Vol. 68 • No.

1 January 2025

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 January 2025
Vol. 68 • No. 1
Radar & Antennas
mwjournal.com
CONTENTS

42 50

0.090 Matched at 50 Ohms

Almost Matched
Unmatched
Length 0.2641
Height 0.0837
0.085 Plot 1

0.080
Height (m)

Length 0.2335 Length 0.2641 ADC

Height 0.0747
Height 0.0778
Plot 2
0.075 Initial Design Prototype
SMA DSP/FPGA
Input
Length 0.2641
0.070 Height 0.0680
Plot 3

18 60 72
0.065
0.19 0.20 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27
Length (m)

Cover Feature Application Note

18 Evaluating Antenna Testing Options 60 Using AI for Antenna Design,
Andrew Laundrie, Eravant (formerly Sage Millimeter Inc.) Analysis and Optimization
Sudarshan Sivaramakrishnan, Vishwanath Iyer, Tina Gao
Special Reports and Giorgia Zucchelli, MathWorks

42 Metamaterial Innovations: From Tutorial

Xerox PARC to Leading Companies
Pat Hindle and Eric Higham, Microwave Journal 72 Examining RF Architectures for
Software-Defined Radios
50 Microwave SSPAs in EW and Radar Brandon Malatest, Per Vices
Systems: The Current Situation and
Trends
Terry Edwards, Engalco-Research

ACCESS NOW! 100 Enhancing Bandwidth and Gain of a Broadband

digital.microwavejournal.com Circularly Polarized Antenna Realized with a
Nonuniform Metasurface
e clusive Shaoliang Yuan, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University
Digital Content ››› 105 Low-Profile Compact Filtering Antenna Based on
Characteristic Mode Analysis
Lingbu Kong, Yibo Wang, Zengjie Tao and Lin Lei, Hunan University of
Information Technology

68 YEARS OF PUBLISHING EXCELLENCE

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 COVER FEATURE
INVITED PAPER

Evaluating Antenna Testing

Options
Andrew Laundrie
Eravant (formerly Sage Millimeter Inc.), Torrance, Calif.

O
ver the past several years, of cost, convenience, accuracy and echoic enclosures. The MBX32CTR
rapid changes have taken sophistication. In particular, com- CATR from MilliBox provides mea-
place in the field of an- pact antenna test ranges (CATRs) surement solutions for frequencies
tenna testing. With more are more widely available and oper- up to 330 GHz, as well. An example
antenna types and new applications ate at higher frequencies, up to 330 of their test range is shown in Fig-
emerging at higher frequencies, GHz or beyond. ure 2.
there is increased urgency to re- For antenna measurements Rohde & Schwarz provides a se-
fine established test strategies and above 100 GHz, many CATR de- lection of mmWave CATR designs
develop new ones. For those who signs can be customized for spe- that feature shielded anechoic envi-
are new to antenna testing or are cific waveguide bands by selecting ronments. Figure 3 shows a Rohde
just getting reacquainted after sev- different vector network analyzer & Schwarz CATR with a shielded
eral years away from the practice, (VNA) frequency extender modules enclosure surrounding an anechoic
it can be instructive to brush up on and suitable feed antennas. For ex- chamber. Other commercially avail-
the fundamentals of antenna testing ample, Eravant offers an open CATR able antenna ranges include many
and study recent trends. with reflector options of 300 × 300 traditional far-field ranges, as well
mm or 600 x 600 mm, as shown in as a variety of near-field (NF) scan-
THE BASICS Figure 1. These CATRs are available ning systems. Figure 4 shows a pla-
The basic methods of antenna with VNA frequency extenders and nar NF system from ASYSOL. The
testing have not changed substan- feed antennas operating up to 330 ASYSOL systems, along with oth-
tially, but the options for how and GHz. ers, typically operate at frequencies
where to test antennas have shifted. MilliBox has developed a series from microwave to mmWave bands.
The options enable various levels of CATR designs using modular an- For those requiring only occa-

i Fig. 1 Eravant CATR. i Fig. 2 MilliBox MBX32CTR CATR.

18 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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CoverFeature

i Fig. 5 Quadsat drone for airborne

antenna measurement services.
i Fig. 4 ASYSOL planar near-field
system. tenna test ranges are available with
until the time and cost of acquiring fully engineered anechoic cham-
and maintaining a suitable antenna bers, positioning systems, com-
range is appreciated. Gaining ex- puter platforms, software and test
perience using a variety of antenna equipment. A wide variety of con-
ranges is one of the best ways to figuration options can tailor antenna
become familiar with current prac- ranges to meet specific needs. Con-
tices and equipment. Many com- figuring a complete antenna range
panies offer economical antenna requires a team with advanced
testing services, with some bringing knowledge to perform tasks related
their test equipment to the antenna to design, planning, construction,
rather than the other way around. calibration, operation and mainte-
For example, Quadsat provides air- nance.
i Fig. 3 Rohde & Schwarz ATS1800C borne antenna measurement servic- Less complicated and lower-cost
CATR. es for high gain outdoor antennas solutions are also available. Anten-
sional antenna tests, one of the with drones. A Quadsat drone that na range components like anechoic
most common strategies is to use provides these services is shown in chambers, positioning systems, test
someone else’s antenna range. At Figure 5. equipment and software can be
first glance, this can seem like an At the high end of the cost and developed in-house or purchased
inconvenient and expensive option complexity spectrum, complete an- individually. A list of companies in

TABLE 1
ANTENNA TESTING COMPANIES AND CAPABILITIES

Products & Services

Antenna Test Anechoic Scanning System Control & Analysis Antenna Test Measurement
Company
Ranges Chambers Components Software Instrumentation Services
Antenna Systems
Solutions
Q Q Q Q Q Q
AP Americas Q
Chamber Services Inc. Q
Comtest Engineering Q
Delta Sigma Company Q Q Q
Eravant Q Q Q
ETS-Lindgren Inc. Q Q Q Q
JEM Engineering Q Q
Keysight Q Q
Microwave Vision Group Q Q Q Q Q
MilliBox Q Q Q
Next Phase
Measurements
Q Q Q Q
NSI-MI Technologies Q Q Q
Rohde & Schwarz Q Q Q Q
TDK RF Solutions Q Q Q

20 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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CoverFeature
this space, along with the products (equipment leakage), antenna mis-
and services offered by these com- match errors, the limited accuracy
panies, is shown in Table 1. Compa- of test equipment or antenna align-
nies that supply these components ment errors. Ultimately, gain uncer-
can provide expert advice based on tainty for the AUT cannot be better
specific testing needs and they may than that of the gain standard used.
refer customers to existing facilities Another common gain measure-
to serve as points of reference. In ment technique is direct or abso-
general, the antenna testing com- lute measurement. This approach
munity is open and cooperative on requires two identical antennas or
all levels, making it one of the most three antennas that are not identi-
rewarding career paths available. Its i Fig. 6 A wideband antenna cal but have certain restrictions on
participants span a diverse range of measurement standard to compare test their polarization. The test system is
results.
skills and interests. calibrated by recording the receiv-
At any level of knowledge and standard is an antenna that was first er’s response when it is connected
resources, there is no substitute established as a benchmark for com- to the signal source directly or
for experimentation to learn about putational electromagnetics.6 With through a calibrated shorting cable.
antenna measurements. There are an operating bandwidth of approxi- The two-antenna method measures
many sources of useful informa- mately 4 to 12 GHz, the antenna transmission loss with two identical
tion for understanding established shown in Figure 6 was developed antennas separated by a known dis-
practices as well as the underlying for UWB applications. It is easily fab- tance. The Friis transmission equa-
electromagnetic and signal-pro- ricated using an FR-4 substrate with tion yields the combined gain of
cessing theories. Some companies, a single metal layer and the design the antenna pair. The gain of either
such as NSI-MI, offer online short can serve as a common measure- antenna is the square root of the an-
courses that cover introductory and ment standard. The design is being tenna gain product.
advanced topics related to antenna shared among a diverse collection The three-antenna method mea-
measurements, NF theory and com- of antenna test facilities to compare sures the gain product for three dif-
pact range design.1 Additionally, test measurement results across dif- ferent antenna pairs. The gain of
professional organizations such as ferent antenna ranges.7 each antenna is computed from a
the Antenna Measurement Tech- system of three equations with three
niques Association offer introduc- ANTENNA MEASUREMENT unknowns. Both the two- and three-
tory boot camps for those who are METHODS antenna methods assume that the
new to the field.2 One of the most straightforward antennas are separated by far-field
IEEE practice standards are some ways to measure the gain of an an- distances, which are often regarded
of the best sources of information tenna is to compare its response to a as greater than 2D2/λ where D is the
on the topic. IEEE Std 149-2021, known standard. In this gain transfer effective aperture width and λ is the
“Recommended Practice for An- method, a total of three antennas are wavelength. However, at this dis-
tenna Measurements,” underwent a required: One serves as the transmit tance, the interaction between direc-
significant overhaul in 2021. Recog- antenna, another as a reference an- tional antenna pairs may be enough
nizing that no measurement is truly tenna and the third as the antenna to raise gain uncertainty to an unac-
complete without a statement of under test (AUT). Two measurements ceptable level. Distances of at least
uncertainty, the standard provides are needed, with the first establish- 32D2/λ are often recommended to
a comprehensive treatment of an- ing a calibration response through limit proximity effects adequately.
tenna measurement uncertainty.3 the reference antenna. The other At mmWave frequencies, far-field
As an illustrative example, the rec- measurement has the AUT inserted separation can be problematic if
ommended uncertainty analysis is in place of the reference antenna. there is insufficient signal power to
applied to a hypothetical compact A number of complications can overcome transmission losses. The
antenna test range. arise when using the gain transfer problem may be aggravated if gain
IEEE Std 149-2021 covers a wide method. If the antennas are not far patterns must be measured over a
range of theoretical and practical enough apart, multiple reflections significant dynamic range. Greater
topics. However, it no longer in- between the antennas can intro- signal strength may also be neces-
cludes NF antenna measurements, duce significant error terms. If the sary if antenna polarization must be
which are now covered by IEEE Std “quiet zone” established by the measured as well.
1720-2012, “Recommended Prac- transmit antenna is not sufficiently A variety of enhanced measure-
tice for Near-Field Antenna Mea- quiet, meaning it is not adequately ment methods have been devel-
surements.”4,5 Updates to this stan- low in amplitude and phase varia- oped to extrapolate far-field an-
dard are underway, with the next tions, additional errors are intro- tenna gain from measurements
release expected in 2025. duced. Sources of error can also in- obtained at NF distances.8,9 Extrap-
Physical standards are also be- clude multipath interference caused olated gain is a well-known strategy
ing developed to enable different by nearby surfaces or cables, elec- for accurately calibrating standard
measurement groups to evaluate trical loading of antennas by sup- gain antennas, with uncertainties of
and compare test results. One such port structures, interference signals ±0.1 dB achievable with sufficient
22 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025
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1.5dB
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CoverFeature
effort. Both the amplitude and phase of antenna pair offers a new approach that dramatically reduces the num-
responses are required to perform gain extrapolation, ber of S21 samples needed while compressing the span
necessitating the use of a vector signal analyzer. of measurement distances.10 The technique involves ac-
During gain extrapolation tests, signal transmis- curately locating the positions of successive minima and
sion between antenna pairs is measured over a range maxima in signal amplitude, with one S21 sample taken
of separation distances. The result is a set of S21 data at each location. The paired measurements are repeated
with increasing attenuation over distance. Rather than about a dozen times at regularly spaced intervals over a
a smooth amplitude curve that follows a 1/d trend, the span of about 40 wavelengths. Demonstrated results are
data usually contains additional features caused by mul- comparable to those achieved using traditional methods
tiple reflections between the antennas and various oth- that require thousands of S21 measurements. One caveat
er proximity effects. When third-order reflections be- is that multipath effects must be negligible, making the
tween the antennas are dominant, the amplitude data new method best suited for directional antennas and
contains periodic variations with a spatial period of λ/2. well-controlled test environments.
Extrapolated gain data can be analyzed to produce
a best-fit mathematical expression for the coupled sig- NF SCANNING
nal versus distance, normalized to 1/d. The form of the NF antenna ranges are widely regarded as provid-
expression is a power series with each summation term ing the best measurements in terms of accuracy and
a constant multiplied by 1/dn, where d is distance and n versatility. However, they typically have higher hardware
indicate the nth term. The first-order term in the series, costs and greater measurement times compared to oth-
for which n = 0, represents the far-field gain product of er range types. NF theory states that when electromag-
the antenna pair when d is extrapolated to infinity. netic fields are measured with sufficient accuracy and
To mathematically derive the first-order term in the resolution over a closed surface surrounding a transmit-
power series, traditional gain extrapolation techniques ting antenna, it is possible to compute the fields at any
require large sets of S21 measurements. These mea- arbitrary point outside of the antenna’s reactive zone.11
surements are obtained at intervals of about one-tenth The computations are complex and require significant
of a wavelength over distances spanning 200 to 300 computing resources and specialized software to per-
wavelengths. This amount of data is typically necessary form functions such as field transformations, spatial fil-
to produce accurate high-order terms in the signal ver- tering and probe correction.
sus distance power series. Depending on the surfaces they scan, NF systems
A recently demonstrated gain extrapolation method are categorized as either spherical (SNF), cylindrical

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CoverFeature
(CNF) or planar (PNF). PNF systems surements and other tests using the precision NF measurements.12 The
are widely used for directional radia- same antenna and probe configura- facility has successfully profiled an-
tors such as horn, lens and reflector tions as those used for NF scans. tennas operating at 183 GHz and
antennas, as well as antenna arrays. At frequencies above 100 GHz, can perform NF measurements as
CNF scanners are often realized significant challenges face design- high as 500 GHz. NF measurements
within a PNF system by adding a ers and operators of NF systems. being performed at this facility are
positioner that rotates the AUT. In general, NF techniques require shown in Figure 7.
PNF and CNF systems cannot probe positioning uncertainties of CROMMA uses a six-axis COTS
probe an entire closed surface un- λ/50 or less. At 100 GHz, this cor- robot to manipulate field probes
less multiple scans are performed responds to 60 microns. This level with repeatability and accuracy
with different antenna orientations. of mechanical precision stretches of approximately 25 microns. The
When significant fields exist outside the capabilities of many robotic range of motion for field probes is
of the scanned area, their omission systems as well as the dimensional roughly 4 m vertically and 5 m hori-
from far-field gain calculations con- probes and laser trackers required zontally. To calibrate the system, the
tributes to computational errors. for calibration. As a result, NF mea- probe carrier is moved throughout
SNF data can be easier to process surements at frequencies above the robot’s reach while laser trackers
mathematically, and probe correc- 300 GHz will remain only marginally scan targets located on the carrier.
tions are generally more straightfor- practical until robotic systems with When a field probe is mounted onto
ward. As a result, many SNF ranges greater accuracy and speed are de- the carrier, a separate calibration
provide better performance for veloped. However, ongoing efforts fixture uses high-resolution cameras
similar levels of cost and effort when are addressing these challenges. to find the center of the probe ap-
compared to other NF systems. At the National Institute of Stan- erture and determine its position
At mmWave frequencies, many dards and Technology (NIST), re- and orientation relative to reference
antennas are small enough to be searchers are pushing NIST-devel- points on the carrier assembly.13
scanned using a commercially avail- oped NF scanning techniques to Some commercially available NF
able six-axis robot. Such robots can frequencies as high as 500 GHz. The systems are reported to be usable
manipulate field probes over a range Configurable Robotic MilliMeter- at frequencies reaching 110 GHz or
of surface profiles, including planar, wave Antenna facility (CROMMA) higher. Unfortunately, the suppliers
cylindrical and spherical. They can is one of the most advanced posi- of NF ranges are hesitant to indicate
also perform extrapolated gain mea- tioning systems currently in use for expected accuracies at such frequen-

26 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

CoverFeature
2024: IEEE Std 1720,” 2024 Antenna Mea-
cies because measurement results for sub-THz wavelengths, the capa- surement Techniques Association Symposium
(AMTA), Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
depend significantly on how their sys- bilities of these antenna test systems 6. V. Monebhurrun, S. Chakrabarti and R. Quoi, “A
tems are used in specific situations. should become more apparent. 5G NR FR1 UWB Antenna as Benchmark for the
As more NF test results are reported Development of IEEE Standard P2816,” 2023
Antenna Measurement Techniques Association
CONCLUSION Symposium (AMTA), Renton, Wash., U.S.
Commercial and defense ap- 7. V. Monebhurrun, J. Fordham and L. Foged,
plications are moving higher in fre- “Application of IEEE Std 149-2021: Interna-
tional Antenna Measurement Campaign,” 2024
quency to provide better perfor- Antenna Measurement Techniques Association
mance to the end user. This means Symposium (AMTA), Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
8. A. Newell, R. Baird and P. Wacker, ‘‘Accurate
that test techniques and equipment Measurement of Antenna Gain and Polarization
must lead the charge to support a at Reduced Distances by an Extrapolation Tech-
wide range of new, higher frequen- nique,’’ IEEE Transactions on Antennas Propa-
gation, Vol. AP-21, No. 4, July 1973.
cy components and systems. This 9. Z. Chen, Y. Wang and D. Lewis, “Examination
article has presented an overview of of Antenna Calibration Methodologies in an Ex-
some of the techniques, products, trapolation Range,” 2022 16th European Con-
ference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP),
services and companies that will Madrid, Spain.
make the vision of higher frequency 10. J. A. Gordon and B. L. Moser, “Enhanced Gain
systems a reality. Extrapolation Technique: A Third-Order Scatter-
ing Approach For High-Accuracy Antenna Gain,
Sparse Sampling, At Fresnel Distances,” 2024
References Antenna Measurement Techniques Association
1. Short Course, NSI-MI Technologies, Web: www. Symposium (AMTA), Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
nsi-mi.com/news-and-events/short-course. 11. A. Ludwig, “Near-field Far-field Transformations
2. Antenna Measurement Techniques Association, using Spherical-wave Expansions,” IEEE Trans-
Web: www.amta.org. actions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 19,
3. “IEEE Recommended Practice for Antenna No. 2, 1971, pp. 214–220.
Measurements,” IEEE Std 149-2021, Feb. 12. “Configurable Robotic MilliMeter-wave Anten-
2022. na (CROMMA),” NIST, Web: www.nist.gov/ctl/
4. “IEEE Recommended Practice for Near-Field configurable-robotic-millimeter-wave-antenna-
Antenna Measurements,” IEEE Std 1720-2012, cromma.
i Fig. 7 CROMMA performs NF Dec. 2012. 13. “Single-Pixel Touchless Laser Tracker Probe
measurements. (Photo used with 5. L. J. Foged, V. Rodriguez, J. Fordham, J. Dob- (Pixel Probe),” NIST, Web: www.nist.gov/ctl/
permission. Rebecca Jacobson, National bins and V. Monebhurrun, “Revision Progress single-pixel-touchless-laser-tracker-probe-pix-
Institute of Standards and Technology.) el-probe.

