Magnitude Of Reflection Coefficient Research Articles

MICROWAVE REFLECTOMETRY CIRCUITS INTEGRATION WITH COAXIAL PROBE FOR INITIAL BREAST TUMOR DETECTION

A six-port reflectometry (SPR) system was developed to predict the dielectric properties of both tumor and normal breast tissue, intended for medical diagnostic applications. Ensuring precise measurements, the SPR underwent calibration using a well-established four-step procedure, which will be briefly outlined. Afterward, the investigated coaxial probe was connected to the SPR through the calibrated measurement port. Subsequently, the exposed end of the probe aperture was immersed into synthetic samples representing both healthy and cancerous breast tissue to assess the dielectric constant, εrʹ and loss factor, εrʺ across frequencies ranging from 1.5 GHz to 3.3 GHz. The dielectric constant, εrʹ and loss factor, εrʺ were derived from the measured reflection coefficient using a closed-form equation associated with the coaxial probe. An examination was undertaken to compare the performance of a commercially available vector network analyzer (VNA) outfitted with a Keysight 85070E dielectric probe against an SPR-probe system. The comparison was based on analyzing the reflection coefficient magnitude, phase shift, dielectric constant, and loss factor of synthetic breast tissue samples. The study revealed maximum absolute errors of 0.01, 1.07°, 1.12, and 0.75 for the measured reflection coefficient magnitude, phase shift, dielectric constant, and loss factor, respectively. The calibrated reflection coefficient and predicted relative permittivity, εr can be effectively utilized to distinguish between normal (εrʹ < 50) and tumor (εrʹ > 50) breast tissue.

Design and Equivalent Circuit Model Extraction of a Fractal Slot-Loaded 3–40 GHz Super Wideband Antenna

In this paper, we present the design and equivalent circuit model (ECM) of a fractal slot-loaded super wideband (SWB) antenna for compact and high-performance applications operating in the 3–40 GHz range. The proposed antenna features a compact dimension of 40 × 35 × 1.57 mm³, a measured bandwidth ratio of 13:1, a peak gain of 9.7 dBi, an average radiation efficiency of 94%, and a low cross-polarization level across the entire bandwidth. The presented ECM is derived using transmission line theory and incorporates the individual behavior of each constituting element of the antenna. A dual sequential optimization approach is employed to determine the optimal element values. The ECM results show good agreement with both simulated and measured results in terms of the magnitude of reflection coefficient |S11| and both real and imaginary impedances with low mean absolute percentage errors of 4.9%, 7.5%, and 7.7%, respectively, demonstrating the model’s ability to accurately predict the antenna’s performance.

A Study on a Compact Double Layer Sub-GHz Reflectarray Design Suitable for Wireless Power Transfer

The paper presents a novel small-footprint varactor diode-based reconfigurable reflectarray (RRA) design and investigates its power reflection efficiency theoretically and experimentally in a real-life indoor environment. The surface is designed to operate at 865.5 MHz and is intended for simultaneous use with other wireless power transfer (WPT) efficiency-improving techniques that have been recently reported in the literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no RRA intended to improve the performance of antenna-based WPT systems operating in the sub-GHz range has been designed and studied both theoretically and experimentally so far. The proposed RRA is a two-layer structure. The top layer contains electronically tunable phase shifters for the local phase control of an incoming electromagnetic wave, while the other one is fully covered by metal to reduce the phase shifter size and RRA’s backscattering. Each phase shifter is a pair of diode-loaded 8-shaped metallic patches. Extensive numerical studies are conducted to ascertain a suitable set of RRA unit cell parameters that ensure both adequate phase agility and reflection uniformity for a given varactor parameter. The RRA design parameter finding procedure followed in this paper comprises several steps. First, the phase and amplitude responses of a virtual infinite double periodic RRA are computed using full-wave solver Ansys HFSS. Once the design parameters are found for a given set of physical constraints, the phase curve of the corresponding finite array is retrieved to estimate the side lobe level due to the finiteness of the RRA aperture. Then, a diode reactance combination is found for several different RRA reflection angles, and the corresponding RRA radiation pattern is computed. The numerical results show that the side lobe level and the deviation of the peak reflected power angles from the desired ones are more sensitive to the reflection coefficient magnitude uniformity than to the phase agility. Furthermore, it is found that for scanning angles less than 50°, satisfactory reflection efficiency can be achieved by using the classical reactance profile synthesis approach employing the generalized geometrical optics (GGO) approximation, which is in accord with the findings of other studies. Additionally, for large reflection angles, an alternative synthesis approach relying on the Floquet mode amplitude optimization is utilized to verify the maximum achievable efficiency of the proposed RRA at large angles. A prototype consisting of 36 elements is fabricated and measured to verify the proposed reflectarray design experimentally. The initial diode voltage combination is found by applying the GGO-based phase profile synthesis method to the experimentally obtained phase curve. Then, the voltage combination is optimized in real time based on power measurement. Finally, the radiation pattern of the prototype is acquired using a pair of identical 4-director printed Yagi antennas with a gain of 9.17 dBi and compared with the simulated. The calculated results are consistent with the measured ones. However, some discrepancies attributed to the adverse effects of biasing lines are observed.

