireless distance. MIMO communication capabilities is demonstrated by over-the-air transmission of two independent 500 Msym/s to two spatially separated receivers. The results show that the proposed link can be used for realization of scalable, low-cost and flexible transmitter solution for emerging distributed antenna systems.

Miniature Integrated 2.4 GHz Rectennas Using Novel Tunnel Diodes.

This work presents the design, fabrication, and measured results of a fully integrated miniature rectenna using a novel tunnel diode known as the Asymmetrical Spacer Layer Tunnel (ASPAT). The term rectenna is an abbreviation for a rectifying antenna, a device with a rectifier and antenna coexisting as a single design. The ASPAT is the centrepiece of the rectifier used for its strong temperature independence, zero bias, and high dynamic range. The antenna is designed to be impedance matched with the rectifier, eliminating the need for a matching network and saving valuable real estate on the gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate. The antenna is fully integrated with the rectifier on a single chip, thus enabling antenna miniaturisation due to the high dielectric constant of GaAs and spiral design. This miniaturisation enables the design to be fabricated economically on a GaAs substrate whilst being comparable in size to a 15-gauge needle, thus unlocking applications in medical implants. The design presented here has a total die size of 4 × 1.2 mm2, with a maximum measured output voltage of 0.97 V and a 20 dBm single-tone 2.35 GHz signal transmitted 5 cm away from the rectenna.

Non-Destructive Imaging of Defects Using Non-Cooperative 5G Millimeter-Wave Signals.

Recent developments in fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications networks are creating an increasingly crowded electromagnetic environment at microwave (3-30 GHz) and millimeter-wave (30-300 GHz) frequencies. Radiation at these bands can provide non-destructive testing of defects and shielded structures using non-ionizing signals. In an actual building setting where 5G millimeter-wave communications signals are present, passive imaging of the radiation that is propagating through a wall defect can take place by means of interferometric processing without emitting additional signals in an already-crowded spectrum. We investigate the use of millimeter-wave interferometric imaging of defects in building walls and shielded structures by capturing the transmission of 5G millimeter-wave signals through the defects. We experimentally explore the ability to image defects by capturing the transmission of 38 GHz signals through materials using a 24-element interferometric receiving array.