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 OCTAVE BAND LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA01-2110 0.5-1.0 28 1.0 MAX, 0.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA12-2110 1.0-2.0 30 1.0 MAX, 0.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA24-2111 2.0-4.0 29 1.1 MAX, 0.95 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA48-2111 4.0-8.0 29 1.3 MAX, 1.0 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-3111 8.0-12.0 27 1.6 MAX, 1.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1218-4111 12.0-18.0 25 1.9 MAX, 1.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1826-2110 18.0-26.5 32 3.0 MAX, 2.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
NARROW BAND LOW NOISE AND MEDIUM POWER AMPLIFIERS
CA01-2111 0.4 - 0.5 28 0.6 MAX, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA01-2113 0.8 - 1.0 28 0.6 MAX, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA12-3117 1.2 - 1.6 25 0.6 MAX, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA23-3111 2.2 - 2.4 30 0.6 MAX, 0.45 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA23-3116 2.7 - 2.9 29 0.7 MAX, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA34-2110 3.7 - 4.2 28 1.0 MAX, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA56-3110 5.4 - 5.9 40 1.0 MAX, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA78-4110 7.25 - 7.75 32 1.2 MAX, 1.0 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA910-3110 9.0 - 10.6 25 1.4 MAX, 1.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1315-3110 13.75 - 15.4 25 1.6 MAX, 1.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA12-3114 1.35 - 1.85 30 4.0 MAX, 3.0 TYP +33 MIN +41 dBm 2.0:1
CA34-6116 3.1 - 3.5 40 4.5 MAX, 3.5 TYP +35 MIN +43 dBm 2.0:1
CA56-5114 5.9 - 6.4 30 5.0 MAX, 4.0 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-6115 8.0 - 12.0 30 4.5 MAX, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-6116 8.0 - 12.0 30 5.0 MAX, 4.0 TYP +33 MIN +41 dBm 2.0:1
CA1213-7110 12.2 - 13.25 28 6.0 MAX, 5.5 TYP +33 MIN +42 dBm 2.0:1
CA1415-7110 14.0 - 15.0 30 5.0 MAX, 4.0 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA1722-4110 17.0 - 22.0 25 3.5 MAX, 2.8 TYP +21 MIN +31 dBm 2.0:1
ULTRA-BROADBAND & MULTI-OCTAVE BAND AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA0102-3111 0.1-2.0 28 1.6 Max, 1.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA0106-3111 0.1-6.0 28 1.9 Max, 1.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA0108-3110 0.1-8.0 26 2.2 Max, 1.8 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA0108-4112 0.1-8.0 32 3.0 MAX, 1.8 TYP +22 MIN +32 dBm 2.0:1
CA02-3112 0.5-2.0 36 4.5 MAX, 2.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA26-3110 2.0-6.0 26 2.0 MAX, 1.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA26-4114 2.0-6.0 22 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA618-4112 6.0-18.0 25 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +23 MIN +33 dBm 2.0:1
CA618-6114 6.0-18.0 35 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4116 2.0-18.0 30 3.5 MAX, 2.8 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4110 2.0-18.0 30 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +20 MIN +30 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4112 2.0-18.0 29 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +24 MIN +34 dBm 2.0:1
LIMITING AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Input Dynamic Range Output Power Range Psat Power Flatness dB VSWR
CLA24-4001 2.0 - 4.0 -28 to +10 dBm +7 to +11 dBm +/- 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA26-8001 2.0 - 6.0 -50 to +20 dBm +14 to +18 dBm +/- 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA712-5001 7.0 - 12.4 -21 to +10 dBm +14 to +19 dBm +/- 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA618-1201 6.0 - 18.0 -50 to +20 dBm +14 to +19 dBm +/- 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
AMPLIFIERS WITH INTEGRATED GAIN ATTENUATION
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB Gain Attenuation Range VSWR
CA001-2511A 0.025-0.150 21 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +12 MIN 30 dB MIN 2.0:1
CA05-3110A 0.5-5.5 23 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 2.0:1
CA56-3110A 5.85-6.425 28 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +16 MIN 22 dB MIN 1.8:1
CA612-4110A 6.0-12.0 24 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +12 MIN 15 dB MIN 1.9:1
CA1315-4110A 13.75-15.4 25 2.2 MAX, 1.6 TYP +16 MIN 20 dB MIN 1.8:1
CA1518-4110A 15.0-18.0 30 3.0 MAX, 2.0 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 1.85:1
LOW FREQUENCY AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure dB Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA001-2110 0.01-0.10 18 4.0 MAX, 2.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA001-2211 0.04-0.15 24 3.5 MAX, 2.2 TYP +13 MIN +23 dBm 2.0:1
CA001-2215 0.04-0.15 23 4.0 MAX, 2.2 TYP +23 MIN +33 dBm 2.0:1
CA001-3113 0.01-1.0 28 4.0 MAX, 2.8 TYP +17 MIN +27 dBm 2.0:1
CA002-3114 0.01-2.0 27 4.0 MAX, 2.8 TYP +20 MIN +30 dBm 2.0:1
CA003-3116 0.01-3.0 18 4.0 MAX, 2.8 TYP +25 MIN +35 dBm 2.0:1
CA004-3112 0.01-4.0 32 4.0 MAX, 2.8 TYP +15 MIN +25 dBm 2.0:1
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 DefenseNews
Cliff Drubin, Associate Technical Editor

Raytheon Awarded U.S. Army Contract for Projects Agency (DARPA) contract to expand on its
multi-phase effort. This project is in partnership with the
Wireless Power Beaming Technology Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
Verus Research specializes in the research and de-

R aytheon, an RTX business, was awarded a

contract from the U.S. Army to work on di-
rected energy wireless power beaming ca-
pabilities that will distribute power across the battle-
field, simplify logistics and safeguard locations for U.S.
velopment of RF communications for high-power mi-
crowave (HPM) systems and nuclear engineering, with
extensive modeling,
simulation, testing and
design work. Extends the range
troops. Under this one-year,
Work is being conducted as part of a larger effort $1.8 million contract, and effectiveness
under the Department of Defense’s Operational Ener- Verus Research will part-
gy Strategy. Under the contract, Raytheon’s Advanced ner with NRL to continue of HPM systems for
Technology team will develop advanced wireless power its work on the Waveform back-door attacks.
transmitter and receiver technologies to enable a long- Agile RF Directed ENergy
range demonstration in line with the needs of U.S. Army (WARDEN) project, which
manned and unmanned system requirements. began in 2021. The WARDEN program seeks to develop
Wireless power beaming reduces the need for troops hardware, theory and computational models to extend
to carry additional fuel and batteries, easing logistics, the range and effectiveness of HPM systems for back-door
increasing their operation time and safeguarding their attacks. HPMs are a class of directed energy weapons that
locations. In addition, wireless power enables energy use electromagnetic radiation to disrupt, disable or dam-
uniformity in the battlespace, allowing ease of capture age targeted electronic components and circuits.
and delivery of energy to sensor systems without need-
ing potentially vulnerable concentrated fuel depots.
Raytheon has a long history in wireless power trans- Skunk Works Demos Airborne Battle
mission dating back to the 1960s with William Brown
pioneering the first demonstration that still holds the Management of AI-Controlled Aircraft
record for the highest energy transfer and the longest
range independently. In recent years, the company has
been focused on developing state-of-the-art technolo-
gies to enable wireless power across long ranges and
incorporate them in systems of the future.
L ockheed Martin Skunk Works®, in partner-
ship with Lockheed Martin’s Demonstrations
and Prototypes organization and the Univer-
sity of Iowa’s Operator Performance Laboratory (OPL),
showcased a crewed-uncrewed teaming mission where
an airborne battle manager issued real-time commands
to AI-controlled aircraft through a touchscreen pilot ve-
hicle interface.
In a series of flight tests, the Skunk Works and OPL
teams simulated an offensive counter air mission where
an airborne, human “battle manager” aboard an L-39
Albatros assigned targets to two AI-controlled L-29
Delfin jets, which then worked together to defeat two
mock enemy jets using simulated mission systems and
weapons.
“The work we’re doing with the University of Iowa’s
OPL is foundational for the future of air combat, where a
family of crewed and uncrewed systems will work togeth-
Wireless Power Beaming (Source: RTX) er to execute complex missions,” said John Clark, vice
president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk
Verus® Research Awarded DARPA Works. “We’re excited to leverage our diverse skillsets to
Contract to Continue Efforts in High-Power advance all elements of this new way of operating.”
These flight tests build on previous experiments that
Microwave Waveforms Project demonstrated AI-controlled air-to-ground jamming and
geolocation. This year, the tests shifted to AI in air-to-

V erus® Research, a New Mexico-based team

of scientists and engineers specializing in
advanced research and technology devel-
opment, has secured a Defense Advanced Research
For More
air combat, where AI sends commands directly to the
planes’ autopilots. This is the third test of this type and
the first to include a real-time human battle manager
overseeing the AI’s actions.

Information Visit mwjournal.com for more defense news.

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 31

DefenseNews

L3Harris Selected to Develop Autonomous cial technologies to deliver collaborative autonomy for
the U.S. military to operate swarms of uncrewed aircraft,
Swarms Prototype ground vehicles and seacraft.

L
“We are delivering a multi-domain and multi-mis-
3Harris was selected by the Defense Inno- sion autonomous ecosystem that can be trusted to
vation Unit (DIU) to prototype a command- operate in contested environments,” said Toby Mag-
and-control system that can simultaneously sig, vice president and general manager of Enterprise
operate hundreds, or even thousands, of autonomous Autonomous Solutions for L3Harris. “We are focused
assets. on the scalability the U.S. military and allied nations
Advancing the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) need in a mission space that will shape the future of
Replicator initiative, the prototype integrates commer- warfighting.”
L3Harris was selected to provide a user interface, de-
velop a collaborative autonomy capability and serve as
a systems integrator for the autonomy architecture.
The collaborative autonomy project highlights the
L3Harris approach to partner with venture capital-
backed startups and non-traditional technology firms
to foster new defense and commercial technologies.
The DIU is the latest DOD organization to select
L3Harris’ enterprise autonomy architecture to proto-
type new mission scenarios. The open architecture sys-
tem is currently in use for experimentation to create col-
laborative autonomy at scale. Because it supports rapid
integration of algorithms and models from third-party
systems, it can evolve quickly depending on the needs
Swarms Prototype (Source: L3Harris Technologies) of each mission.

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 CommercialMarket
Cliff Drubin, Associate Technical Editor

Ericsson Mobility Report: Early Movers The first 6G deployments are expected in 2030,
building on and scaling the capabilities of 5G SA and
Pursue Performance-Based Business 5G Advanced.
Models

C ommunications service providers (CSPs) are

expecting 5G Standalone (SA) and 5G Ad-
vanced to be key focuses for the remainder
of the decade as they deploy new capabilities to create
offerings centered on value delivery rather than data
North American Wi-Fi Sensing CPE
Installations to Surge as the Technology’s
Maturing Unleashes New Business and
Service Models
volume. The analysis is included among a wealth of sta-
tistical network insights in the November 2024 edition
of the Ericsson Mobility Report, which extends the fore-
cast period until the end of 2030.
While the rate of mobile network traffic data growth
is declining, estimated at 21 percent year-on-year for
2024, it is still expected to grow almost three-fold by
W i-Fi Sensing uses Wi-Fi RF wave attenuation
to detect presence and motion, offering a
cost-effective, easily deployable solution.
Major Wi-Fi chipset vendors supporting infrastructure
markets are backing this technology. It is already be-
ing used in the U.S. for remote healthcare, security and
the end of 2030 from present-day numbers.
smart home automation. The number and diversity of
The report highlights how early-mover service pro-
applications are expected to rise rapidly following the
viders are already offering value delivery models based
final approval of the 802.11bf Wi-Fi Sensing standard,
on differentiated connectivity, guaranteed uninter-
currently scheduled for March 2025. According to ABI
rupted high-end connectivity when you need it most,
Research, the emergence of new Wi-Fi Sensing-based
to create new monetization and growth opportunities.
value-added services will result in the install base of Wi-
Related case studies from T-Mobile in the U.S. and Elisa
Fi Sensing-compatible customer premises equipment
in Finland are included.
in North America increasing at a 51.6 percent CAGR
Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president, head of
between 2024 and 2030 to reach 112 million.
Business Area Networks, Ericsson, said, “Service differ-
In recent years, a
entiation and performance-based opportunities are cru-
rich ecosystem of ven-
cial as our industry evolves. This is highlighted in the No-
dors developing and
Already being used
vember 2024 Ericsson Mobility Report, which includes
commercializing Wi-Fi in the U.S. for remote
detailed analysis, statistical insights and customer use
Sensing has emerged,
cases. The shift towards high performing programmable healthcare, security
reflecting the industry’s
networks, enabled by openness and cloud, will empower
confidence in the future and smart home
service providers to offer and charge for services based
of the technology. Key
on the value delivered, not merely data volume. This re-
port offers valuable insights into what our industry can
contributors to the IEEE automation.
802.11bf Wi-Fi Sensing
achieve and the steps necessary to get there.”
Task Group include Huawei, LG Electronics, Ericsson
The report underlines the global potential for dif-
and Meta, where the Wi-Fi Sensing Work Group within
ferentiated connectivity development by highlighting
the Wireless Broadband Alliance contains members
that, beyond China, 5G mid-band is currently only de-
such as CableLabs, Comcast, Cisco and Turk Telekom.
ployed at about 30 percent of sites globally.
Notable companies monetizing Wi-Fi Sensing today
Almost 60 percent of the 6.3 billion global 5G sub-
include Origin, which has formed commercial part-
scriptions forecast by the end of 2030 are expected to
nerships with Airties, Verisure, Verizon and Cognitive,
be 5G SA subscriptions. On global mobile data traffic,
whose sensing solution has been integrated into the
5G networks are expected to carry about 80 percent of
HomePass platform of value-added service provider
total mobile data traffic by the end of 2030, compared
Plume, enabling it with over 100 ISPs globally.
to 34 percent by the end of 2024.
Another significant vendor is Nami, which is currently
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) continues to grow in
testing advanced Wi-Fi Sensing for aged care within
popularity globally as the second largest 5G use case
healthcare facilities in Japan. The industry promises
after enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). Of the 350
many other exciting future Wi-Fi Sensing applications,
million projected global FWA connections by the end
ranging from people counting and audio tracking to
of 2030, almost 80 percent are forecast to be over 5G.
people identification and breathing monitoring. Yet the
The report also addresses how AI, including genera-
feasibility of these applications, and more importantly,
tive AI applications — already integrated across smart-
consumers’ willingness to pay for them, remains unclear.
phones, laptops, watches and FWA products — could
These findings are from ABI Research’s Wi-Fi Sensing
impact uplink and downlink network traffic, driving po-
Market Opportunities and Challenges report.
tential mobile traffic growth beyond current predictions.
For More
Information Visit mwjournal.com for more commercial market news.

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 35

CommercialMarket

Soaring Civil & Commercial Applications rate (CAGR). Leading

the charge in this trans- Airborne robotics
Propel Drone Market formative space are bring appealing value

T he drone economy is set to soar, with un-

precedented growth on the horizon. Accord-
ing to ABI Research, civil and commercial
applications of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS),
also known as drones, will expand dramatically, rising
Zipline, Google’s Wing
and Amazon’s Prime Air,
each poised to capture
significant market share
in the delivery vertical.
propositions to nearly
every industry.

Attachment rates for critical hardware advantages

from just 8 percent to an impressive 32 percent of the will grow significantly to manage the greater utilization
total market by 2030. In this timeframe, annual drone of air space. The use of radar, LiDAR and high-definition
shipments will more than double from 1.5 million units cameras will increase. At the same time, the attachment
in 2024 to 3.32 million, fueling an ecosystem poised to rates of cellular antennas will grow to cater to remote
quadruple in value. By the decade’s end, the sector will deployments and provide the private network capabili-
generate U.S.$123 billion in annual revenue, marking a ties of telecommunication companies, including Erics-
transformative shift in the commercial and civil drone son and Nokia, which aim to deploy to expand drone
landscape. usage. Attach rates for AI chipsets (GPU and ASIC) will
The commercial drone market is rapidly expanding, grow to encompass 79 percent of all drones by 2030, a
with companies like Gather artificial intelligence (AI) CAGR of 50 percent. Incorporating AI chipsets in sUAS
making strides in warehouse automation while Flyability enables performance-enhancing value adds such as si-
and Percepto enhance inspection efficiency across in- multaneous localization and mapping, machine vision
dustries. In agriculture and real estate, service providers and semi-autonomous flight.
such as Sentera and Skywash leverage drone technol- Airborne robotics bring appealing value proposi-
ogy to unlock new value. However, the largest growth tions to nearly every industry, promising to transform
area for sUAS will be last-mile delivery. ABI Research current business models while unlocking new robotics
projects that revenue from this segment will soar from use cases and applications.
U.S.$800 million to U.S.$12.4 billion by 2030, achieving These findings are from ABI Research’s “The Small Un-
an impressive 50.2 percent compound annual growth manned Aerial System Ecosystem” market data report.

36 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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 port filter design and manufacturing for critical applica-
Around the Circuit tions involving satellites, space flight, radars, unmanned
Barbara Walsh, Multimedia Staff Editor vehicles, military programs and other areas that require
unusual or demanding solutions.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Gapwaves announced the opening of its pilot line pro-
Teledyne Technologies Inc. announced that it has en- duction facility in Gothenburg, which serves as a pro-
tered into an agreement to acquire select aerospace duction and industrialization hub. This strategic invest-
and defense electronics businesses from Excelitas Tech- ment is a key step in Gapwaves’ journey to become a
nologies Corp. for $710 million in cash. The acquisition certified supplier of waveguide antennas to the auto-
includes the Optical Systems (OS) business known un- motive market while expanding production capacity to
der the Qioptiq® brand based in Northern Wales, U.K., meet the demands of customers in other market seg-
as well as the U.S.-based advanced electronic systems ments. The pilot line includes the assembly and testing
(AES) business. The U.K.-based OS business provides of injection-molded waveguide and multi-layer wave-
advanced optics for heads-up and helmet-mounted guide antennas, developed by Gapwaves for its part-
displays, dismounted tactical night vision systems and ners and customers. Beyond its production capabilities,
proprietary glass used in space and satellite applica- the facility functions as an industrialization hub, where
tions. In the U.S., the AES business provides custom scalable production processes are developed and vali-
energetics, including electronic safe and arm devices, dated before being transferred to Gapwaves’ qualified
high voltage semiconductor switches and rubidium fre- high volume production partners worldwide.
quency standards for defense and space applications.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Molex announced the signing of an agreement to
Anritsu Corporation announced full support for 5G and
purchase AirBorn Inc., an employee-owned company
LTE Next Generation eCall (NGeCall) validated test cases
headquartered in Georgetown, Texas, specializing in
on its 5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR,
the design and manufacturing of rugged connectors
enabling GCF certification. eCall is a European initia-
and electronic components for global original equip-
tive designed to provide rapid assistance to motor-
ment manufacturers serving the aerospace and defense,
ists involved in accidents. It uses an in-vehicle system
commercial air, space exploration, medical and indus-
equipped with sensors that, when triggered (e.g., by air-
trial markets. For more than 60 years, AirBorn products
bag deployment), automatically place an emergency call
have been trusted to perform in extreme conditions
to the pan-European Emergency Number 112. Along
where mission-critical reliability is vital to success.
with the voice call, essential data such as location, pas-
senger count and vehicle direction is sent to the PSAP.
COLLABORATIONS
Infineon Technologies AG and Quantinuum an- CONTRACTS
nounced a strategic partnership to develop the future
L3Harris Technologies has received an indefinite deliv-
generation of ion traps. This partnership will drive the
ery, indefinite quantity award from the U.S. Navy, worth
acceleration of quantum computing and enable prog-
up to $999 million, to provide U.S. and coalition forces
ress in fields such as generative chemistry, material sci-
with resilient communications technology. Over the
ence and artificial intelligence. Infineon innovates with
next five years, L3Harris will deliver its Multifunctional
a dedicated team to make their trapped-ion QPUs the
Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio
heart of the leading quantum computers. The com-
System Terminals (MIDS JTRS). L3Harris is one of two
pany has invested in this field since 2017, applying its
providers of the MIDS JTRS solution, which is a critical,
expertise in high volume processing technologies and
software-defined Link 16 resilient communication radio
developing technologies, like integrated photonics and
for a variety of air, ground and maritime platforms.
control electronics, to enable their partners to scale the
qubit count of their machines.
BAE Systems was awarded a follow-on contract from the
U.S. Army to further develop its Multi-Class Soft Kill Sys-
NEW STARTS tem (MCSKS) countermeasures to protect ground combat
Smiths Interconnect offers RF Solution Services for vehicles against guided missiles and adjacent threats, im-
unique filter product designs and extremely challenging proving vehicle survivability and mission success. Under
requirements. With decades of experience and multi- the MCSKS contract, BAE Systems will further develop its
tudes of proven RF filter solutions, many customers can laser-based Stormcrow™ and TERRA RAVEN™ counter-
identify Smiths Interconnect commercial-off-the-shelf measure systems, advancing the Army’s electronic warfare
products or products needing only minor variation to (EW)-based Active Protection System work. The advanced
meet their needs. However, in some situations, custom- systems effectively counter threats and allow crews to con-
ers need unique products and/or products to meet ex- serve kinetic countermeasures.
tremely challenging requirements. These opportunities
will be addressed by Smiths Interconnect’s RF Solution Raytheon, an RTX business, has been awarded a con-
Services. The new service has been developed to sup- tract from the U.S. Army to work on directed energy
For More
Information For up-to-date news briefs, visit mwjournal.com

38 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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 Around the Circuit
:51DUURZEDQG wireless power beaming capabilities that will distrib-

%DQGVWRS)LOWHU
ute power across the battlefield, simplify logistics and
safeguard locations for U.S. troops. The work is being
conducted as part of a larger effort under the Depart-
G%QRWFKEHWZHHQWR*+] ment of Defense’s Operational Energy Strategy. Under
the contract, Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team
will develop advanced wireless power transmitter and
receiver technologies to enable a long-range demon-
stration in line with the needs of U.S. Army manned and
unmanned system requirements.