An absorptive coding metasurface for ultra-wideband radar cross-section reduction

In this paper, an absorptive coding metasurface (ACM) is proposed for ultra-wideband radar cross section (RCS) reduction, the design process is presented in detail, in which a lossy polarization conversion metasurface (PCM) is proposed at first. The lossy PCM is an anisotropic resistive structure with both polarization conversion and absorption performances, so that its co-polarization reflection coefficients under u- and v-polarized incidences can be kept at less than − 10 dB in magnitude in the frequency range from 7.5 to 45.2 GHz. Though the magnitude of the cross-polarization reflection coefficient cannot be very small only due to the absorption, its phase will be changed by nearly 180° when the unit-cell structure of the lossy PCM is rotated by 90°. Thus, the lossy PCM can be used as one of the two types of lossy coding elements for an ACM when its unit-cell structure is rotated by 90° or not. Based on the lossy PCM, an ACM is proposed. The simulation and experimental results show that the ACM has an excellent RCS reduction performance under arbitrary polarized incidence, it can achieve effective RCS reduction under normal incidence in the ultra-wide frequency band from 7.4 to 45.5 GHz with a ratio bandwidth (fH/fL) of 6.15:1; moreover, an ultra-wideband RCS reduction can still be achieved when the incident angle is increased to 45°, which indicates that the ACM has good stealth performance under the detection of various radars working in X, Ku, K and Ka bands, it is very practical.

Enhancing moisture detection in coal gravels: A deep learning-based adaptive microwave spectra fusion method

The accurate and effective detection of moisture in coal gravels is crucial. Conventional air oven-drying method suffers from prolonged processing times and their disruptive nature. This paper proposes a deep learning-based adaptive fusion method for multiple microwave spectra to non-destructively detect the moisture content of coal gravels. First, a purpose-built free-space measurement platform is employed to acquire microwave spectra of coal samples, encompassing the magnitude and phase spectra of reflection coefficients (S11) and transmission coefficients (S21). Subsequently, a Monte-Carlo cross-validation-based method is adopted to detect and eliminate outliers in the spectra. Furthermore, a novel feature extraction module is proposed, enhancing the traditional U-shaped network using residual learning (ResNet) and the convolutional block attention module (CBAM) to extract and reconstruct subtle spectral features. Inspired by the high-level data fusion, an adaptive spectra fusion method is then introduced that can autonomously balance the contributions between different spectra. The experimental results underscore the advantages of the proposed method, with narrow frequency intervals between 2.50–3.25 GHz, 3.75–4.00 GHz, and 4.75–5.00 GHz exhibiting superior detection accuracy compared to the entire frequency band, achieving R2 = 0.9034, MAE = 1.0254, RMSE = 1.2948 and RPIQ = 6.0630.

Electrically tunable plasmonic metasurface as a matrix of nanoantennas

Abstract We report the fabrication and characterization of a plasmonic metasurface comprising electrically-contacted sub-wavelength gold dipole nanoantennas, conformally coated by a thin hafnia film, an indium tin oxide layer and a backside mirror, forming metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors, for use as an electrically-tunable reflectarray or metasurface. By voltage biasing the nanoantennas through metallic connectors and leveraging the carrier refraction effect in the MOS capacitors, our measurements demonstrate phase control in reflection over a range of about 30°, with a constant magnitude of reflection coefficient of 0.5, and the absence of secondary lobes. Comprehensive electromagnetic and quantum carrier models of the structure are developed and are in excellent agreement with the measurements. The metasurface holds promise for use as an optical phased array.

Andreev reflection in Euler materials

Many previous studies of Andreev reflection have demonstrated that unusual effects can occur in media which have a nontrivial bulk topology. Following this line of investigation, we study Andreev reflection by analysing a simple model of a bulk node with a generic winding number n > 0, where the even cases directly relate to topological Euler materials. We find that the magnitudes of the resultant reflection coefficients depend strongly on whether the winding is even or odd. Moreover this parity dependence is reflected in the differential conductance curves, which are highly suppressed for n even but not n odd. This gives a possible route through which the recently discovered Euler topology could be probed experimentally.

Microstrip Patch Antenna Design at 10 GHz for X Band Applications

Microstrip patch antennas are used in satellite imaging systems, wireless communication equipment, military radios, GPS (Global Positioning System) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) applications. Its advantages are its small size and light weight, thin structure, low power consumption, use in dual frequency applications, and patching in various geometric shapes. Developing technology has facilitated and accelerated the production of microstrip antennas. In this study, microstrip antenna design operating at 10 GHz frequency for X band applications has been made. X band is used for air traffic control, weather traffic control, vessel traffic control, defense tracking and vehicle speed detection, terrestrial communications and networking, space communications and amateur radio. HFSS program was used in antenna design. AWR program was used to find transmission line parameters. In addition, MATLAB program was used to calculate some parameters. First of all, information is given about the working principle of the antenna, the selected dielectric layer and the working frequency. Schematic drawings of the designed antenna were made from above and from the side. S11 reflection coefficient magnitude graphs are drawn below and above the operating frequency. The radiation pattern is drawn for the E-plane and H-plane at the operating frequency. 3-D (dimensional) plot of antenna gain at operating frequency is drawn. The simulations performed have shown that the designed antenna works successfully.

SNOOPI: Demonstrating Earth remote sensing using P-band signals of opportunity (SoOp) on a CubeSat

SigNals Of Opportunity: P-band Investigation (SNOOPI) will be the first in-space demonstration of P-band (240–380 MHz) signals of opportunity (SoOp) remote sensing and validation of a prototype P-band SoOp instrument. This technique has the potential to enable remote sensing of root-zone soil moisture (RZSM) and snow water equivalent (SWE). SNOOPI technology validation goals will be met by targeting observations within 9 km of SMAP calibration/validation sites in the continental United States. A second priority is collection of continuous phase data over snow-covered regions. These goals are evaluated under constraints of a limited data budget and mission lifetime, with a launch expected in early 2024. SNOOPI will capture the autocorrelation of a signal formed by the interference between the direct and reflected signals. The complex surface reflection coefficient (phase and magnitude) can be extracted from this observation. Definition of critical instrument and mission requirements for SNOOPI are described. Analyses and simulations used to justify these requirements are presented, including orbit coverage, uncertainty in the open-loop delay-Doppler prediction, observations error, and mission planning operations.