PEOPLE
Markus Fischer, previously executive
vice president of operations, has
been appointed to the Rohde &
Schwarz Executive Board. As chief
operating officer, he will collaborate
with CEO Christian Leicher and CTO
Andreas Pauly to continue to keep the
company on course for growth in
([FHHG0LFURZDYH
S Markus Fischer these challenging times. With
GHVLJQVDQGSURGXFHV 'HVLJQHGDQG0DQXIDFWXUHGLQ86$
Fischer, Rohde & Schwarz has once
QDUURZEDQGZDYHJXLGH $6'Ζ62&HUWL†HG
again bolstered its top management team from within
Ζ7$55HJLVWHUHG
EDQGVWRS OWHUV the company’s own ranks. He joined the technology
group in 2011 as head of Corporate Material Sourcing
&RQWDFW([FHHG0LFURZDYH    at the Munich headquarters. After another manage-
   VDOHV#H[FHHGPLFURZDYHFRP ment role at Rohde & Schwarz Messgerätebau GmbH in
VDOHV#H[FHHGPLFURZDYHFRP_H[FHHGPLFURZDYHFRP
H[FHHGPLFURZDYHFRP
Memmingen, he assumed overall responsibility for the
group’s supply chain in 2017. In July 2020, he was ap-
pointed executive vice president of operations, becom-
ing a member of corporate management.

REP APPOINTMENTS
PEI-Genesis announced its new distribution agreement
with XMA Corporation. As an authorized global dis-
tributor for XMA, PEI-Genesis enhances its ability to
meet the growing demand for advanced RF solutions
across industries such as telecommunications, aero-
space, defense and cryogenics. XMA Corporation, an
Amphenol company, is an industry leader in microwave
and mmWave RF technology, primarily focusing on in-
terconnect RF products for the space, aerospace and
defense, quantum computing/cryogenics, telecommu-
nications (5G) and test and measurement industries.
This strategic partnership brings RF attenuators, RF ter-
minations, power dividers/combiners, couplers, equal-
izers and DC blocks to PEI-Genesis’ portfolio.

Quantic PMI (Planar Monolithics Inc.), a business of

Radar Royale: How UWB Steals the Spotlight in Quantic® Electronics and designer and manufacturer
Cars, IoT, and Beyond! of RF and microwave components, integrated mod-
ules and subsystems, announced a global distribution
agreement with Richardson RFPD, a specialized elec-
tronic component distributor. Through this agreement,
Quantic PMI will provide customers with expanded
global access to in-stock and commercial-off-the-shelf
products. This agreement enables immediate access
to select products from the Richardson RFPD storefront
and expands global reach for Quantic PMI’s modified-
off-the-shelf products and custom solutions.

40 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

SpecialReport

Metamaterial
Innovations: From
Xerox PARC to Leading
Companies
Pat Hindle and Eric Higham
Microwave Journal, Norwood, Mass.

M
etamaterials are emerging as research into and implementation of metama-
a transformative technology in terials has been the Xerox Palo Alto Research
the RF and microwave markets. Center (PARC). Metamaterial technology origi-
Taken in the abstract, a meta- nating from this research at Xerox PARC has
material is a composite material that is used enabled breakthroughs in fields ranging from
to affect electromagnetic waves. While prac- telecommunications and radar to security
tical models and methods, along with arti- screening. This article discusses metamaterial
ficial metamaterials, are new developments fundamentals, along with the evolution of this
within the past three decades or so, explo- technology at Xerox PARC from inception to
rations of using artificial dielectrics to influ- commercialization. As is often the case with
ence electromagnetic waves were reported new technologies at research centers, the ef-
at the end of the 19th century.1 forts have incubated several companies. The
One of the biggest drivers of fundamental article also addresses companies like Kymeta,
Echodyne, Pivotal Commware and Evolv Tech-
nology that have spun out of activities at Xerox
PARC. Each company is harnessing metama-
terials in unique and innovative ways to enable
new and exciting possibilities in a broad range
of industries and applications. These activities
are also sparking tremendous interest in the
future and potential of this technology. Figure
1 shows the entrance to the Xerox PARC facil-
ity in Palo Alto, Calif.

UNDERSTANDING METAMATERIALS
Metamaterials are typically composed of
i Fig. 1 Xerox PARC in Palo Alto. Source: en.wikipedia.
structured arrays of elements at sub-wave-
org/w/index.php?title=File:Parcentrance.jpg

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SpecialReport
length sizes. These elements inter- transfer, which has applications in
act with the electromagnetic waves. energy-efficient buildings and ther-
The structured design allows re- mal management systems in elec-
searchers and designers to control tronics.
the wave propagation properties Xerox PARC has long been
by manipulating how these materi- known for innovative research in
als interact with light, sound or even computing and materials science.
thermal energy. A notable property The company has played a pivotal
of metamaterials is their ability to role in metamaterial development.
achieve a negative refractive index, Since metamaterials are engineered
which causes light to bend in the composite materials, the Xerox
opposite direction when passing i Fig. 2 Split-ring resonators. Source:
PARC researchers are focusing on
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamaterial
through the material. This phenom- developing intricate structures that
enon can be applied to create what applications for metamaterials, in- enable metamaterials to manipu-
are called “superlenses.” This phe- cluding reconfigurable intelligent late light, sound and radio waves
nomenon in these lenses enables surfaces (RIS), that can be used in beyond the limitations of natural
resolution beyond the diffraction antennas for beamforming, polar- materials. Key advancements from
limit, the smallest detail that a lens ization control, signal redirection Xerox PARC include the develop-
can resolve, of conventional lenses. and signal strength enhancement. ment of metamaterial lenses, en-
By extending this limit, metamate- These developments will be signifi- abling compact and high-resolution
rial lenses can have much better cant in efforts to improve wireless imaging systems and other break-
resolution than traditional lenses. network coverage and capacity, throughs that continue to lay the
In addition, the negative refractive along with enabling the develop- groundwork for practical applica-
index can be used for stealth tech- ment of IoT. PARC researchers have tions in telecommunications, sens-
nologies that could render objects shown that metamaterial structures ing and other applications. In late
effectively invisible by bending light enhance the efficiency and range April of 2023, Xerox announced the
around them. of wireless communication systems, donation of the lab to SRI Interna-
The properties of metamateri- making them more resilient to inter- tional, a non-profit research institute
als are determined by their internal ference and capable of operating at with the hopes of further building,
structure rather than their compo- higher frequencies. expanding and scaling capabilities
sition alone. These properties and In optics, Xerox PARC’s metama- among a diverse set of technology
the dependence on internal struc- terials research aims to develop ad- and scientific areas.
ture open many exciting avenues vanced lenses and imaging systems.
for customization. By altering the Traditional lenses rely on the curva- XEROX PARC AS AN
size, shape or arrangement of these ture and refractive index of glass or INCUBATOR
internal elements, the metamaterial plastic to focus light. Metamaterial As mentioned, some of these
can be tailored to exhibit specific lenses use their structural proper- developments have grown beyond
properties. This ability to customize ties to achieve similar effects but Xerox PARC and spawned the for-
can have far-reaching implications with greater control and the ability mation of new companies. The rest
for telecommunications applica- to manipulate the light waves. The of this article will look at some of the
tions, where metamaterials can im- expectation is that this research and companies that have grown out of
prove the performance of antennas, these developments will lead to ul- activities at Xerox PARC with some
filters and waveguides by optimiz- tra-thin, lightweight lenses with ap- insight into the activities at these
ing signal propagation and reduc- plications in cameras, microscopes companies.
ing interference. Figure 2 shows a and even virtual and augmented
Kymeta Corporation: Metamaterials
negative-index metamaterial array reality devices that are important to
Revolutionizing Satellite
of split-ring resonators realized in the emerging 6G vision.
Communications
an array measuring 10 × 100 × 100 Xerox PARC’s exploration of
mm. In this example, the array con- metamaterials also extends to the Founded in 2012, Kymeta Cor-
sists of 3 × 20 × 20 unit cells. energy sector, where these materi- poration emerged from Xerox
als can be used to enhance the ef- PARC’s metamaterial research with
METAMATERIAL ficiency of photovoltaic cells, along a mission to improve satellite com-
FOUNDATIONS: THE XEROX with solar energy and energy stor- munications. Kymeta’s core tech-
PARC ERA age solutions. Research is showing nology revolves around metamate-
At Xerox PARC, the exploration that the thermal or electromagnetic rial-based electronically steerable
of metamaterials focuses on three properties of metamaterials can be antennas (ESAs). Traditional satel-
primary areas: telecommunications, tailored to enable solar cells to cap- lite antennas, such as parabolic
optics and energy. For telecom- ture a broader spectrum of sunlight dishes, are bulky and mechanically
munications applications, metama- or concentrate solar energy more cumbersome, limiting their applica-
terials are used to enhance signal effectively. Additionally, metama- tion in mobile and remote environ-
transmission and reception. There terials can be designed to store ments. Kymeta’s ESAs use metama-
are a variety of telecommunications thermal energy or to control heat terials to electronically steer beams

44 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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without moving parts, offering sig- company as a leader in metamate- based radars are more portable
nificant advantages in terms of size, rial applications for satellite commu- and easier to integrate into vari-
weight and adaptability. These an- nications. ous platforms without compro-
tennas enable high speed, mobile mising performance.
Echodyne Corporation:
satellite connectivity, bridging the Echodyne’s radar solutions have
Metamaterials Redefining Radar
digital divide in remote areas and advanced situational awareness
Systems
enhancing communication capa- across industries, demonstrating the
bilities for maritime, aviation and Echodyne Corporation, founded potential of metamaterial technolo-
military sectors. in 2014, specializes in metamaterial- gies.
based radar systems that improve
Technical Capabilities of Kymeta’s detection and imaging perfor- Pivotal Commware: Metamaterials
Products: mance. Traditional radar systems Enabling 5G Communications
• Metamaterial Antennas: Kyme- rely on large, mechanically scanned Pivotal Commware, established
ta’s ESAs use metamaterials to arrays to achieve high-resolution in 2016, focuses on using meta-
steer beams across the satellite and accuracy. Echodyne’s metama- materials to enhance wireless com-
spectrum electronically. These terial ESAs are a compact, solid- munications, particularly for 5G
antennas provide connectivity state alternative that provides rapid networks. The transition to 5G in-
in mobile environments where beam steering and high-resolution troduces challenges such as signal
deploying traditional antennas imaging. propagation at higher mmWave
would present challenges. frequencies and the need for pre-
Technical Capabilities of Echodyne’s
• Compact Form Factor: By elimi- cise beamforming. Beamforming is
Products:
nating the need for mechanical a technique that focuses a wireless
components, Kymeta’s antennas • Metamaterial ESAs: Echodyne’s signal toward a specific direction
are much smaller and lighter than radar systems leverage meta- rather than broadcasting it in all
conventional satellite dishes, materials to electronically steer directions. This technique reduces
making them well-suited for inte- beams with precision, enabling interference and allows signals to
gration into vehicles, aircraft and rapid scanning and better resolu- overcome obstacles more easily.
portable communication systems tion than conventional radars Pivotal Commware’s antennas use
• Adaptability and Efficiency: • Enhanced Imaging: The use metamaterials to implement holo-
Metamaterial-based design en- of metamaterials allows Echo- graphic beamforming, dynamically
ables Kymeta’s antennas to ad- dyne’s radars to achieve finer shaping and steering radio waves
just beam direction and shape resolution and improved signal for optimal coverage and perfor-
dynamically. These features op- clarity, essential for applications mance.
timize signal strength and mini- such as autonomous vehicles,
perimeter security and drone Technical Capabilities of Pivotal
mize interference to enhance
detection Commware’s Products:
communication efficiency.
Kymeta’s solutions are being • Compact and Lightweight: By • Holographic Beamforming An-
widely adopted, establishing the eliminating bulky mechanical tennas: Pivotal Commware’s an-
parts, Echodyne’s metamaterial- tennas use metamaterials to im-

46 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

Take the Lead
in RF Design
with COMSOL Multiphysics®
Multiphysics simulation is expanding the scope of RF analysis to higher
frequencies and data rates. Accurate models of microwave, mmWave, and
photonic designs are obtained by accounting for coupled physics effects,
material property variation, and geometry deformation. Ultimately, this
helps you more quickly see how a design will perform in the real world.

» comsol.com/feature/rf-innovation
SpecialReport
plement holographic beamform- sensors capable of detecting a ize the technology. The number of
ing, dynamically shaping and wide range of threats, including companies working with metama-
steering radio waves for optimal metallic and non-metallic items, terials underscores the potential of
coverage and performance with high accuracy and minimal the technology across many indus-
• mmWave Optimization: Meta- false alarms tries and applications. As research
material-based antennas im- • High Throughput Screening: and development activities in meta-
prove the efficiency and range of The integration of metamaterial materials continue to evolve, more
mmWave transmissions, facilitat- technology enables Evolv’s sys- opportunities for metamaterial in-
ing the deployment of 5G net- tems to process large volumes novation and integration into new
works in urban environments and of individuals efficiently, enhanc- applications will emerge.
beyond ing throughput rates at security Metamaterials, born from re-
• Adaptive Beam Steering: By ad- checkpoints search at Xerox PARC, are cata-
justing the beam direction in real- • Non-Intrusive Screening: Unlike lyzing a wave of innovation and
time, Pivotal Commware’s anten- traditional methods that require spawning companies that will con-
nas mitigate signal blockage and physical contact or removal of tinue to lead the charge in satellite
interference, ensuring consistent belongings, Evolv’s metamate- communications, radar systems, 5G
and reliable connectivity for 5G rial-based sensors allow for dis- technology and security screening.
applications. creet and non-intrusive screen- Each company, Kymeta, Echodyne,
Pivotal Commware’s metamate- ing, improving the overall pas- Pivotal Commware and Evolv Tech-
rial solutions are accelerating the senger experience. nology, highlights the promise of
deployment of 5G infrastructure Evolv Technology’s innovative metamaterials in pushing techno-
worldwide, addressing challenges use of metamaterials is helping logical boundaries and addressing
in next-generation wireless commu- to redefine and improve secu- complex challenges. As these com-
nications. rity screening standards, offering panies continue to innovate and ex-
scalable solutions that prioritize pand their applications, metamate-
Evolv Technology: Metamaterials safety and efficiency in public rials are poised to shape the future
Enhancing Security Screening spaces. trajectory of technology, unlocking
Evolv Technology, founded in new possibilities for connectivity,
2013, applies metamaterials to ad- FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND security and beyond.
vance security screening systems, IMPLICATIONS
transforming how threats are de- The evolution of metamaterials Reference
tected and mitigated in public ven- from theoretical concepts to practi- 1. J. Ramsay, “Microondas antena de guía
ues. de ondas y técnicas antes de 1900,”
cal implementation starts with com- Proceedings of the IRE (Abstracto),
Technical Capabilities of Evolv panies like Xerox PARC. It is evolv- 46 (2): 405, 1958. doi: 10.1109/JR-
Technology’s Products: ing with companies that have spun PROC.1958.286869. ISSN: 0096-8390.
out of Xerox PARC, like Kymeta, S2CID 51663713.
• Metamaterial Sensors: Evolv
Technology’s security screening Echodyne, Pivotal Commware and
systems employ metamaterial Evolv Technology, to commercial-

48 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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SpecialReport

Microwave SSPAs in
EW and Radar Systems:
The Current Situation
and Trends
Terry Edwards
Engalco-Research, Bridlington, U.K.

F
or several decades, the mi- mediately “behind” the antenna, tronically scanned arrays (AESAs),
crowave electronics industry on the transmission side, there is the focus is on those systems that
has exhibited strong market always the need for a microwave incorporate SSPA modules or relat-
growth, especially for solid- power amplifier (PA). Today, solid- ed MMICs. Low- to medium-power
state components, including solid- state semiconductor technologies MMIC-based SSPAs are often sup-
state power amplifiers (SSPAs).1 This are almost universally implemented plied in QFN packages. Higher
article focuses on these types of am- in PAs. power SSPAs are packaged in metal
plifier products in various electronic casings and cooling is necessary.
warfare (EW) and radar system ap- OVERVIEW OF MICROWAVE Until quite recently, traveling wave
plications. It provides background SSPA TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS tube (TWT) devices often fulfilled
information together with some This article focuses on microwave the requirement for microwave PAs,
forecast data indicating the expect- module-based SSPAs. For radar but semiconductors are now domi-
ed progress for the markets to the applications, excluding active elec- nating. Occasionally, a combina-
year 2030. tion of an SSPA and a TWT is used
Complete microwave systems re- in a traveling wave tube amplifier
quire substantial signal processing (TWTA). In these cases, the TWT is
between the inputs and the anten- driven by an SSPA. However, the
nas. In this article, the focus will be focus of this article is entirely on mi-
on communications systems, EW crowave SSPAs used in EW, mainly
(including jamming) and radars. Im- for jamming applications and mili-
tary radar applications. A typical
jamming pod, the Next Generation
Jammer, used in EW applications
is shown in Figure 1. These types
of systems are installed immedi-
ately beneath the metal skin of the
aircraft. An example of Northrop
Grumman’s AN/SPQ-9B multimode
X-Band pulsed Doppler radar is
shown in Figure 2.
i Fig. 2 Northrop Grumman’s AN/SPQ-
According to Northrop Grum-
i Fig. 1 Jamming pod. Source: 9B radar. Source: Northrop Grumman
man, their AN/SPQ-9B can detect
L3Harris Corporation. Corporation.