Radiofrequency ice dielectric measurements at Summit Station, Greenland

Abstract We recently reported on the radio-frequency attenuation length of cold polar ice at Summit Station, Greenland, based on bi-static radar measurements of radio-frequency bedrock echo strengths taken during the summer of 2021. Those data also allow studies of (a) the relative contributions of coherent (such as discrete internal conducting layers with sub-centimeter transverse scale) vs incoherent (e.g. bulk volumetric) scattering, (b) the magnitude of internal layer reflection coefficients, (c) limits on signal propagation velocity asymmetries (‘birefringence’) and (d) limits on signal dispersion in-ice over a bandwidth of ~100 MHz. We find that (1) attenuation lengths approach 1 km in our band, (2) after averaging 10 000 echo triggers, reflected signals observable over the thermal floor (to depths of ~1500 m) are consistent with being entirely coherent, (3) internal layer reflectivities are ≈–60 $\to$ –70 dB, (4) birefringent effects for vertically propagating signals are smaller by an order of magnitude relative to South Pole and (5) within our experimental limits, glacial ice is non-dispersive over the frequency band relevant for neutrino detection experiments.

Sensitivity evaluation of miniature microstrip line‐based sensors using multiple sensing parameters for non‐invasive blood glucose monitoring

AbstractA number of high‐sensitivity microwave sensors with compact resonators are designed, fabricated, and tested for non‐invasive blood glucose monitoring. In the first step, a split ring resonator (SRR)‐based sensor is designed, and then it’s sensing parameters, viz. the reflection coefficient magnitude and phase coupled with its input impedance, are extracted and calibrated by different glucose solutions. The results of this structure are subsequently saved as a reference sensor. During the second step, the swastika‐shaped and electric‐LC (ELC) geometries are substituted for the SRR to enhance the sensitivity of the reference sensor, and the sensing parameters of these structures, which are sensitive to the glucose solutions, are obtained. In the third step, the sensitivity of the three proposed designs is calculated and compared, using the reflection coefficient amplitude, phase, and input impedance. The comparisons typically demonstrate that the sensitivity of the swastika‐shaped structure is equal to 148.367 (Ω/mgmL−1) if the sensitivity is acquired from the imaginary part of the input impedance, which is better than the SRR and ELC geometries. On the contrary, the sensitivity of the SRR geometry is at a maximum and equal to 16.79 (deg/mgmL−1) if the sensitivity is calculated in terms of the reflection coefficient phase.

Estimating complex dielectric permittivity of materials by the frequency dependences of reflection and transmission coefficient magnitudes in the microwave range

Electromagnetic waves of the microwave range are an effective tool for solving problems of non-destructive testing and diagnostics as applied to dielectric, semiconductor, and composite materials, ferrite products. An algorithm is suggested for estimating the complex permittivity of non-magnetic materials by the frequency dependences of reflection and transmission coefficient magnitudes during the interaction of electromagnetic waves in the microwave range with a sample in the form of a plate located in the cross section of a closed rectangular waveguide. Statistical analysis methods are applied to evaluating the errors arising during the application of this algorithm due to imperfect matching of the waveguide measurement path with the receivers and generator of the scalar circuit analyzer. It is shown that the proposed algorithm using the results of measuring reflection and transmission coefficients in a wide frequency range can significantly reduce the influence of frequency-dependent measurement errors on the accuracy of complex permittivity estimation. An additional advantage of the algorithm is that its implementation does not require vector network analyzers, which are very expensive.

Antenna-on-Chip for Millimeter Wave Applications Using CMOS Process Technology

In this paper, a monopole patch antenna is designed, and the structure of the antenna is analyzed. The manufacturing process adopts TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS process technology. An artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) on the M1 layer is proposed in this paper to increase the radiation gain and reduce the reflection coefficient (S11) magnitude for impedance matching and antenna performance. This method can make up for the radiation efficiency and benefits of the antenna-on-chip that are affected by the high dielectric constant and low resistivity of the silicon substrate of the CMOS process. The antenna designed in this paper obtains a simulated bandwidth of 37.5 GHz to 69.5 GHz using the Electromagnetic Simulation Software, and the fractional bandwidth of the design is 60%. Among them, 62 GHz shows a maximum gain value of −2.64 dBi. Actual measurements have confirmed that the reflection coefficient of the antenna on the chip proposed in this paper is the same as the simulation trend, and a wider bandwidth is obtained from 20.9 GHz to 67 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 104.89%. This bandwidth covers millimeter wave 28 GHz, 38 GHz, and 60 GHz application frequencies.