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SpecialReport
these classifica-
TABLE 1 tions.
MICROWAVE SSPA CATEGORIES These amplifier
designations can
MPA HPA VHPA
generally be de-
Up to a Up to several Up to several scribed with the
Power Output (W)
few hundred thousand following charac-
A few teristics:
Typical Size (cm) in each 10 x 15 x 5 12 x 18 x 6 MPAs (CW):
dimension
Most often, GaAs-
all known and projected sea-skim- based MMICs in i Fig. 3 CMX90A705A6 Ka-Band
ming missiles. In this application, QFN packages with DC supply volt- MMIC-based SSPA. Source: CML Micro
Compound Semiconductor Design team.
the microwave SSPAs are packaged ages typically around 12 V.
in aluminum boxes with SMA con- HPAs (CW): GaN-based MMICs pulsed for radar applications with
nectors. for tens to hundreds of watts. Hy- several kW peak power not uncom-
Several parameters characterize brid circuits are used for the higher mon. DC supply voltages are typi-
an SSPA, but the RF output power is power levels and LDMOS is used cally around 100 V or more. Multiple
almost always the primary consider- at lower frequencies. The DC sup- blocks, in parallel, are often used
ation. This output power can range ply voltage is typically 40 V. Mul- and the balanced circuit configura-
from a few watts (30 to 40 dBm) to tiple transistors or pallets are often tion is often adopted, like HPAs.
several kilowatts. The RF power out- used and the balanced circuit con- GaN HEMT devices, typically
put can be continuous wave (CW) figuration is frequently adopted.1 using GaN-on-SiC technology, are
for EW or pulsed with a typical 10:1 The minimum requirement is two already significant and growing in
duty cycle for radar systems. In this transistors or MMICs, per balanced importance in this industry. MMICs
article, SSPAs are characterized as circuit. This means there may be 20 are used wherever possible, but
medium-power amplifiers (MPAs), transistors or MMICs used for 10 discrete transistors within a hybrid
high-power amplifiers (HPAs) and parallel circuits in a pallet. circuit may be the best solution
very high-power amplifiers (VHPAs). VHPAs: Circuits use LDMOS or for higher microwave power levels.
Table 1 shows a categorization of GaN discrete transistors. They are CW systems are required for most
EW system applications, whereas
pulsed amplifiers are common for
most non-AESA radar systems.
'BTU

"DDVSBUF
5SBDFBCMF These systems generally operate in
L-Band (0.3 to 2 GHz), S-Band (2 to
1PXFS
4FOTPST
GSPN
-BEZ#VH
5FDI 4 GHz), C-Band (4 to 8 GHz), X-Band
(8 to 12 GHz), Ku-Band (12.4 to 18
GHz) and Ka-Band (26.5 to 40 GHz).
In some instances, ITU band desig-
nations of UHF (0.3 to 3 GHz) and
SHF (3 to 30 GHz) may be used.2,3
As a practical example, Figure
3 shows a MMIC-based Ka-Band
SSPA developed by CML Micro
Compound Semiconductor Design












-#
4FSJFT 4NBMM
'PSN
'BDUPS
4FSJFT team. This SSPA uses six GaN-based
7FSJUZ
PG
PQUJPOT
GFBUVSFT %FTJHOFE
GPS
NFUSPMPHZ MMICs designed by PRFI. Two of the

DPOOFDUPST

UP
()[ CVJMU
GPS
JOUFHSBUJPO MMICs are close to the input side
with the remaining four located near
the output. The device operates with
t
'JSTU
UJFS
USBDFBCJMJUZ a 10 percent duty cycle and provides
t
1SPHSBNNBUJD
TVQQPSU an average output power of 5.5 W
t
.PTU
øFYJCMF
JOUFSGBDF from 27.5 to 31 GHz.



64#
64#5.$ MICROWAVE SSPA



0QUJPOBM
)J4-*1
-"/ MANUFACTURERS (OEMS)



0QUJPOBM
41*

*$
A wide range of companies,
most of whom are headquartered
in the U.S., supply various types of
.BOVGBDUVSFE
JO microwave SSPAs. Leading OEMs
#PJTF
*%
64" include overall market leader Stel-
lant Systems, Kratos Defense,
MACOM, CPI, Mercury Systems,

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 SpecialReport
MtronPTI, Qorvo,
RFHIC, CAES (re-
25
cently acquired by
Honeywell) and
Nanowave Tech- 20
nology. Stellant,

Number of OEMs
Kratos, MACOM 15
and CPI lead the
pack, in that or-
der.2,3 10

There are 56
OEMs captured 5
in the cited refer-
ences and approxi- 0
mately three-quar- 1-20 21-100 101-300 301-1000 1001-2000 2001-
ters of all the OEMs Ranges of Employee Numbers per Company
50000
employ between
1 and 300 people,
so these are not i Fig. 4 OEM count as a function of the representative
large conglomer- number of employees.
ates. Many of these
companies either specialize in the In terms of the total available
manufacturing of microwave SSPAs market, revenue from the MMIC or
or those products form a significant chipset will always be substantially
part of their overall portfolios. The lower than the value of the complete
OEM distribution by the number microwave SSPA and the system.
of employees is shown in Figure The SSPA requires additional digital,
4. This chart uses typical numbers processing and RF functions. It will
rather than the actual data.3 be in a housing of some type with
The distribution exhibited in Fig- electrical and RF connections to the
ure 4 is typical in that it tends to remainder of the system that con-
apply to almost any electronic as- tains an antenna, which is often the
sembly. The distribution indicates most expensive component. In addi-
that most OEMs are SMEs employ- tion, some cooling may be required,
ing no more than 300 people. The particularly for HPAs and VHPAs. This
number of companies peaks in the is likely to involve forced air cooling,
21 to 100 employee range before a but in some cases, like airborne jam-
dip follows this initial peaking trend. ming pods used in EW applications,
After this dip, a moderate increase natural air flow provides substantial
is seen that applies to large and in-flight cooling.
very large companies. For this class
of companies that employ upwards EW AND RADAR SYSTEM
of 1000 people, microwave SSPAs MARKET SHARE
have always represented a relatively Advances and developments at
small part of their overall product system suppliers are the primary
portfolios. driving features for module and
In terms of location, the U.S. subsystem manufacturers. There-
is home to the largest number of fore, the dynamics associated with
companies. There are 34 compa- those systems have already been
nies, 61 percent of the overall total, accounted for in the forecast data.
headquartered and having primary The forecast reports rely heavily on
operations in the U.S. The majority primary and secondary research
of these companies, 18, are locat- into the industry, the players and
ed in California. The U.K. occupies the technologies.
second place with five OEMs, al- For each product category in the
though most are very small opera- microwave SSPA family, the forecast
tions. South Korea takes third place lists total addressable market (TAM)
with four OEMs headquartered data for the 2023 to 2030 forecast
in this country. The Gyeonggi-do period. In this case, TAM addresses
high-tech defense-related cluster the merchant market, which is the
is particularly important in this re- portion of the market that is broadly
gard. addressed by distributors, agents,
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 SpecialReport
High Precision.
High Performance. 100

The N630 Series VCXO. 90 Radar%

EW%
80
70

TAM (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Year

i Fig. 5 EW and radar systems TAM.

Ultra-Low g-Sensitivity
Low Phase Noise bilities. Engalco-Research’s latest
Compact, SMD Package MPAs forecast for microwave SSPA TAM
16% and the distribution between EW
and radar applications is shown in
HPAs Figure 5. It is important to note that
51% VHPAs
33%
China trails only the U.S. in terms
of defense spending. However, the
methodology of primary and sec-
ondary research, coupled with the
current geopolitical situation, does
not allow for a reliable and accurate
RADAR i Fig. 6 Microwave SSPA product estimation of activity in China.
categories by 2024 revenue.3
COMMUNICATIONS Figure 5 shows that microwave
AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION SSPA revenue for EW applications
consistently exceeds the revenue
shfHPAs
T Frequency: 60-130 MHz 58% for radar applications. Over the
forecast period, the EW market
T Ultra-Low-11g-Sensitivity share will see a slow but steady in-
to 7 x 10 /g shfVHPAs
30% crease. The global TAM is expected
T +20dBm High Level uhfMPAs to surpass $1 billion in 2026. We
Sine Wave Output 12% expect revenue in this market will
T Supply: +5.0 Vdc experience year-over-year growth
rates from 5 percent to just over 6
T Rugged 17.5mm sq. Pkg. percent over the forecast period. A
T High Shock/Vibration i Fig. 7 2024 TAM share by frequency
slight reduction in the growth rates
band for microwave SSPAs.
to 30,000g is anticipated during the later years
sales subsidiaries or directly from the of the forecast.
T N630 Series Specifications: OEM. The total market also includes Regionally, North America,
the captive portion of the market, mainly the U.S., always leads the
where system OEMs use internally markets. It is home to Tier 1 cor-
manufactured devices. Estimating porations like L3Harris, Northrop
captive revenue is not feasible be- Grumman and Raytheon. Europe is
cause it entails a knowledge of the the second-largest region with Tier
internal transfer considerations at 1 companies that include BAE Sys-
each company in the forecast. The tems, Leonardo and Thales. Israel,
Call (717) 766-0223 today – and simple relationship is: TAM = (total because of geopolitical challenges,
talk to a Greenray engineer about market) - (captive market). occupies the third spot in the fore-
your system requirements. The captive market can be signif- cast with suppliers like Elbit Sys-
icant, especially in the defense seg- tems, Israel Aerospace Industries
ment. For a number of technology, and Rafael Advanced Defense Sys-
security and commercial reasons, tems. Southeast Asia, driven mainly
defense contractors may prefer to by Australia, India, Japan and Korea
retain control over electronics de- occupies fourth place over the fore-
frequency control solutions sign, IP and manufacturing capa- cast period.

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 SpecialReport
MARKET SHARE BY PRODUCT
CATEGORY AND FREQUENCY MPAs
BAND 45%

Figure 6 shows the 2024 market

share data for the three categories
of microwave SSPAs defined ear- HPAs VHPAs
25%
lier.3 From Figure 6, the importance 30%

of HPAs is evident. These PAs find

applications in X-Band, (most no-
tably) and Ku-Band systems for
both EW and radar applications.
The revenue from VHPAs is also i Fig. 8 2024 microwave SSPA
substantial, mainly because of the shipments power level.
relatively high unit prices of these 45 percent. This is in sharp contrast
amplifiers. It is important to observe to the revenue market share profile
the market shares given in Figure 6 from Figure 6 and it reflects the low
are in terms of revenue, not units. price and high volume nature of
The selling price of amplifiers tends these products that are often real-
to increase as the required output ized as MMICs. The HPA category
power increases. The average unit is next from a volume standpoint,
prices of the MPA category of PAs with an estimated 30 percent mar-
tend to be the lowest of all three ket share in 2024.
categories. This contributes to this
category having the smallest rev- CONCLUSION
enue in 2024, with a market share of Microwave SSPA usage in mili-
16 percent. tary applications is well-established
Segmentation by frequency band and these devices are vital to sys-
also shows some interesting results. tem performance. These products
Figure 7 shows the anticipated are steadily displacing TWTAs at
2024 composite radar and EW rev- higher power levels and we believe
enue for the three microwave SSPA this trend will continue. The general
categories over two different fre- trend toward systems operating at
quency bands. Again, the HPA seg- ever-decreasing RF power levels will
ment accounts for more than half of also continue to favor solid-state
the total revenue. The SHF HPAs are amplifiers. With the well-established
mainly used in EW applications. The presence of several powerful and ef-
next largest segment is VHPAs in the fective OEMs, it will be very difficult
SHF frequency range. These PAs are for any newcomers to penetrate
used in both radar and EW applica- these markets seriously. Newcomers
tions, with the radar share edging will have to demonstrate a strong
the EW share by a small margin. The and highly competitive product or
UHF MPAs, once again, account for products to be able to make their
the smallest share. This opportunity presence felt in the highly demand-
is satisfied mainly by MMICs in QFN ing EW and military radar markets.
packages for EW applications. Since Corporate expansion will be largely
Figure 7 uses the broader SHF and by acquisition rather than through
UHF frequency designations, it is organic growth.
instructive to note that X-Band ap-
plications dominate within the SHF References
frequency range. In practice, these 1. T. Edwards, “Technologies for RF Sys-
X-Band SSPAs may operate across a tems,” Artech House, Boston, Mass.,
2018.
frequency band such as 8 to 10 GHz 2. T. Edwards, “Microwave SSPAs: Technol-
as opposed to the full 8 to 12 GHz ogies & Industry” (an industrial mono-
band. graph), Engalco-Research, August 2024.
Figure 8 shows the microwave 3. “Microwave Solid State Power Amplifi-
ers (SSPAs) into Free-World EW and Ra-
SSPA market share in terms of units. dar Markets. Industry Structure & Market
This data paints a much different Forecasts to 2030,” Engalco-Research,
picture. From a unit standpoint, the September 2024.
MPA category is the largest, with
an estimated 2024 market share of

58 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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ApplicationNote

Using AI for Antenna Design,

Analysis and Optimization
Sudarshan Sivaramakrishnan, Vishwanath Iyer, Tina Gao and Giorgia Zucchelli
MathWorks, Natick, Mass.

A
I is significantly impacting almost RAPID ANTENNA ANALYSIS WITH PRE-
all engineering fields, but its po- TRAINED MODELS
tential is especially promising for For engineers, it begins with developing
antenna analysis and optimization pre-trained AI models for antenna analysis
to minimize the need for repeated full-wave while addressing the lack of commercially
electromagnetic simulations. Although AI available design software with built-in AI ca-
models have proven effective in character- pabilities. The approach consists of the fol-
izing and optimizing various antennas, the lowing steps:
field lacks a comprehensive framework for 1. Catalog Standard Antennas: Begin
both standard and custom antenna solu- with a set of standard antennas with pa-
tions. To address this gap, AI techniques rameterized geometries suitable for full-
are applied to create scalable and gener- wave electromagnetic simulation.
alizable models for antenna design and 2. Prototype Design Development: For
analysis, enabling adoption by engineers each antenna, derive an initial design
without expertise in electromagnetic theory prototype using a combination of de-
or AI. sign variables (e.g., geometric param-
To support the design and optimization eters) to ensure resonance at a specified
of a comprehensive AI-driven workflow with frequency.
minimal specialized knowledge in machine 3. Tunable Design Variables: Identify a
learning (ML) and electromagnetics, engi- subset of design variables that can be
neers can rely on pre-trained ML, AutoML adjusted within specified tolerances
and optimization algorithms. The AI-driven (e.g., ±15 percent) to explore variations
approach, coupled with the pre-trained al- around the initial design point. Simulate
gorithms, accelerates the antenna design how these adjustments affect key perfor-
process. It also democratizes access to ad- mance metrics.
vanced design tools, allowing for faster and 4. Intelligent Sampling: Use intelligent sam-
more flexible customization and perfor- pling to create a dataset of simulations
mance enhancement. that represent the antenna’s design space.

60 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 ApplicationNote
5. ML Model Training: Train ML
models to predict performance
TABLE 1
across wide parameter ranges COMPARISON OF MACHINE LEARNING MODEL AND FULL-WAVE
with high accuracy and minimal SIMULATION RESULTS FOR A PIFA
computation time. Initial Design Modified Design
6. Frequency Scaling Generaliza- fR (GHz) BW (MHz) fR (GHz) BW (MHz)
tion: Extend each prototype’s ML 1.0038 61.705 1.0079 80.048
ML model to other initial design MoM 1.0040 61.756 1.0072 79.085
frequencies using frequency Percent Error -0.0270% -0.0820% 0.0712% 1.2180%
scaling principles. Computation time ML: 0.1865 ML: 0.1216
This strategy enables workflows (seconds)
MoM: 46.4830 MoM: 46.6629
for early-stage design exploration
and interactive visual examination 5.163 s 4.314 s
that were previously impractical.

Frequency (GHz)
Frequency (GHz)
1.10 1.10
For instance, if an engineer needs a
1.05

Resonant
Resonant 1.05
planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) to
1.00 1.00
resonate at 1 GHz, they can quickly
0.95 0.95
generate a design blueprint. Using 6 6
0.90 7 0.90 7
a pre-trained ML model to predict 4.0 ) 2.0 2.8 8 h (cm
)
4.5 5.0 5.5 8 th (cm 2.2 2.4 2.6
t
resonant frequency, engineers can Width (cm) Le n g Height (cm) Le n g
efficiently explore and optimize
dimensions such as length, width, 4.019 s 4.324 s
height and short pin width to main-

Frequency (GHz)
Frequency (GHz)

1.10
tain the 1 GHz resonance. Once an 1.05

Resonant
1.05
Resonant

optimal design is identified, full-

1.00
wave electromagnetic simulations 1.00
0.95
can verify AI predictions and guide 6 4.0
0.90 0.95 4.5
further refinement. Table 1 shows 4.0 4.5 5.0 8
7
( cm) 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 5.0 (cm)
5.5 th
a comparison of an ML model and ShortPinWidth (cm) Le n g Height (cm) Wi
dth
full-wave simulation method of mo-
ments (MoM) results for a PIFA with 4.055 s 3.920 s
dimensions adjusted by -9 percent
Frequency (GHz)

in length, +12 percent in width, +5 1.02

Frequency (GHz)

1.05
percent in height and -4 percent in
Resonant
Resonant

1.00
short pin width from the 1 GHz pro- 0.98
1.00
totype. Full-wave simulations use a 4.0 2.0
frequency sweep from 700 MHz to 0.96
4.0 5.0
4.5
)
0.95
4.0
2.5 )
4.5 5.0 5.5 (cm 4.5 5.0 5.5 ( m
c
1.3 GHz with 1 MHz resolution for dth i ght
ShortPinWidth (cm) Wi ShortPinWidth (cm) He
resonant frequency and bandwidth
analysis. As shown in Table 1, ML i Fig. 1 1 GHz PIFA parameter sweeps using the pre-trained regression machine
models provide results much faster learning model.
than electromagnetic simulations.
0.090 Matched at 50 Ohms
Parameter sweeps of a 1 GHz PIFA Almost Matched
using the pre-trained regression ML Unmatched

model to predict resonant frequen- Length 0.2641

Height 0.0837
0.085
cies based on varying geometric Plot 1

properties are shown in Figure 1.

These results illustrate that resonant 0.080
Height (m)

frequencies for 2500 configurations

can be predicted in seconds, facili- Length 0.2335 Length 0.2641
Height 0.0747
tating rapid iteration during early- 0.075
Height 0.0778
Initial Design Prototype
Plot 2

stage design without costly simula-

tions.
AI-accelerated parameter sweeps 0.070
Length 0.2641
Height 0.0680
also help narrow the design space. Plot 3

In Figure 2, a pre-trained ML model

classifies 2500 PIFA configurations 0.065
based on 50 Ω matching. The im- 0.19 0.20 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26 0.27
pedance matching scenarios were Length (m)
determined for a PIFA antenna de-
signed at 300 MHz. Each configu- i Fig. 2 Impedance matching scenarios for a PIFA antenna designed at 300 MHz.