Close link between Fabry–Pérot resonance and natural-resonance frequencies

Mathematical and numerical analyses have been performed to examine the close link between Fabry–Pérot resonance and natural-resonance frequencies. For the mathematical analysis, the conditions resulting in minimum magnitudes of reflection coefficients in frequency-domain are derived for air-backed and metal-backed low-loss non-dispersive (or weakly dispersive) dielectric samples with relative complex permittivity and thickness L for free-space wave propagation at normal incidence. The close relation between Fabry–Pérot resonance and natural-resonance frequencies is demonstrated for three different sample scenarios as (i) no-dispersion and lossless case ( and L = 50 mm), (ii) no-dispersion and low-loss case ( and L = 50 mm), and (iii) weak-dispersion and low-loss case ( and L = 50 mm where σ is the conductivity of the sample and ω is the angular frequency). It is noted that operating frequency should be increased to observe late-time natural-resonance frequencies for a sample with smaller length or vice versa.

On the Performance Analysis of RIS-Assisted Infinite and Finite Blocklength Communication in Presence of an Eavesdropper

This work investigates the performance of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) aided communication system under ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) constraints, where the secrecy performance for communication with multiple legitimate users (D), scheduled one at a time, in presence of eavesdropper (E) is analyzed. The outage probability and block error rate (BLER) at D and E are derived for infinite and finite blocklength transmissions assuming that the direct communication links between source (S)-D and S-E exist. The expressions for the asymptotic outage probability, secrecy capacity, secrecy outage probability and secure BLER are also obtained. The new expressions for the probability density function (PDF) and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) for the difference of phases of two Nakagami-m distributed channel envelopes are derived. To validate the correctness of the derived analytical expressions and to analyze the impact of various system parameters including the number of RIS meta-atoms, the magnitude of reflection coefficient, transmit signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold, and quantized phase-shifts, Monte-Carlo simulations are used. The performance of the proposed system is compared with that of the decode and forward relay-based system. It is also shown that RIS significantly improves the performance at D, whereas degrading the same for E.

Exploration of adulteration in common raw spices using antenna-based sensor

AbstractThe ability of food products to store and dissipate electromagnetic energy is determined by the material's dielectric properties. In relation to this phenomenon, a non-destructive technique is presented for food evaluation based on the shift in resonant frequency and reflection coefficient magnitude value of the proposed slot-loaded microstrip line-fed antenna-based sensor caused by the change in dielectric properties of the food material. In this work, a miniaturized antenna sensor of 10 × 10 mm2 size comprised of a dielectric substrate FR-4 with permittivity (εr) = 4.4 having ground plane at the bottom and a radiating element at the top is designed to operate at 13.3 GHz. Three samples of spices, i.e. red chilli powder, black pepper powder, and turmeric powder, are considered for quality monitoring whose relationship in terms of reflection coefficient, resonant frequency, and dielectric permittivity at 13.17, 12.61, and 13.09 GHz respectively is analyzed. Further, second-order polynomial model is derived to predict dielectric permittivity of the material under test with high accuracy. The experimental procedure of this proposed sensor is based upon the interaction of the sample food materials with the electromagnetic field owing to shift in resonant frequency as a function of dielectric permittivity of the samples. The proposed antenna sensor has a Q-factor of 409, showing significantly high sensitivity of 280 MHz with 98% accuracy and standard deviation less than the difference between unadulterated and adulterated values, giving resolution high enough to distinguish adulteration with an acceptable statistical accuracy.

High-Gain Wideband Circularly Polarised Fabry-Perot Resonator Array Antenna Using a Single-Layered Pixelated PRS for Millimetre-Wave Applications.

In this paper, a wideband and high-gain circular polarised Fabry–Perot Resonator Antenna (FPRA) with a single partially reflective surface (PRS) layer is automatically generated and optimised using a VBA-based interface system between CST Microwave studio and Matlab. The proposed PRS layer is a promising superstrate for wideband and high-gain FP resonator antennas due to its relatively high reflection coefficient magnitude and positive phase gradient, which resemble that of the optimum PRS over the relevant frequency band. The circular polarisation was achieved using a sequential feeding network for a 2 × 2 array air-gapped slot-coupled elliptical patch antenna. The proposed design achieved an impedance bandwidth of 48.58% (15.3 GHz) ranging from 23.84 GHz to 39.14 GHz, and the −3 dB gain bandwidth was 22.42% (6.25 GHz) from 24.75 to 31 GHz, with a peak gain of 17.12 dB at 29 GHz, and an axial ratio bandwidth of 21.75% (6.2 GHz). In addition, the achieved radiation efficiency was 90%. Consistent and almost invariant radiation patterns are achieved over the millimetre-wave frequency band of interest. The experimental and simulated results are in good agreement, justifying the feasibility of the proposed design as a high-gain and wideband FP resonator array antenna for Mm-wave applications.

A SIX-PORT MEASUREMENT DEVICE FOR HIGH POWER MICROWAVE VECTOR NETWORK ANALYSIS

The changes experienced in technology due to the third industrial revolution have over the years contributed immensely to the development of efficient devices and systems. As a result, solutions have been provided to challenges encountered in the heating industry. However, higher efficiency and better performance has undoubtedly been highly sort after. This paper presents the complete industrial development of a new system of a microwave device for use in S-band networks (2.45 GHz ISM band in this application): a vector network analyzer (VNA). The VNA, which is designed based on the six-port measurement principle, provides accurate measurements of both magnitude and phase of the load reflection coefficient. The device is designed to have high power handling capabilities and works under the full operating conditions of high-power microwave generators. Initial measurements show that the device perform stable and can perform temperature-independent measurements over protracted periods. The system is suited for on-line monitoring and control of network parameters in industrial waveguide applications..

Design of EM Sensor for Non-Contact Detection of Defective Wire Harness in Conveyor System.

For a non-contact detection of defective wire harness in conveyor system, a new method using the electromagnetic (EM) sensor is proposed in this paper. A dual-feed and multi array microstrip patch antenna operating at 5.8 GHz is utilized to design the EM sensor. When the wire harness is located above patch antenna, the equivalent circuit of each patch antenna and wire harness can be modeled as shunt resistor, capacitor, and inductor. Moreover, a capacitive coupling between the patch antenna and the wire harness is generated. Next, the shunt resistor of wire harness increases due to the defect of the wire so that the reflection coefficient of the patch antenna is lower than that of the wire without defect; thus, the defect of wire harness can be detected by magnitude of reflection coefficient at resonant frequency. The performances of the designed EM sensor are verified and compared by the equivalent circuit modeling, full-wave simulation, and measurement.

Microfluidic microwave biosensor based on biomimetic materials for the quantitative detection of glucose

This paper presents a microwave microfluidic biosensor for monitoring blood glucose levels. The glucose sensor is a triple ring microstrip patch antenna integrated with a biomimetic microfluidic device capable of measuring a fixed volume of glucose solution. The sensor was utilized to detect 50–500 mg/dL glucose solutions. The interaction of the glucose solution with the electromagnetic field on the patch's surface influences both the resonance frequency and the magnitude of reflection coefficient. The results indicate that the microfluidic device can reduce experimental error and enhance the correlation between glucose concentration, resonant frequency, and reflection coefficient. Finally, the microfluidic sensor had a sensitivity of 0.25 MHz/(mg/dL), a detection limit as low as 7.7 mg/dL, and correlation coefficients of resonance frequency and reflection coefficient with a glucose concentration of 0.996 and 0.984, respectively. The experiment on the sensor's stability verifies the sensor's excellent stability and rapid response (~ 150 ms). Consequently, the device can be used to differentiate the concentration of glucose solutions, as well as to detect blood glucose levels at an early stage.