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 61

ApplicationNote
ration varies in length and height fication of three
around a PIFA designed for 300 designs against
MHz resonance. The results were full-wave simula- PEC
predicted in under 10 seconds tion, focusing on Feed
when using the pre-trained classifi- the “Plot 1,” “Plot
cation ML model. 2” and “Plot 3” re- 4

z (mm)
2
Figure 3 shows the full-wave gions referenced in 0 h
electromagnetic verification of Figure 2. Although –2 Feed (x, y)
bandwidth and impedance match- classification alone 25
ing conditions for the points shown does not finalize 20 30

in Figure 2. It verifies the classi- the design, it indi- 15 20

cates that a length- y (mm)
10
10
Full-Wave Simulation (Plot 1) 5
to-height ratio x (mm)
0 0
–2
dB(S11)
Threshold (–10.00 dB)
below 3.5 is nec-
essary for match- 25
–4 ing. This refines the
optimization space
Magnitude (dB)

20 d
–6 and improves ef-
ficiency for subse-
quent methods. 15 W
–8
The scalability

y (mm)
W l
of this approach is 10
–10
demonstrated by
Resonance (MHz) 278.276 the “AIAntenna” 5
–12 Bandwidth (MHz) 11.1607
object in Antenna
260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 Toolbox, which 0
L
Frequency (MHz) provides access
Full-Wave Simulation (Plot 2) to pre-trained ML
–5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
models for various
x (mm)
–2 catalog antennas,
including PIFA and
other patch anten- i
Fig. 4 C-shaped microstrip patch antenna.
–4
nas. This capability allows for rapid requirement can hinder the applica-
Magnitude (dB)

–6 AI-accelerated parameter sweeps tion of AI techniques for antenna de-

dB(S11)
Threshold (–8.00 dB)
of standard antennas. This, in turn, sign and analysis. Therefore, automa-
–8 enables quick analysis and catego- tion frameworks and low-code tools
Resonance (MHz) 283.448 rization of design spaces, identifica- are essential. The general ML work-
–10
Bandwidth (MHz) 11.8347 tion of optimal dimensions for spe- flow involves:
cific performance goals and insights 1. Modeling and parameterizing
–12 into the design space’s response the antenna for simulation
surface.1 2. Defining design variables as
260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 predictors and metrics as re-
Frequency (MHz) AUTOML TRAINING CUSTOM sponses
Full-Wave Simulation (Plot 3)
ANTENNAS AI MODELS 3. Conducting a DOE for sampling
AI models can extend their util- the design variables
–2 ity beyond standard antenna types 4. Performing electromagnetic
(e.g., dipoles, patches and horns) to simulations to generate re-
–4 custom antenna structures. However, sponse data
developing these models typically 5. Preprocessing and exploring
Magnitude (dB)

–6 requires expertise across disciplines. data in preparation for training

Knowledge of antenna design and 6. Iteratively training and tuning
–8 electromagnetic analysis is crucial for ML models for optimal perfor-
dB(S11)
Threshold (–8.00 dB)
problem formulation, setting up mea- mance
–10 surement systems, identifying key 7. Evaluating the ML model
parameters and interpreting results. against simulation results for ac-
–12 Simultaneously, a background in sta- curacy on new data.
tistics, design of experiments (DOE) This workflow is demonstrated
260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 theory and ML is necessary for imple- by training an ML model to char-
Frequency (MHz) acterize a probe-fed C-shaped mi-
menting the training framework, sam-
pling data, designing AI models and crostrip patch antenna2 and predict
i Fig. 3 Full-wave electromagnetic
validating their performance with re- its resonant frequency based on its
verification of bandwidth and impedance
matching conditions. liable metrics. This cross-disciplinary dimensions. Stochastic DOE meth-

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ApplicationNote

Predictions on Training Data TABLE 2

3.0
MODEL PERFORMANCE ON TRAINING AND TEST DATASETS
2.8 Percent Absolute Error (%)
Dataset
Predicted Response

2.6 Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std. Dev.

Training 0.00096 0.5808 0.1457 0.1170 0.1264
2.4
Test 0.0223 0.9037 0.3134 0.2361 0.2538
2.2
with the nominal values for the de- tuned GPR model with less than 1
2.0 sign variables being: L = 24 mm, W percent prediction error on both
1.8 Observations = 20 mm, l = 10 mm, w = 7.2 mm, d training and test data. The model’s
Perfect Prediction
= 2.4 mm and h = 1.6 mm. accuracy is detailed in Table 2 and
1.6
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 The antenna is modeled with an visualized in Figure 5, providing
True Response air substrate, but the approach can both quantitative and qualitative
(a)
be applied to dielectric structures. assessments as per step 7 of the
Predictions on Test Data Design variables are varied within a ML workflow.
3.0
±25 percent range around nominal
2.8 values, resulting in 200 data points. EVOLVING THE ANTENNA
Each configuration is simulated SHAPE WITH SURROGATE
Predicted Response

2.6
from 1 to 4 GHz using a full-wave OPTIMIZATION
2.4 MoM solver to find the resonant fre- Pre-trained AI models for stan-
2.2
quency. The data is split 80 percent dard and custom antenna structures
into training and 20 percent into provide valuable insights. However,
2.0 test sets, covering steps 1 to 5. surrogate optimization offers an al-
1.8 Observations AutoML automates step 6 of the ternative by learning subsets of the
Perfect Prediction ML workflow using the “fitrauto” design space during optimization.
1.6 function from the Statistics and Ma- As the surrogate model is devel-
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0
True Response
chine Learning Toolbox. This func- oped and updated during the op-
(b)
tion performs regression model se- timization, this technique can be
i Fig. 5 Model performance on lection and hyperparameter tuning. applied to evolving antenna shapes
training (a) and test (b) datasets. It employs Bayesian optimization to where pre-trained models provide
evaluate ML models like Gaussian insufficient insights.
odologies and low-code AutoML for process regressors (GPRs), support Traditional antenna optimization
model selection, training and tun- vector machines and artificial neu- relies on full-wave electromagnetic
ing are used for creating an antenna ral networks, selecting a model with analysis, which is resource-intensive
model. This is different from what minimized generalization error. in terms of time and memory. Strat-
was reported in other works. Figure This results in a low-code so- egies to mitigate solver complexity
4 shows the parameterization of the lution. Step 6 is executed with a include higher-order basis functions,
C-shaped microstrip patch antenna single line of code, producing a iterative methods like the fast multi-

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64 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

ApplicationNote

PEC PEC
Feed Feed

z (mm)
3
z (mm)

3
–1 –1

20 20

10 20 10 20
10 0 10
0 y (mm)
y (mm) 0 0
–10 –10 x (mm)
–10 x (mm) –10
–20 –20 –20 –20
(a) (a)

0 0

–2 –2
dB(S11) dB(S11)
–4 –4

–6 –6
Magnitude (dB)

–8 Magnitude (dB) –8

–10 –10

–12 –12

–14 –14

–16 –16

–18 –18

–20 –20
3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5
Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)
(b) (b)

i Fig. 6 Probe-fed equilateral patch antenna (a) and

i Fig. 7 Evolved probe-fed patch antenna shape (a) and
simulated S11 (b). simulated S11 (b).

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66 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025
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ApplicationNote
pole method, GPU acceleration and optimization techniques to explore electromagnetic solver. Any devia-
hybrid full-wave/asymptotic meth- the true solution space. Surrogate- tions in the outputs prompt updates
ods. Despite these, a single param- based optimizers3 fall into the glob- with new true solution points, con-
eter set requires significant com- al optimization category but differ tinuing the optimization while mini-
putational resources and exploring by reducing expensive electromag- mizing electromagnetic solver calls.
multiple design variables adds a netic solver calls. They build a sur- The use of surrogate optimiza-
combinatorial challenge. The search rogate model that initially learns the tion is demonstrated starting with a
space often contains multiple extre- search space characteristics using standard triangular microstrip patch
ma, typically framed as minimization the electromagnetic solver and then antenna and evolving its shape to
problems. This necessitates either drives the optimization. To maintain achieve a target performance objec-
defining bounds to ensure a unique accuracy, the surrogate’s outputs tive. This surrogate-based approach
local minimum or employing global are occasionally verified against the is applied to enhance the bandwidth
of a single-feed, probe-fed triangular
11:48 AM patch antenna on an air substrate by
Why not try a different
evolving the side shapes.4 Initially, a
approach before you standard probe-fed equilateral patch
head to lunch? 1:03 PM antenna is designed for the lower
Your second board is half of the 5 GHz band, with a -10
ready to test. dB bandwidth of about 3 percent, as
shown in Figure 6.
10:05 AM
The surrogate optimizer aims to
Your first board is improve bandwidth to cover 5.0 to
ready to test.
5.6 GHz by adjusting the shapes of
the three sides while leaving the cor-
ners and ground plane unchanged.
Three Gaussian functions, defined
9:00 AM
3:14 PM in Equation 1, represent each side’s
After a few tweaks, shape, introducing three optimization
Your circuit design is
done and you’re ready
you’re ready to make variables per side: mean (µ), standard
your finished board.
to make a prototype. deviation (σ) and scaling term (w).
2
p-n l
w b
f (p) = e -0.5 v (1)
v 2r
4:09 PM
4
These three variables adjust the
Your finished board is
ready to go.
curve’s amplitude relative to the
original edge, with p as the position
along the side. The feed coordi-
5:00 PM
nates (x, y) add two more degrees of
freedom, totaling 11 independent
Nice work. You just
shaved weeks off your variables for the shape optimization.
development schedule. The surrogate optimization uses
the structure, objective function,
constraints and bounds to evolve
the patch shape. The final shape

All in a day’s work and its simulated reflection coef-

ficient are depicted in Figure 7.
Comparing Figures 6 and 7, the
ProtoMat® Benchtop PCB Prototyping Machine shape evolution increases band-
width from 3 to 12 percent through
What would your day look like tomorrow if you could
cut yourself free from the board house and produce “You can’t beat an LPKF system double resonance. Although not
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ApplicationNote
proach to antenna engineering. By early stages of design, where flexibil- cles and reduced time-to-market.
leveraging AI, engineers can create a ity and speed are crucial. The integration of AI also accel-
scalable, extensible and automatable Moreover, the efficient explora- erates design optimization, allowing
suite of tools that significantly en- tion of the design space facilitated for the fine-tuning of both standard
hance the efficiency and effectiveness by AI models reduces the compu- and custom antenna geometries.
of antenna design processes. These tational burden traditionally associ- This adaptability is essential in to-
tools enable rapid “what-if” analyses, ated with antenna optimization. By day’s rapidly evolving technological
enabling engineers to quickly assess narrowing down the most promis- landscape, where custom solutions
the impact of design changes on per- ing design parameters early in the are often required to meet specific
formance metrics without the need process, engineers can focus their performance criteria or to integrate
for exhaustive simulations. This ca- resources on refining these designs, seamlessly with other components
pability is particularly valuable in the leading to faster development cy- in complex systems.
Beyond the immediate benefits
of design and optimization, the AI-
driven framework supports continu-
ous improvement and learning. As
more data is gathered and models
are refined, the system becomes in-
creasingly accurate and predictive,
further enhancing its value to engi-
neers.
Overall, this AI-driven framework
not only addresses current challeng-
es in antenna engineering but also
positions the field to tackle future
demands with greater agility and
precision. By embracing AI, engi-
neers unlock new possibilities for in-
novation and efficiency, setting the
stage for advancements that could
redefine the boundaries of what is
achievable in antenna design and
performance. To help engineers get
Freq. Isolation Insertion Loss Current VSWR Model started, several examples are identi-
Range (dB) min. (dB) max. (mA) max. max. Number
fied in the references. All EM simu-
50-800 MHz 25 0.6 6000 1.20:1 BT-10-E
lations use MoM solvers in MATLAB
10-1000 MHz 25 0.5 1000 1.20:1 BT-20
800-1000 MHz 30 0.5 5000 1.50:1 BT-21
and Antenna Toolbox.
1700-2000 MHz 30 0.5 5000 1.50:1 BT-22
500-2500 MHz 25 1.0 200 1.20:1 BT-02 References
10-3000 MHz 25 1.8 3000 1.50:1 BT-06-411
1. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Rapid
Analysis and Design of Patch Antenna,”
500-3000 MHz 25 1.0 500 1.20:1 BT-05
MathWorks, Inc., Web: mathworks.com/
500-3000 MHz 30 1.8 2000 1.50:1 BT-23
help/antenna/ug/ai-for-rapid-analysis-
10-4200 MHz 25 1.2 200 1.20:1 BT-03 and-design-of-microstrip-patch.html.
1000-5000 MHz 35 1.0 1000 1.50:1 BT-04 2. “Train Machine Learning Model for
100-6000 MHz 30 1.5 500 1.50:1 BT-07 Analysis of Custom Antenna,” Math-
0.5-10 GHz 30 1.0 200 1.50:1 BT-26 Works, Inc., Web: mathworks.com/help/
100 KHz - 12.4 GHz 40 1.5 700 1.60:1 BT-52-400D antenna/ug/train-mlmodel-for-analysis-
100 KHz - 18.0 GHz 40 2.0 700 1.60:1 BT-53-400D of-custom-antenna.html.
0.3-18.0 GHz 25 1.5 500 1.60:1 BT-29 3. B. Liu, H. Aliakbarian, Z. Ma, G. A. E.
30 KHz - 27.0 GHz 40 2.2 500 1.80:1 BT-51 Vandenbosch, G. Gielen and P. Excell,
30 KHz - 40.0 GHz 40 3.0 500 1.80:1 BT-50 “An Efficient Method for Antenna De-
30 KHz - 70.0 GHz 30 3.5 500 2:00:1 BT-54-401 sign Optimization Based on Evolution-
30 KHz - 85.0 GHz 30 4.0 500 2:00:1 BT-55-401
ary Computation and Machine Learning
Techniques,” IEEE Transactions on An-
6HHZHEVLWHIRUFRPSOHWHVSHFLÀFDWLRQVDQGRXUFRPSOHWHOLQHRIELDVWHHV tennas and Propagation, Vol. 62, No. 1,
Jan. 2014, pp. 7–18.
4. V. Iyer, S. Sivaramakrishnan, T. Gao and
G. Zucchelli, “Bandwidth Enhancement
of a Probe-fed Patch Antenna through
Shape Modification Using a Gaussian
Function,” 2024 IEEE International Sym-
posium on Antennas and Propagation
and ITNC-USNC-URSI Radio Science
Meeting, Florence, Italy, 2024.

70 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

Tutorial

Examining RF Architectures for

Software-Defined Radios
Brandon Malatest
Per Vices, Toronto, Canada

S
oftware-defined radios (SDRs) en- ARCHITECTURES
able an increasing number of mis- Various RF architectures can be utilized
sion-critical systems across radar, in SDRs, but the most prevalent are direct
electronic warfare, signals intelli- sampling, direct conversion (zero-IF) and su-
gence, communications and other defense perheterodyne.
applications. The essential requirements of
these systems are performance, reliability Direct Sampling Architecture
and price. SDRs are typically designed to in- Direct sampling, or direct RF sampling, in-
clude an analog RF front-end (RFE), digital- volves digitizing the RF signal directly using
to-analog converters (DACs) for the transmit an ADC without any prior frequency conver-
path, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for sion. A representative block diagram of this
the receive path and a digital processor. This architecture is shown in Figure 1. This ap-
article focuses on the analog RFE. It com- proach is simple in design and offers wide-
pares the three most common architectures band operation, limited only by the ADC.
with a deep dive into the architecture that While this design enables simultaneous
is typically the best approach for mission- processing of a wide range of frequencies,
critical applications. this architecture usually sacrifices RF perfor-
mance, especially dynamic range, which is
ADC
essential in many mission-critical applica-
tions. This issue is further complicated by
SMA DSP/FPGA
Input high power consumption and the prices of
the high speed converters required for these
architectures.
i Fig. 1 Direct sampling architecture block
diagram.

72 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 Tutorial
COMPONENT SELECTION
FOR THE SUPERHETERODYNE
IQ Down Anti Aliasing ADC
Converter
ARCHITECTURE
Filter Driver ADC
SMA
The rest of this article focuses on
DSP/FPGA
Input the components included in most
superheterodyne architectures and
the essential characteristics associ-
ated with component selection. The
Frequency superheterodyne architecture is an
Synthesizer
excellent choice for mission-critical
systems. Its structure includes sev-
i Fig. 2 Direct conversion architecture block diagram. eral stages. Each stage requires
specific components, which are dis-
cussed in the following section. The
Low Noise Variable IQ Down Anti Aliasing ADC critical characteristics to consider
Amplifier Attenuator Converter Filter Driver ADC
when selecting these components
SMA
Input
DSP/FPGA are highlighted.
The first stage of the superhet-
erodyne architecture has the RF
connector, filter and low noise am-
Frequency plifier (LNA). The RF connector se-
Synthesizer lection may appear trivial, but there
are important elements to consider
for the first component within the
i Fig. 3 Superheterodyne architecture block diagram.
architecture. It is essential to con-
sider the following:
Direct Conversion (Zero-IF) to implement. The representative Frequency Range: The connec-
Architecture block diagram for this architecture tor must be rated for the system’s
Another architecture to consider is shown in Figure 3. SDRs that frequency range. Otherwise, the RF
is direct conversion or zero-IF. In this implement this design provide the performance may be degraded im-
architecture, the signal is down-con- benefits of high selectivity, sensitiv- mediately as signal integrity issues
verted directly to a DC baseband ity and dynamic range. By offering and losses can occur if the connec-
signal in one step using mixers. A excellent filtering characteristics tor is not rated to the correct fre-
representative block diagram of this and the ability to amplify only the quency range.
architecture is shown in Figure 2. desired signals, these SDRs pro- Insertion Loss: High insertion
Although slightly more complicated vide superior performance when loss can reduce receiver sensitivity
than the direct sampling architec- operating in congested or contest- and lead to poor performance. Low
ture, this approach simplifies the ed RF environments. With the abil- insertion loss connectors are essen-
filter design since it requires only ity to handle a broad range of sig- tial to ensure the best overall per-
lowpass filters as needed. The RF nal strengths effectively, SDRs with formance.
performance is mid-range in this ar- this superheterodyne architecture Power Handling Capacity: The
chitecture as it offers efficient spec- become the clear choice for many connector must work at the maxi-
trum usage because the absence of mission-critical applications. mum specified system power. Ex-
intermediate frequencies reduces These systems have some draw- ceeding the connector’s power han-
the risk of images. Despite reducing backs, but many are abstracted dling capacity can result in signal
image signals, this architecture does from the end user and the burden integrity issues, failed connections
introduce DC offsets and I/Q imbal- falls to the RF designer and SDR and overheating.
ances that can cause distortion. This manufacturer. The design of this Price and Availability: It is critical
architecture is also susceptible to architecture adds stages within the to ensure that the connector selec-
low frequency noise, so it is classi- RF chain and more components are tion supports the production sched-
fied as having mid-range RF perfor- often needed to achieve optimal ule and that the price does not neg-
mance. performance. This means these de- atively impact the overall system
signs are usually complex and can price for the target applications.
Superheterodyne Architecture increase the overall size and cost The RF filter is the next element
The superheterodyne archi- of the SDR. There is also the pos- to consider in the design. The fil-
tecture is more complex. This ap- sibility of image frequency interfer- ter removes out-of-band signals
proach involves converting the ence being present, which is often to prevent them from reaching the
RF signal to an intermediate fre- addressed through added filtering later stages. These filters can be de-
quency (IF) before digitization and and image-rejection mixers. This signed from discrete components
while this is a well-established RF can lead to higher power consump- or as an integrated chip to meet the
architecture, it can be challenging tion and costs. performance and design require-

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 73

Tutorial
ments. The key parameters that els, which enhances performance in signal bandwidth. Linearity is an
must be evaluated when selecting weak signal conditions. important parameter because it af-
the proper RF filter are bandwidth Good isolation between ports is fects signal integrity and distortion
and selectivity. The filter must work also an essential selection criterion before it reaches the demodula-
at the maximum signal power with- for the mixer. High port-to-port iso- tion stage. Other parameters in-
out distortion while offering aggres- lation helps to minimize signal and fluencing the optimal IF amplifier
sive filtering to ensure unwanted LO leakage, avoid IF feedthrough, selection are noise and dynamic
signals are effectively removed be- reduce intermodulation products range. The noise added to the sig-
fore entering the remaining sections and improve receiver sensitivity and nal should be low and the dynamic
of the radio chain. dynamic range. Because the super- range should be high to ensure
The last element within the first heterodyne architecture relies heav- varying signal strengths do not cre-
RF stage is typically the LNA. The ily on this set of characteristics for ate distortion.
LNA amplifies weak signals while good performance, mixer selection The demodulator is the fourth
limiting the noise added to the in- is crucial. stage. This single component is vi-
coming signal. LNAs are designed As mentioned, the mixer relies tal as it extracts the original infor-
for better overall RF performance, on the LO signal to drive the non- mation from the modulated IF sig-
unlike traditional amplifiers that linear mixing elements to the prop- nal. The critical selection criteria for
can produce extra noise. The key er levels and at the right frequency. this stage relate to the demodula-
characteristics to consider for this The LO generates a stable frequen- tor type or modulation scheme and
component are noise figure, gain cy signal with a value selected to signal processing capability. Perfor-
and linearity. The noise figure refers mix with the RF signal and produce mance metrics include sensitivity,
to the amount of added noise from the proper IF frequency. LO choice selectivity and noise immunity. The
the amplifier. The gain of the ampli- is also critical for the superhetero- demodulator should accurately re-
fier relates to how much the weak dyne architecture and the key char- cover the signal with minimal dis-
signals will be increased, ideally acteristics to evaluate include fre- tortion and offer the necessary sig-
without added distortion. Linearity quency stability, phase noise and nal processing capabilities based
is critical to minimize intermodula- tuning range. A stable LO ensures on the application. Ensuring com-
tion distortion, which can degrade a consistent conversion frequency, patibility with the modulation type
signal quality. while the low phase noise minimiz- and sufficient processing power for
The next stage in the superhet- es signal degradation. The wide real-time signal processing is es-
erodyne architecture contains the tuning range is important as it al- sential. Other available features in
system’s mixing elements, which lows the flexibility to generate dif- the advanced demodulator selec-
change the signal frequency. These ferent IFs for various applications, tion process include error correc-
elements are the mixer and local which is the key element for wide- tion and signal enhancement fea-
oscillator (LO). A mixer is a non- band operation. tures.
linear three-terminal device. The Next in line is the IF stage. This The final stage is baseband
LO signal drives the mixer diodes section contains the IF filter and IF processing. The components for
and the mixer produces output fre- amplifiers. An IF filter is designed to this stage are the ADC and digital
quency signals based on the sum pass the desired IF signal and reject signal processor (DSP). The ADC
and difference of the RF and LO others. This provides the selectivity converts the analog demodulated
signal frequencies. If the incoming that enables better performance. signal to a digital format. Several
RF signal is being down-converted, The key specifications of the IF fil- processes occur within this chip
the intermediate frequency (IF) from ter are center frequency, bandwidth and there are many different char-
the mixer will be the difference be- and shape factor. A narrow band- acteristics to consider, with some
tween the RF and LO frequencies. width improves selectivity, while a directly impacting the platform’s
When selecting the appropriate good shape factor ensures efficient utility for specific applications. The
mixer within a system, looking for signal separation with minimal adja- four key elements are the number
high conversion gain, low noise cent channel interference. The filter of channels, resolution (number of
figure and good isolation between should also have low insertion loss bits), sampling rate and dynamic
ports is important. to preserve signal strength and low range. The number of channels
High conversion gain is an impor- SNR for better sensitivity. relates to the number of RFEs the
tant feature. It contributes to a better The IF amplifier, as the name DSP must support and the archi-
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reduc- suggests, amplifies the filtered IF tecture being implemented. The
ing the need for more amplification signal to a level suitable for de- resolution is another key element,
within the system. It also increases modulation. The key parameters as higher resolution can help im-
sensitivity and improves the receiv- for this component are gain, band- prove signal fidelity, SNR and over-
er’s ability to detect weaker signals. width and linearity. The gain and all data quality. For example, in test
This improves the overall dynamic bandwidth are important to en- and measurement applications, the
range of the system, enabling a wid- sure that the IF signal has the ap- number of bits directly correlates
er range of signal strengths without propriate signal strength to drive to the accuracy and measurement
exceeding allowable distortion lev- the demodulator across the entire reliability. In this case, higher reso-

74 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

Maximize Performance. Minimize Size.

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^gjjY\YjYf\Yfl]ffYkqkl]eko`]l`]jafeadalYjq$\]^]fk]$gj[geemfa[YlagfkYhhda[Ylagfk&

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SCAN HERE!
www.iNRCORE.com +1-215-781-6400
Tutorial
lution is better. The sampling rate the ADC is always an important operations like decoding, filtering
directly limits the receiver’s band- consideration to ensure it operates and error correction at this stage.
width and affects signal fidelity. properly within the intended sys- The processing speed, amount of
It can also help reduce aliasing, tem performance and environmen- logic resources, programmability
which will occur when the sample tal constraints. and power consumption are critical
rate is too low and may cause a The DSP stage can come in many considerations for this element. It
false lower frequency signal com- forms. It can be a field program- is important to consider how much
ponent to appear in the sampled mable gate array (FPGA) or another data will be processed and, if appli-
data. The sampling rate will directly dedicated DSP chip. Regardless of cation-specific, what specific DSP
contribute to post-processing flex- the component choice, the digi- operations are required. For greater
ibility. The power consumption of tal signal is processed for further flexibility, ensuring that the chipset
is fast with a large number of logic
resources will enable real-time pro-
cessing and advanced operations.
The programmability of the DSP
directly influences the flexibility to
change functionality along with al-
lowing updates and modifications
that are often necessary to adapt
to different signal types and condi-
tions.
In many instances and for many
applications, it is beneficial for the
data processed within the DSP
block to be transferred to another
device for storage or additional
processing. For these situations,
the interface with the equipment
becomes very important. Many op-
tions are available, including Eth-
ernet, PCIe, serial interfaces, FPGA
mezzanine card and optical inter-
faces, with each interface type offer-
ing benefits. When determining the
best interface for the platform, it is
crucial to consider the rate at which
the data needs to be transferred,
the interfacing equipment and the
overall application.

CONCLUSION
Overall, there are many differ-
ent architectures to consider in the
design of an SDR. Each architecture
offers benefits, but component se-
lection is critical regardless of the
chosen architecture. It is essential to
ensure the components designed
into the system meet the overall
system frequency range, bandwidth
and RF performance, such as noise
figure, linearity, etc. It is also neces-
sary to consider power consump-
tion, size, weight and environmental
factors associated with the intended
application to ensure the best prod-
uct performance for the specific use
case.Q

76 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

ProductFeature

Broadband 8 × 8 Butler Matrix

with High Phase Accuracy
MIcable Inc.
Fuzhou, China

A
Butler matrix is a passive different sub-beams if the Butler ing phase relations among the eight
beamforming network matrix is connected to eight an- output ports. The data in Table 1
used to feed a phased ar- tennas. The Butler
ray of antenna elements. matrix is reciprocal,
Compared to an active beamform- so a signal on any
ing network, a Butler matrix has sev- B port will appear
eral advantages. It can have higher as simultaneous B1 B5 B2 B6 B3 B7 B4 B8
performance stability, repeatabil- outputs on ports
ity, more reliable accuracy, a sim- A1 to A8. An SP8T 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid
pler configuration, smaller size and switch can be used
lower cost. However, there are also to select which of –45° –45° –45° –45°
disadvantages. Limitations in com- the A ports, from Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
ponent performance and manufac- A1 to A8, will be
turing technology have historically the input or which
made obtaining the required accu- of these ports will
racy and frequency bandwidth a dif- be supplying the 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid
ficult challenge. MIcable is solving output signal if the
these challenges with cutting-edge B ports are used as
design and advanced manufactur- inputs.
ing to improve the accuracy and The diagram –67.5° –22.5° –22.5° –67.5°
bandwidth of Butler matrices to of Figure 1 shows Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
Phase
Shift
new levels of performance. As an fixed phase shift
example, the SA-7-8B006073, a 0.6 stages in the But- 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid 90° Hybrid
to 7.25 GHz 8 × 8 Butler matrix, will ler matrix configu-
be used to highlight these accuracy ration. These are
and bandwidth improvements. used to change the A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8

relative phase of
8 × 8 BUTLER MATRIX the signals. Table
FUNCTIONALITY 1 shows the result- i Fig. 1 SA-7-8B006073 8 x 8 Butler matrix configuration.
Figure 1 shows the SA-
7-B006073 8 × 8 Butler matrix con- TABLE 1
figuration, highlighting the layout SA-7-8B006073 8 X 8 BUTLER MATRIX PHASE RELATIONSHIPS
and connections of the matrix. The
Input
diagram shows a reciprocal signal A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8
Output
transfer between any of the eight
input ports and any of the eight B1 -112.5 -202.5 -135 -225 -112.5 -202.5 -180 -270
output ports. This enables simulta- B2 -135 -45 -247.5 -157.5 -180 -90 -337.5 -247.5
neous operation of the Butler ma- B3 -157.5 -247.5 0 -90 -247.5 -337.5 -135 -225
trix in both the transmit and receive
B4 -180 -90 -112.5 -22.5 -315 -225 -292.5 -202.5
path. This means that a signal on
any A port will appear as outputs on B5 -202.5 -292.5 -225 -315 -22.5 -112.5 -90 -180
the B1 to B8 ports simultaneously. B6 -225 -135 -337.5 -247.5 -90 0 -247.5 -157.5
These signals will have eight differ- B7 -247.5 -337.5 -90 -180 -157.5 -247.5 -45 -135
ent phase values and this allows the
system to enable as many as eight B8 -270 -180 -202.5 -112.5 -225 -135 -202.5 -112.5

78 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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RF T/R MODULES UP TO 70GHz

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ProductFeature
shows how the Butler matrix archi- quency range, differentiates the
tecture facilitates reciprocal signal SA-7-8B006073 from competitive MIcable Inc.
transfer between any of the eight products and solutions. Compared Fuzhou, China
input ports and any of the eight out- to active phased array beamform- en.micable.cn/index.php
put ports, enabling simultaneous ing networks, the passive Butler
operation as both a transmission matrix architecture
and receiving system. boasts a straight- Amplitude Balance
5
forward across- A1B1 (Ref)
A1B2
SPECIFICATIONS matrix configura- 4 A1B3
A1B4
Table 2 shows the RF perfor- tion that achieves 3 A1B5
mance specifications for the SA-7- the required phase A1B6
A1B7

Amplitude Balance (dB)

8B006073 8 × 8 Butler matrix across shift in a smaller 2 A1B8

four different frequency bands. footprint. The pas-

1
These bands have been selected for sive architecture
their importance in 5G New Radio also helps ensure 0
(NR) frequency range 1 (FR1) and accurate and sta-
–1
Wi-Fi 6E/7E applications. Figure ble performance,
2 shows representative amplitude higher power han- –2
balance and phase accuracy plots dling for each path
for port A1 as the input across the and cost-effective- –3

entire operating band of the device. ness. The device is –4

Some additional characteristics reciprocal, so the
of the Butler matrix: signals can be in- –5
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
Input Power (max.): 5 W CW (20 put from one port Frequency Range: 0.6-7.25 (GHz)
W CW available), 500 W peak or multiple ports at
Connector: SMA female the same time and Phase Accuracy
Dimensions: 316 × 172.7 × 68.6 used in a transmit 40
A1B1 (Ref)
mm (L × W × H) or receive path. 32
A1B2
A1B3
Weight (max.): 5700 g Operating fre- A1B4
A1B5
Temperature: -40°C to +70°C quencies from 600 24
A1B6
(operating), -55°C to +85°C (stor- MHz to 7.25 GHz, 16
A1B7
A1B8
age) along with the
Phase Accuracy (°)

Environmental: Per MIL-STD- performance char- 8

202F, Method 204D. Method 213B acteristics, will en-
0
optional (contact supplier for de- able beamforming
tailed information). and beam steering –8
The advantage of the SA-7- in a wide range of
–16
8B006073 8 × 8 Butler matrix is that applications that
it operates remarkably well over the include 5G, Wi-Fi, –24
entire 600 MHz to 7.25 GHz fre- IoT, cellular phone/
quency range. As mentioned, Table base station test, –32

2 shows performance specifications automotive elec- –40

over specific frequency ranges, em- tronics, commu- 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
phasizing bands attractive to 5G nication, phased Frequency Range: 0.6-7.25 (GHz)
NR FR1 and Wi-Fi 6E/7E applica- arrays and object
tions. Measurements in the actual detection. i Fig. 2 Amplitude balance and phase accuracy.
frequency bands yield much better
performance. In 5G NR FR1 and TABLE 2
Wi-Fi 6E/7E applications, the SA-7- SA-7-8B006073 8 X 8 BUTLER MATRIX PHASE SPECIFICATIONS
8B006073 has the following typical
Frequency Range (GHz)
performance:
Phase Accuracy: ≤ ±6 degrees Parameter
0.617 to 1.427 to
3.3 to 5.0
5.15 to
Amplitude Balance: ≤ ±1 dB 0.960 2.690 7.25
Insertion Loss: 2 to 5.6 dB (above VSWR for all RF ports (max.) 1.4:1 1.5:1 1.5:1 1.6:1
the 9 dB theoretical loss)
Insertion Loss* (dB max.) 12.0 13.2 14.6 15.9
VSWR: ≤ 1.3:1
Isolation: ≥ 20 dB. Amplitude Balance (dB max.) ±1.5 ±1.4 ±1.4 ±1.5
Amplitude Flatness (dB max.) ±1.4 ±1.6 ±1.6 ±1.7
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
Phase Accuracy (Degrees max.) ±13 ±12 ±14 ±14
This performance, especially the
phase accuracy and amplitude bal- Isolation dB (min.) 17 14 14 13
ance over such a broadband fre- * Theoretical 9 dB included

80 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

ProductFeature

Versatile Integrated
Phase Noise and VCO Tester
Streamlines Workflows
Signal Hound
Battle Ground, Wash.

S
table signal sources are essential frequency spectrum of the signal. This is a
for many high-precision electronic quick method of testing and quite simple in
systems, such as wireless com- comparison with other methods. However,
munications, RF testing and radar the sensitivity and measurement accuracy
equipment. A key parameter of a stable can be limited by the spectrum analyzer’s
signal is low phase noise. Phase noise is a own noise floor.
characteristic of any fixed or tunable fre- Time domain analysis generally requires
quency source, from reference oscillators to a high-end oscilloscope or time interval ana-
frequency synthesizers. This phase modula- lyzer. This method is well-suited for broad-
tion noise consists of short-term fluctuations band noise and analyzing wideband signals
in the frequency or phase of a source’s out- and applications where time stability is im-
put signal. At the system level, additional portant. Time domain analysis can lack sen-
components, including cables connected to sitivity for low phase level measurements
a signal source, can also contribute residual and has limited offset resolution which is
phase noise. Excessive phase noise can limit often required for RF and microwave appli-
the sensitivity and performance of various cations. Additionally, high-end oscilloscopes
types of receivers used across many fields, are usually quite costly.
making phase noise testing critical through- The cross-correlation method employs
out a broad range of industries. two identical measurement setups in par-
allel, usually requiring low noise reference
TRADITIONAL PHASE NOISE TESTING oscillators, phase detectors, spectrum ana-
METHODS lyzers and cross-correlation software. This
The direct spectrum method uses a method excels at ultra-low phase noise mea-
spectrum analyzer to directly analyze the surement and is ideal for applications that

82 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 ProductFeature

i Fig. 1 PN400 Phase Noise and VCO Tester.

require precise phase noise measurement. This method

has been notoriously complex, time-consuming and ex-
pensive. i Fig. 2 Representative Spike spectrum analysis software
Some labs and production facilities use specialized output.
or integrated phase noise analyzers. These analyzers
combine reference sources, phase detectors, PLLs and
cross-correlation functionality into a single box. These
analyzers can simplify the testing process through au-
tomation, ease of use and flexibility, but are often cost-
prohibitive.

ALL-IN-ONE PHASE NOISE AND VCO TEST

SOLUTION
Signal Hound has introduced a revolutionary phase
noise and VCO test solution. The PN400 all-in-one
test solution uses cross-correlation methodology and
feature-rich software to provide a level of performance
and sensitivity beyond the capabilities of one spectrum
analyzer. The PN400 system offers enterprise-grade ac-
curacy and innovative features that can compete with
dedicated and costly phase noise testers for applica- i Fig. 3 PN400 system using SM435B spectrum analyzers.
tions such as phase noise testing and characterization, shows an example of the output of the Spike spectrum
VCO testing and characterization, production and man- analysis software.
ufacturing testing, source characterization, system-level The PN400 Phase Noise and VCO Tester operates at
debug and SDR characterization. The PN400 all-in-one an input frequency range of 100 kHz up to 43.5 GHz,
test solution is shown in Figure 1. depending on the pairing of the SM-series spectrum
This unique and innovative phase noise test solu- analyzers. The utilization of two Signal Hound high fre-
tion incorporates the PN400 hardware with an Ad- quency spectrum analyzers to perform cross-correlation
vanced Phase Noise Test Tool Kit and requires two measurements allows the system to achieve phase
Signal Hound SM-series spectrum analyzers for opera- noise floors 20 to 30 dB lower than the capabilities of a
tion. Combining the PN400 with two SM200 or SM435 single SM-series spectrum analyzer (-160 dBc/Hz at 40
spectrum analyzers enables cross-correlated phase GHz). This advanced hardware pairing creates an ideal
noise measurements and VCO characterization via system for applications that require precision phase
low noise tuning and supply voltage. It also offers all noise measurement. The PN400 system, using two
the power and flexibility of Signal Hound’s spectrum identical SM435B 43.5 GHz real-time spectrum analyz-
analysis capabilities. ers for cross-correlated phase noise measurements and
Introduction of the Advanced Phase Noise Test VCO characterization, is shown in Figure 3.
Tool Kit via Signal Hound’s powerful Spike™ spec- The PN400 test system has a standard operating
trum analysis software brings a comprehensive suite temperature range of -40°F to 185°F (-40°C to +85°C)
of tools to this new test solution. Combined with the and can be seamlessly integrated into a wide range of
PN400 hardware, the new VCO characterization mode test environments. The phase noise test solution is also
in Spike’s licensed phase noise test tool kit enables compact enough to fit easily on a benchtop. Traditional
automatic sweeps across a configurable VCO tuning methods for precise phase noise measurement have
range. It allows accurate and low noise voltage sourc- been complex, time-consuming and expensive. Due to
es to be combined with easy-to-use software support- its ease of use, flexibility and affordability, the PN400
ing efficient characterization for R&D and manufactur- tester is poised to streamline workflows for a broad seg-
ing lines. However, the features go even further. Con- ment of users.
figurable automation, measurement of phase noise
and amplitude noise or a combination of both, along Signal Hound
with automatic signal detection, are just a few of the Battle Ground, Wash.
valuable capabilities included in the tool kit. Figure 2 signalhound.com

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 83

ProductFeature

Miniaturized High Performance

E-Band Filters
TERASi
Stockholm, Sweden

I
n recent years, the demand for high ca- tional filter designs often fall short of the
pacity wireless links has driven the de- cost, size, weight and performance needs.
velopment of technologies operating Meeting these needs has led to the devel-
in the mmWave frequency spectrum. opment and adoption of advanced fabrica-
Among these, E-Band (60 to 90 GHz) has tion techniques, such as TERASi’s Aircore™
gained significant attention. This is primarily waveguide technology.
due to its potential to support a wide range TERASi’s Aircore technology offers signif-
of applications, including high capacity icant advantages for E-Band applications. It
backhaul links for cellular networks, satellite enables compact and precise components
communication networks and high-resolu- with micrometer-scale features. This reduc-
tion radar systems. tion in filter size, in turn, allows the creation
E-Band microwave technology supports of compact and high performance RF de-
high data throughput, minimizes latency vices crucial for modern wireless systems.
and enables small RF front-ends, making it TERASi’s Aircore filters are created by
an ideal band for space-constrained instal- forming 3D structures in planar silicon
lations. As the demand for these systems substrates using a variety of etching tech-
grows, the development of small micro- niques. Smooth interior surfaces and high
wave bandpass filters is crucial for maintain- conductivity coatings provide low signal
ing system performance at E-Band. Tradi- loss and high Q-factor. In addition, the high
thermal conductivity and low coefficient of
TABLE 1 thermal expansion of silicon offer high ther-
FILTER CHARACTERISTICS mal stability and heat dissipation, ensuring
reliable operation in varying environmental
E-Band Bandpass Filters
conditions.
Model
Passband Insertion Loss Return Loss Rejection TERASi has recently developed a pat-
(GHz) max at fc (dB) (min. dB) (min. dB) ented system-in-package (SiP) solution to
TSiBPF101 71 to 76 0.4 20 75 at 81 to 86 GHz enable the integration of MMICs with the
company’s best-in-class passive compo-
TSiBPF103 73.65 to 76 0.7 20 25 at 73.35 GHz
nents. This will enable TERASi to offer com-
TSiBPF211 81 to 86 0.4 20 75 at 71-76 GHz plete module solutions with industry-lead-

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ProductFeature
are significantly
Conventional more compact
Waveguide and lightweight
Filter S-Parameters
than existing offer- 0

ings. These bene- S11

fits open the door –10 S21
to a range of new
use cases for E- –20
Band, such as high

Magnitude (dB)
TERASi Aircore
data rate links be- –30
Filter tween unmanned
aerial vehicles, IoT –40
devices or com-
pact SmallSats. –50
TERASi’s off-
the-shelf filters are –60
i Fig. 1 Comparison of CNC-milled offered with pass-
waveguide filter and TERASi Aircore band frequencies –70
filter.
of 71 to 76 GHz
ing size, weight and performance. and 81 to 86 GHz. –80
TERASi’s products are manufac- Their Q of approx- 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
tured in Stockholm, Sweden, using imately 1900 en- Frequency (GHz)
batch fabrication to ensure high ables an insertion
reproducibility and cost-effective loss of less than S-Parameters S21
manufacturing. 0.4 dB at the cen- 0
TERASi’s product catalog in- ter frequency, with S21
cludes several innovative and com- more than 75 dB –0.25
pact E-Band waveguide bandpass of rejection at 81
filters that offer significantly smaller GHz for the 71 to –0.50
footprints and lower weight than 76 GHz filter and
standard waveguide filters with- at 76 GHz for the
Magnitude (dB)

–0.75
out compromising performance. 81 to 86 GHz filter.
Typical specifications of three such The S-parameter –1.00
filters are given in Table 1. The fil- performance of
ters are designed around standard the 81 to 86 GHz –1.25
waveguide flange interfaces to filter is shown in
ensure compatibility with conven- Figure 2. Addi- –1.50
tional waveguide systems and do tionally, rejection
not require any additional fixtures levels of at least –1.75
or fittings. 40 dB are main-
The filters listed in Table 1 op- tained up to 105 –2.00
erate using the TE10 mode. They GHz for the 71 to 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87
are engineered to achieve minimal 76 GHz filter and Frequency (GHz)
insertion loss in the passband while up to 120 GHz for
ensuring high attenuation in the re- the 81 to 86 GHz
ject bands to enhance signal clarity filter. i Fig. 2 S-parameters of 81 to 86 GHz bandpass filter.
and reduce interference. Elliptical Channel filters
RF filter design topologies are used are also available with narrower es with a 20 mm × 20 mm footprint.
to achieve a steep roll-off and im- pass bands and steeper roll-offs. Custom interfaces are also avail-
proved selectivity by incorporating As an example, TSiBPF103 features able to meet specific needs, includ-
transmission zeros within their fre- a passband from 73.65 to 76 GHz ing surface-mount device configu-
quency response. These transmis- and high rejection at the lower stop- rations for direct integration with
sion zeros are strategically placed band region. The insertion loss at printed circuit boards. The filters
to provide significant attenuation the center frequency is lower than are available for purchase directly
at specific frequencies to enhance 0.7 dB with a rejection of 28 dB at from TERASi and selected partners.
the filter’s rejection and passband 73.35 GHz. Moreover, the filter pro- Volume orders and custom design
edge sharpness performance. An vides a minimum rejection of 60 dB needs can be met upon request.
example of the TERASi Aircore at the upper stop band, from 80 to
filter versus a conventional wave- 110 GHz. TERASi
guide filter is shown in Figure 1. The filters are offered in pack- Stockholm, Sweden
With thicknesses below 5 mm and aged versions designed for use terasi.io/products/
weighing less than 5 g, these filters with UG-387 and IEEE P1785 flang- [email protected]

86 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

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TechBriefs

Full Space-Qualified
Quad-Output TCXOs

Q
The QT8220 Series TCXOs are oscillators and frequency control so-
-Tech’s QT8220 Series is available with two to four CMOS lutions. The company is built on a
the industry’s first quad- outputs, packaged in a hermeti- philosophy of building products with
output temperature- cally sealed 32-pin flatpack with ei- leading-edge oscillator technology,
controlled crystal oscilla- ther 3.3 V or 5.0 V supply voltages along with a dedication to quality,
tor (TCXO) series qualified for full and a frequency range from 20 to on-time delivery and customer ser-
space applications. The QT8220 100 MHz. Designed for full space vice. Q-Tech is a leading U.S. manu-
Series CMOS TCXO, with its mul- applications requiring stability in facturer of MIL-PRF-55310-qualified
tiple CMOS outputs, offers signifi- the range of ±0.5 to 4.0 ppm over products, as well as other ultra-high
cant size, weight and power advan- a temperature range of -40°C to reliability standards. The company
tages compared to the traditional +85°C, QT8220 TCXOs exhibit a is registered to AS9100 Rev D with
design approach of using multiple radiation tolerance of greater than ISO9001:2015 quality management
single-output TCXOs. These new 100kRad(Si) TID and greater than systems. Q-Tech is renowned for
Q-Tech multi-output CMOS TCXOs 85MeV-cm2/mg SEL, along with low its innovative design and manufac-
enable designers to clock multiple phase noise and jitter. All QT8220 turing capabilities for the military,
inputs, such as multiple field-pro- devices are screened and inspected aerospace, down-hole and deep
grammable gate arrays, with just for quality conformance to MIL- space industries.
a single component, rather than PRF-55310, Level S.
needing multiple oscillators for the Q-Tech Corporation
Q-Tech was founded in 1972 to
same functionality. www.q-tech.com
provide state-of-the-art crystal clock
[email protected]

Ultra-Low Profile
UWB Antenna
efficiency, making it ideal for today’s ticularly suitable for wearable tech-
compact devices. Its design en- nology and healthcare applications.
hances isolation performance, mak- The goal at Leankon is to be the

L
eankon, a technology-driv- ing it perfect for applications that foremost provider of innovative
en global antenna solution require multiple UWB antennas. antenna solutions across wireless
provider, specializes in sim- As IoT devices trend toward technologies such as 5G, 4G LTE,
plifying antenna solutions smaller and thinner designs, anten- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, mmWave,
for global customers, guiding them na challenges become more com- ISM, NFC, GPS/GNSS, satellite and
seamlessly from design to mass plex. The LK1820201 is engineered others, driving the evolution of IoT
production. The company intro- to overcome these challenges, en- connectivity. Leankon invites you to
duces the LK1820201. This latest suring stable wireless connections explore the possibilities with their
innovation is an ultra-low profile, in increasingly compact devices. LK1820201 antenna. To facilitate
ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna de- Key features and benefits include: your development, they offer free
signed with the smallest form factor Wide Bandwidth: Excellent om- samples and evaluation boards.
to support UWB Channels 5, 6, 7, 8 nidirectional performance ensures Partner with Leankon to elevate
and 9 simultaneously. robust connectivity. your antenna solutions and stay
The LK1820201 is a state-of- Compact Size: This antenna is ahead in these rapidly evolving ap-
the-art surface-mount device UWB the smallest in its class, fitting seam- plications.
antenna, measuring 3.2 x 1.6 x 0.5 lessly into designs.
mm. With a minimal clearance re- Leankon
Ultra-Slim Profile: The height al-
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 M A K I N G
6G Development: What Is A RF
Learning From Amplifier, And
the Lessons of 5G What Are They
Anritsu’s blog explores 5G roadblocks, how 6G will Used For?
address them and factors for engineers to
consider. Discover the essentials of RF amplifiers in this
Anritsu blog post.
bit.ly/48Gkshy Pasternack
https://blog.pasternack.com/

Unlocking Precision: How UWB and BLE Channel

Sounding Are Redefining Positioning Technologies
In this blog post, learn about the indoor location services market, and how it is
having no trouble locating growth.
Qorvo
bit.ly/4iiLzTW

Custom Magnetic Ferrite-Based RF &

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The Quantic ECI Custom Magnetic Builder Quantic M-Wave’s new website features
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package. The performance density of They deliver high isolation, low insertion jack to two FAKRA straight jacks on RG-174
ADIS1657x is highlighted by an in-run bias loss and fast switching time, making these cable. Both versions provide reliable RF
stability of 2.0 degree/hr (gyro) and 2.9 µg devices ideal for RF signal routing in performance up to 6 GHz with ruggedized
(accelerometer) with 0.2 degree/√hr angular wireless infrastructure and applications up construction ideal for autonomous applica-
random walk; making this family of products to maximum frequency range. External tions such as new automotive designs and
ideal for a wide range of applications from connectors included 2.92 mm vertical industrial automation technologies.
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more. powered and controlled through a USB www.amphenolrf.com
Analog Devices type-C connector.
www.analog.com withwave co., ltd Spring-Loaded Adapters for SMP,
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100 W Surface-Mount 90-Degree
Hybrid Baluns
Fairview Microwave
launched its new
Mlcable released the Würth Elektronik has spring-loaded
new 1.2 to 2.2 GHz expanded its WE-BAL adapters for the SMP,
high-power surface- series of baluns. The SMPM and SMPS connector series. Available
mount 90-degree components for in a variety of lengths, the adapters are
hybrid. It has low coupling symmetrical designed to meet the needs of high
insertion loss (0.25 and asymmetrical frequency applications where reliability and
dB maximum), excellent VSWR (1.25:1 transmission lines feature improved precision are critical. The new adapters offer
maximum), extremely good amplitude materials and manufacturing processes, and enhanced performance for RF connectivity,
unbalance (±0.5 dB maximum) and phase now cover wider frequency ranges from 673 making them essential for industries such as
unbalance (±3 degrees maximum), high MHz to 5900 MHz. In numerous applica- telecommunications, aerospace and
isolation (20 dB minimum) and 100 W tions, such as antenna systems, audio and defense.
power handling capability with excellent video devices, wireless communication Fairview Microwave
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small package. It is suitable for power measuring instruments, it is necessary to
amplifier, power combining network, antenna couple symmetrical and asymmetrical Connectors
feed network, modulator and phase shifter transmission lines in such a way that
Junkosha announced the
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launch of its own branded
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Ka-HDR-NEM delivers Inc. announced the direct response to escalating demands
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production, reducing costs and simplifying line of connectorized modules for lab bench fully-integrated cable and connector
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MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 91

 applications. Nitrowave™ is easily recogniz- extremely low noise figure over this broad
NewProducts able by its distinctive orange color and is frequency range. This LNA provides 16 dB of
backed by Samtec Sudden Service® which small signal gain while requiring only a
includes part availability, quick delivery and single supply of +12 V. The P1dB output
Low Loss and Low PIM Cable access to people and tools that help power of 15 dBm allows this LNA to function
Assemblies streamline a design process. as a lo driver for balanced, I/Q or image
Samtec reject. Supplied in Quantic’s standard PE2
www.samtec.com housing, 1.08 × 0.71 × 0.29 in., which can
Pasternack launched be used as an SMA connectorized or a
new options for low
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Quantic PMI
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LMR cable assemblies and low PIM configura- Exodus AMP2085P-LC,
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interference. The expanded line includes LMR replacement, ideal for The Marki Microwave
cable assembly options available in PVC, automotive pulse/ AMM-9619PSM is a
fire-rated, ultra-flexible and lightweight radar EMC-testing and surface-mount amplifier
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types for a wide range of uses. duty cycle to CW, 57 dB gain with outstanding single tone driver or
Pasternack pulse fidelity. Monitoring parameters for general-purpose gain
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VSWR, voltage, current and temperature, with exceptionally low input and output reflections,
Microwave Assemblies unprecedented reliability and ruggedness in a and a low 1.6 dB typical noise figure from 8 to
Samtec, Inc. compact 7U chassis of 12.25 (H) × 19 (W) × 18 GHz. It exhibits a positive gain slope to
announced full 29 (D) in. nominally 90 lbs. equalize frequency dependent losses and
production quantity Exodus Advanced Communications comes in a 4 mm QFN for surface-mount
availability of its www.exoduscomm.com integration onto printed circuit boards.
LL043 Series RFMW
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Nitrowave™ is Samtec’s new flexible, low Quantic PMI Model
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SEMICONDUCTORS
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and phase stability in test and measure-
Lancang-USRR Chip
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aerospace and computer/semiconductor 0.3 to 20 GHz. This amplifier has an mmWave radar system-on-chip (SoC) special-

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 applications including industrial IoT,
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BookEnd
Reviewed by: Katerina Galitskaya
Bookend
Signal Design for Modern
Radar Systems improvements in computing power, ra- spectrum sharing and advanced Dop-
By: Mohammad Alaee-Kerahroodi, dar systems can adapt their waveforms pler-tolerant waveforms, to name just a
Mojtaba Soltanalian, Prabhu Babu and in real-time, adjusting to different condi- few areas. These sections are not only
Bhavani Shankar
tions. The authors explain how this shift theoretically rich but also demonstrate
has transformed radar performance, es- real-world relevance, particularly as

A
uthors of “Signal Design for pecially in areas like defense, automo- automotive radar and other commer-
Modern Radar Systems” present tive and space exploration. One of the cial uses grow. In summary, this book
a thorough and highly techni- highlights of this book is the structured is ideal for professionals and advanced
cal exploration into the world of radar journey through both convex and non- students with a background in radar or
signal processing. Written with a clear convex optimization techniques. From signal processing. It is highly technical
focus on the most cutting-edge devel- traditional convex methods to more but also practical, offering both theoret-
opments in adaptive, cognitive radar advanced non-convex approaches, the ical foundations and real-world applica-
systems, this book is a valuable resource authors give readers a rich toolkit for tions. If you are looking to understand
for engineers, mathematicians and sys- solving the signal design challenges the latest methods in radar waveform
tem designers looking to deepen their that arise in modern radar systems. design and optimization, this book is an
understanding of radar signal design. Particularly insightful are the discus- excellent guide.
What sets this book apart is its atten- sions on local optimization algorithms,
tion to optimization techniques used for such as power method iterations and
designing radar waveforms that adapt majorization-minimization techniques. ISBN: 9781630818920
in real-time to dynamic environments. The chapters on emerging applications Pages: 392
In the past, radars often relied on fixed are especially valuable for those inter- To order this book, contact:
waveforms that could not adjust to ested in cutting-edge technology. The
changes in the environment or counter Artech House (2022)
book explores 4D imaging for automo- us.artechhouse.com
electronic threats. Today, however, with tive MIMO radar, waveform design for

Provides the necessary equations and algorithms for

calibrating measurement fixtures and then extracting
dielectric/magnetic material properties from wideband
methods (free space and waveguide fixtures).
Guides on the design of these wide bandwidth material
measurement methods (such as details for designing
microwave focusing lenses).
Describes techniques for adapting these methods to
manufacturing and other non-laboratory environments.
Describes how to apply these new methods of novel
computational electromagnetic modeling methods that
have been applied to material measurement, which
enable measurements not possible with the conventional
techniques.

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G.T. Microwave Inc. ................................................ 76 Nxbeam................................................................. 37 Werlatone, Inc...................................................COV 4

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 Werlatone: Underpromise and Overdeliver

S ince its founding in 1965, Werlatone has been

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Over nearly six decades, Werlatone has evolved from wide frequency ranges. Products routinely operate over
couplers to become a recognized leader in high-power multi-octave bandwidths, with some reaching a 1000:1
RF and microwave components. While the company is bandwidth. Frequency specific designs operate from DC
known mainly for its power dividers, combiners, couplers to Ka-Band.
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and digital power meters. While many of their products customers are engaged in military communications, EW
are now standard catalog products, the company prides and government testing applications. The balance of their
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demanding customer needs. semiconductors, medical and university applications.
Werlatone’s products are distinguished by their robust- In addition to performance innovations, Werlatone
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To support high-power requirements, Werlatone maintains MIL-l-45208 A inspection system requirements.
an extensive solid-state high-power test lab to evaluate For nearly 60 years, Werlatone has built a business
prototypes and verify new designs. based on underpromising and overdelivering on standard
With 30 active patents and several pending, Werlatone and custom high-power passive components and fully
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 TechnicalFeature

eXclusive
Digital Content ›››

Enhancing Bandwidth and

Gain of a Broadband Circularly
Polarized Antenna Realized with
a Nonuniform Metasurface
Shaoliang Yuan
Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuzhou, China

A
new circularly polarized effective in generating and enhanc- and enable enhanced radiation
(CP) antenna design in- ing CP radiation. Consequently, properties. It achieves high gain
corporates a nonuniform several antennas based on meta- and wide bandwidth with a corner-
metasurface (MS). The surfaces have been developed and cut slotted patch radiator element
central driven element is a corner- have demonstrated broadband CP surrounded by a nonuniform MS of
cut and slotted patch connected to properties.1,2 corner-cut patches. Extensive simu-
the ground plane using a metal via. Gao et al.3 employed a nonuni- lations and measurements validate
To achieve CP, additional corner- form MS in a 2 × 2 CP antenna array. its effectiveness.
cut patches are strategically placed The design incorporated a Wilkin-
around it to form a nonuniform MS. son power divider feed network. It ANTENNA DESIGN
It achieves an impedance band- demonstrated broad bandwidth ca- To enhance the axial ratio within
width (IBW) of 2.2 GHz, from 4.4 pabilities, specifically a 3 dB ARBW the desired frequency range, sev-
to 6.6 GHz, with a 3 dB axial ratio of 33.13 percent from 7 to 9.78 eral adjustments to the dimensions
bandwidth (ARBW) of 1 GHz from GHz and an IBW of 49.6 percent and positioning of the central ele-
4.7 to 5.7 GHz. The antenna with from 6.05 to 10.04 GHz. This work ment (Element A) components are
its surrounding MS excites two or- highlighted the potential of using considered. This is shown in Figure
thogonal modes, resulting in CP nonuniform MS configurations to 1. This includes modifying the patch
radiation and the emergence of an enhance the radiation properties of and ground plane dimensions, as
additional axial ratio (AR) minimum. CP antennas. well as the shape and placement
This contributes to a wider band- This study’s findings have signifi- of the off-centered metal via to
width. Excellent radiation perfor- cant implications for advancing the achieve left-hand circular polariza-
mance makes it well-suited for vari- development of high-performance tion (LHCP). Additionally, potential
ous applications, including military antennas in wireless communica- losses in the antenna system, such
and civilian communication, as well tion applications. Nonuniform MS as radiation losses, dielectric losses
as point-to-point links. antenna designs can support wider and conductor losses, are evaluated
CP antennas are essential for frequency ranges and improved and minimized. Despite improve-
wireless communication systems and polarization properties, leading to ments made through iterative simu-
point-to-point links due to their abil- enhanced performance in wireless lation, the desired AR of less than -3
ity to mitigate multipath effects and communication systems. It should dB is not achievable within the fre-
polarization mismatch. The growing be noted that previous works did quency range of interest using this
demand for CP antennas that of- not consider gain and 3 dB AR structure alone.
fer high gain, broadband coverage beamwidth. Moreover, the band- A novel approach to achieve CP
and a wider 3 dB axial ratio angle widths of MS-based antennas were over the band of interest employs
has prompted the exploration of dif- found to be limited. This article the corner-cut central patch (Ele-
ferent design techniques. One such describes a nonuniform MS design ment A) encircled by a 3 × 3 array
technique is the use of a metasur- used to precisely control the distri- of MS cells; each cell is denoted as
face, which has proven to be highly bution of the electromagnetic field Element B, as shown in Figure 2.

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 101

TechnicalFeature
z
Element B
0
Patch Alone
y Nonuniform MS Combined
x –5
Metal-Via
Element A

| S11 | (dB)
C1 –10
ha L1
–15

–20
(a) 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0
Frequency (GHz)
(a)

Nonuniform Combined
 Fig. 2 Nonuniform MS antenna con-
Patch Alone
figuration. 30 14
27
12
24
TABLE 1

Gain Total (dBic)

Ws

Axial Ratio (dB)

Ls 21 10
L W 18 8
UPPER-FREQUENCY HALF- 15
C WAVELENGTH SPACING FOR 12 6
SOME COMMON BANDS 9 4
6
Size Size 2
Dimension Dimension 3 3 dB Line
(mm) (mm) 0 0
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
ha 3.175 L 55 Frequency (GHz)
(b)
(b) Ws 2 C 5.3

 Fig. 1 Initial configuration of an- Ls 12 W 16.25

tenna Element A: perspective view in g 2 L1 13.75  Fig. 3 (a) Simulated |S11| perfor-
3D (a) and plane view (b). mance. (b) Simulated AR and gain
C1 5 performance.
The resulting configuration forms
a nonuniform MS comprising eight The integration of the MS re-
corner-cut patches (Element B) sur- sults in a wider bandwidth and a 0
0 330 30
rounding the corner-cut slotted more compact size. Additionally, it
patch (Element A). Both elements shifts the resonant frequency lower –10
are fabricated on a single substrate and introduces two new resonant 300 60
measuring 55 mm × 55 mm. The di- frequencies. This is credited to the –20
electric material has a relative per- seamless integration of the nonuni-
–30 270 90
mittivity of εr = 2.2 and a loss tan- form MS into the antenna structure.
gent of tan δ = 0.0014. The combined antenna is not only –20
A coaxial feed simultaneously ex- more streamlined in size but also 240 120
Sim. LHCP
cites the two CP modes. Simulation achieves a broader bandwidth. –10 Sim. RHCP
using Ansys HFSS is conducted to In contrast, Element A, alone, ex- 210
0 150
optimize the distance to the off-cen- hibits no AR values below 3 dB, as 180
tered metal via and adjust geomet- shown in Figure 3b, indicating a lack (a)
ric parameters of the nonuniform of CP radiation. The nonuniform MS 0
MS to enhance radiation character- array antenna achieves an AR band- 0 330 30
istics. The optimized dimensions are width from 4.7 to 5.7 GHz and at 5.5
–10
shown in Table 1. GHz, it is a near-zero minimum. Ad- 300 60
Figure 3a shows the simulated ditionally, it surpassed Element A, –20
|S11| performance results for Element alone, in gain performance, with an
A alone and the complete nonuni- average gain that is 2.5 dB higher –30 270 90
form MS antenna. Figure 3b shows and a maximum gain of 11 dBic
–20
the simulated AR and gain perfor- within the AR bandwidth.
240 120
mance results. |S11| for the nonuni- Normalized radiation patterns –10 Sim. LHCP
form MS array remains below -10 dB in the far field at 4.6 GHz display a Sim. RHCP
minimal cross-polarization response 210 150
over the frequency range of 4.4 to 0
180
6.6 GHz. Resonant frequencies are and negligible back lobes in both (b)
observed at 4.6, 5.3 and 6.4 GHz. In the xoz- and yoz-planes. This is evi-
contrast, Element A, alone, exhibits dent for the main lobe gain in the
only a single resonant frequency at xoz-plane in Figure 4a and the main  Fig. 4 (a) Simulated main lobe gain
in the xoz-plane. (b) Simulated main
5.5 GHz with a narrow impedance lobe gain in the yoz-plane in Figure lobe gain in yoz-plane.
bandwidth of 5.3 to 5.6 GHz. 4b. Cross-polarization levels are -28

102 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 TechnicalFeature
dB and -29 dB in the xoz- and yoz- HFSS are compared with measure- measured |S11| response of the non-
planes, respectively, at boresight. ments made in an anechoic cham- uniform MS antenna array. Figure 5b
ber using a vector network analyzer. shows the simulated and measured
SIMULATION AND Figure 5a shows the simulated and response for AR and gain. Figure 5a
MEASUREMENT shows a 10 dB im-
To validate antenna array perfor- 30 pedance bandwidth
mance, simulations conducted in xoz Plane of 40 percent, from
27 yoz Plane 4.4 to 6.6 GHz. The
0
Simulated
24 measured AR band-
–5 Measured 21 width of 19 percent
from 4.7 to 5.7 GHz

Axial Ratio (dB)

18
| S11 | (dB)

–10 shown in Figure 5b

15 closely aligns with
–15
12 the simulation. AR
–20
values remain at a
9
consistently low lev-
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 6 el of approximately
(a)
Frequency (GHz)
3 0.25 dB throughout
3 dB Area
the band. Further-
30 14 0
27 –180 –150 –120 –90 –60 –30 0 30 60 90 120 150 180
more, the peak gain
12
24
Angle (°)
is 11 dBic at 5.5
Gain Total (dBic)
Axial Ratio (dB)

21 10
GHz, within the 3
18 8
15 Measured
Simulated 6
 Fig. 7 Simulated AR versus angle in the xoz- and yoz- dB AR band.
12 planes at 5 GHz. Figure 6a shows
9 4
6
3 3 dB Line
2
TABLE 2
0 0
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 COMPARISON WITH OTHER WORK
(b) Frequency (GHz)
3 dB AR Peak 3 dB AR
Size Operating
Reference BW Gain Angular Range
 Fig. 5 (a) |S11| response of the non- (λ03)
(GHz) (DBic) (Degrees)
Bandwidth (GHz)
uniform MS antenna array. (b) AR and
gain response of the nonuniform MS
1 ×
antenna array.
This Work 1× 4.4 to 6.6 11 -28 to 75 4.4 to 5.7
0 0.05
0 330 30
2
–10 ×
300 60 3 2 7 to 9.78 13.17 – 6.05 to 10.04
–20 ×
0.08
–30 270 90
0.67
×
–20
4 0.67 1.3 to 2.1 8.7 – 1.4 to 2.1
240 Sim. LHCP 120 ×
–10 Sim. RHCP
Meas. LHCP
0.06
210 Meas. RHCP 150 2.6
0
180 ×
(a) 5 2.63 9.8 to 10.2 13.4 -10 to 10 9.86 to 10.14
0
×
0 330 30 0.36
2.0
–10
300 60 ×
6 2.0 7.3 to 7.6 15.1 – 7.3 to 7.6
–20
×
0.6
–30 270 90
2.0
–20 Sim. LHCP ×
Sim. RHCP 7 2.0 4.12 to 6.39 14.5 – 3.82 to 6.01
240 120
Meas. LHCP
–10 Meas. RHCP ×
0.88
0 210 150
180 3
(b) ×
8 3 9.7 to 10.3 17.8 -15 to 15 9.8 to 10.2
 Fig. 6 (a) 5.6 GHz radiation patterns ×
in the xoz-plane. (b) 5.6 GHz radiation 0.19
patterns in the yoz-plane.

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 103

TechnicalFeature
0 which would not only result in a
0 330 30
wider bandwidth but also provide a
–10 3 dB AR over a broader angle. This
90° Rotated 300 60 flexibility and scalability make the
90° Rotated –20 proposed antenna design suitable
for a variety of applications.
–30 270 90

–20
CONCLUSION
240 120
A novel CP antenna design in-
Sim. LHCP
–10 Sim. RHCP corporates a nonuniform MS. The
210
primary component is a corner-cut
0 150
180 patch featuring an etched rectangle
(a) slot at its core and an off-centered
0
coaxial feed known to enhance CP.
0 330 30 This is encompassed by corner-cut
 Fig. 8 Configuration of the RHCP
patches forming an MS. It achieves
antenna. –10
300 60 an IBW of 2.2 GHz, equating to 40
0 –20 percent from 4.4 to 6.6 GHz, with a
–5 3 dB ARBW of 1 GHz, equating to
–30 270 90 19 percent from 4.7 to 5.7 GHz.
–10
| S11 | (dB)

–20
–15
References
240 120 1. K. Li, Y. Liu, Y. Jia and Y. J. Guo, “A Circu-
–10 Sim. LHCP larly Polarized High Gain Antenna with Low
–20
Sim. RHCP RCS Over a Wideband Using Chessboard
0 210 150
–25 Polarization Conversion Metasurfaces,”
180
(b) IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propa-
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 gation, Vol. 65, No. 8, August 2017, pp.
(a)
Frequency (GHz)
 Fig. 10 (a) Simulated RHCP and
2.
4288–4292.
Y. Huang, L. Yang, J. Li, Y. Wang and G.
LHCP radiation patterns in the xoz-
30 14 plane. (b) Simulated RHCP and LHCP Wen, “Polarization Conversion of Metasur-
27 radiation patterns in the yoz-plane. face for the Application of Wide Band Low-
12 Profile Circular Polarization Slot Antenna,”
24
Gain Total (dBic)
Axial Ratio (dB)

21 10 Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 109, No. 5,

18 August 2016.
15
8 ANTENNA MODIFICATION 3. X. Gao, S. Yin, G. Wang, C. Xue and X. Xie,
12 6 TO ACHIEVE RIGHT-HAND “Broadband Low-RCS Circularly Polarized
9 4 CIRCULAR POLARIZATION Antenna Realized by Nonuniform Metasur-
6 face,” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propa-
3
2 (RHCP)
gation Letters, Vol. 21, No. 12, December
0 0 To achieve RHCP, both corner 202, pp. 2417–2421.
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
Frequency (GHz)
cuts are simply rotated 90 degrees 4. J. Cui, X. Zhao and W. Sheng, “Low Pro-
(b) counterclockwise around the center. file and Broadband Circularly Polarized
Metasurface Antenna Based on Nonuni-
This is shown in Figure 8. Addition-
 Fig. 9 (a) Simulated |S11| of the
ally, a slight adjustment is made
form Array,” AEU-International Journal of
RHCP antenna. (b) Simulated AR and Electronics and Communications, Vol. 156,
gain of the RHCP antenna. to the position of the off-centered August 2022.
coaxial feed point. Using HFSS, the 5. N. Hussain, S. I. Naqvi, W. A. Awan and T.
T. Le, “A Metasurface-Based Wideband Bi-
the 5.6 GHz radiation patterns in the simulated |S11| performance for the directional Same Sense Circularly Polarized
xoz-plane and Figure 6b shows the RHCP antenna is shown in Figure Antenna,” International Journal of RF and
5.6 GHz radiation pattern in the yoz- 9a, and the simulated AR and gain Microwave Computer Aided Engineering,
plane. These patterns demonstrate for the RHCP antenna is shown in Vol. 30, No. 8, August 2020.
6. Y. Cheng and Y. Dong, “Bandwidth En-
a low cross-polarization level of less Figure 9b. From these curves, |S11| hanced Circularly Polarized Fabry-Perot
than -25 dB in both the xoz- and yoz- is below -10 dB from 4.5 to 6.8 GHz, Cavity Antenna Using Metal Strips,” IEEE
planes at boresight. Figure 7 shows except for a small region from 5.8 to Access, Vol. 8, March 2020, pp. 60189–
the simulated AR versus angle at 5 6.0 GHz. The 3 dB AR bandwidth is 60198.
7. F. Qin, S. Gao, G. Wei, Q. Luo, C. Mao, C.
GHz. In the xoz-plane, the AR is less 0.1 GHz, from 5.1 to 5.2 GHz, which Gu, J. Xu and J. Li, “Wideband Circularly
than 3 dB over a range of -28 °C to can be enhanced with optimization. Polarized Fabry-Perot Antenna [Antenna
+75°C. The performance in the yoz- Gain is relatively flat across the op- Applications Corner],” IEEE Antennas and
plane is narrower but still satisfactory. erating band at about 12 dBic. Fig- Propagation Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 5, Oc-
tober 2015, pp. 127–135.
Table 2 compares this antenna ure 10a shows the simulated RHCP 8. N. Hussain, M. Jeong, J. Park and N.
with other recently proposed MS- and LHCP radiation patterns in the Kim, “A Broadband Circularly Polarized
based antennas, showing that it xoz-plane and Figure 10b shows Fabry-Perot Resonant Antenna Using a
outperforms its counterparts in the RHCP and LHCP radiation pat- Single-Layered PRS for 5G MIMO Applica-
tions,” IEEE Access., Vol. 7, April 2019, pp.
terms of radiation properties. This terns in the yoz-plane. 42897–42907.
performance is achieved within a Note that this same design can
volume of 1.86 × 1.86 × 0.08 λ03. be used to construct a 2 × 2 array,
104 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025
 TechnicalFeature
EW BOA
VI

RD
RE
e clusive
Digital Content ››› MWJ
A
PP

D
ROVE

Low-Profile Compact Filtering

Antenna Based on Characteristic
Mode Analysis
Lingbu Kong, Yibo Wang, Zengjie Tao and Lin Lei
Hunan University of Information Technology, Changsha

A
low-profile compact filtering an- sured at 3.1 GHz. The antenna is suitable for
tenna design is based on charac- various wireless communication systems due
teristic mode analysis (CMA). To to its simple structure and ease of fabrica-
attain a radiation null at the upper tion.
band, the antenna’s TM20 mode is excited Prominent trends in modern communica-
and to attain a radiation null at the lower tions systems include miniaturization, high
band, its TM11 mode is excited. A new reso- integration and multifunctionality. Filters
nant mode is introduced through the intro- and antennas, as components of RF front
duction of an H-slot, which is referred to as ends, are typically designed independently
the H-slot-improved TM20 mode. Analysis and subsequently cascaded together using
shows that the excitation of a TM01 mode additional transmission lines to suppress un-
and the improved TM20 mode contribute to desired signals. However, this approach not
the broadening of the antenna bandwidth. only leads to increased system volume but
Measurements show a -10 dB impedance also has the potential to degrade in-band
bandwidth of 10.13 percent from 3.09 to performance due to mismatches and ad-
3.42 GHz. A peak gain of 8.5 dBi is mea- ditional losses resulting from interconnec-

L1

L2

L3
H1
H2 H3

(a) (b) (c)

 Fig. 1 Top view of the filtering  Fig. 2 Top view of the antenna design evolution: Antenna A (a), Antenna B (b) and
antenna. Antenna C (c).

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 105

TechnicalFeature
1.0
tions. To simplify the structure and ized through the feed structure’s de- 1
minimize losses, researchers have sign.10-14 Parasitic elements such as 0.8 2
shifted their focus toward develop- branches and slots are introduced 3
4
0.6
ing filtering antennas that combine to prevent energy from radiating,

MS
radiation and filtering capabilities.thereby achieving the filtering per- 0.4
These antennas have attracted sig- formance. For example, transverse
0.2
nificant attention due to their abil-branch feed networks15 and multi-
ity to mitigate interference while ple branch feed networks have been 0
providing compact form factors and employed.16 While these antennas 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
Frequency (GHz)
optimized performance.1-3 eliminate the need for additional fil- (a)
In the traditional design ap- tering circuits and enhance integra-
1.0
proach, filters and antennas are tion, they also introduce complexity 1
designed independently and then to the feed network. 0.8 2
3
the filtering circuitry is cascaded In recent years, an alternative 4
0.6
with the antenna. Good matching method to achieve filtering has

MS
between the filter and antenna is been proposed that introduces 0.4
attained through impedance trans- specific structures on antennas
0.2
formation structures. Although this that influence current distribution
provides satisfactory filter perfor- or impedance. This results in radia- 0
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
mance, it limits integration and has tion nulls outside the desired fre- Frequency (GHz)
high insertion loss.4-9 quency band. Various techniques (b)
To overcome these disadvan- have been studied, such as stacked 1.0
patches,17 loaded coplanar parasitic
tages, filtering circuitry is integrat- 1
ed into the antenna feed network, patches,18,19 branches,20 defected 0.8 2
3
where filtering performance is real- ground structures,21 substrate-inte- 0.6 4
grated waveguides

MS
TABLE 1 with half-mode 0.4
substrates 22 and
FILTERING ANTENNA PARAMETERS 0.2
fractal patches and
Parameter Value (mm) Parameter Value (mm)
shorting pins.23 0
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
H1 72.4 L1 91.1 The introduction Frequency (GHz)
of these structures (c)
H2 32.4 L2 56.1
H3 37.4 L3 38
not only broadens  Fig. 3 Filtering antenna MS: Antenna
the antenna band- A (a), Antenna B (b) and Antenna C (c).

A/m A/m
66.1 66.1
60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
(a) (b)

A/m A/m
66.1 66.1
60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
(c) (d)

 Fig. 4 Characteristic currents for Antenna A: Mode 1 (a), Mode 2 (b), Mode 3 (c) and Mode 4 (d).

106 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 TechnicalFeature
width but also generates radiation mum gain was only 3.059 dBi. ate feed position to make Eitan (r), Jn
nulls. However, it also leads to an in- In this work, a low-profile com- equal to zero.
crease in the antenna’s physical area, pact filtering antenna based on In the design of filtering anten-
profile height and complexity. For CMA is described. By strategically nas, two types of modes are essen-
example, a filter antenna consisting etching H-shaped slots at specific tial. The radiation mode generates a
of U-shaped microstrip resonators, locations on the patch, four modes maximum radiation field in a certain
a Γ-shaped antenna and a parallel- are generated. The TM20 mode direction, while the null radiation
coupled line was proposed by Yan et generates radiation nulls at high mode generates a zero-radiation
al.,24 having a low profile and a com- frequencies, while the TM11 mode field in a certain direction. As a re-
pact structure. However, the maxi- generates radiation nulls at lower sult, it is possible to design an an-
frequencies. An improved TM20 tenna structure in which the reso-
dBi mode is obtained by introducing nant frequency of the null radiation
8.07
4.44
a longitudinally oriented slot. Both mode is distributed on both sides of
0.799 the TM01 and improved TM20 the resonant frequency of the radia-
–2.84 modes are employed to broaden tion mode.25
–6.47 the bandwidth.
–10.1 Antenna Structure Design
–13.7 ANTENNA DESIGN AND The antenna structure shown in
–17.4
ANALYSIS Figure 1 is composed of a rectangu-
–21.0 lar patch etched with an H-shaped
–24.7 Characteristic Mode Theory
–28.3
slot. A 50 Ohm SMA connector
–31.9 The total current flowing on the feeds the patch. The substrate ma-
(a) surface of an obstacle can be de- terial is Rogers RT5880, with a rela-
composed into a linear superposi- tive dielectric constant of 2.2 and a
dBi
8.12 tion of orthogonal currents. Equa- thickness of 1.5 mm. The optimized
4.48 tion 1 is used for determining the dimensions of the filtering antenna
0.847 characteristic currents: are given in Table 1.
–2.79
–6.43 XJn = m n RJn (1) Evolution and Analysis of Filtering
–10.1 Antennas
–13.7
Where Jn denotes the nth eigen-
vector and λn represents the asso- The antenna evolution is shown
–17.3
–21.0 ciated eigenvalue. The impedance in Figure 2. In the beginning, the
–24.6 operator is represented by R (real modal significance of the filtering
–28.2 part) and X (imaginary part). antennas is simulated in CST Studio
(b)
–31.9
By characteristic mode theory, Suite 2022 and the corresponding
the expansion of the far field of the results are shown in Figure 3.
dBi
8.90 obstacle can be accomplished with Subsequently, the characteristic
5.26 characteristic fields, as shown in currents and far-field patterns corre-
1.63 Equation 2. sponding to the first four modes are
_ E itan ^ r h, Jn i
–2.01 shown in Figures 4 through Figure 9.
–5.65
E = | a n En =| En (2) Figure 3a shows that Antenna A
–9.28
n n
1 + jm n has four modes. However, Mode 3 is
–12.9
–16.6 The modal significance (MSn) is not considered because it is difficult
–20.2 defined in Equation 3 as: to excite. The resonant frequencies
–23.8 of Modes 1, 2 and 4 are 3.65, 2.67
1 and 3.29 GHz, respectively. Figure 4
–27.5 MSn = (3)
–31.1 1 + jm n shows that Modes 1, 2 and 4 cor-
(c)
An MSn value of 1 indicates that a respond to the TM20 mode, the
dBi
6.88 specific mode is highly susceptible TM01 mode and the TM11 modes,
3.24 to excitation and conversely, an MSn respectively. Additionally, Figure 5
–0.396 value of 0 implies that the mode is shows that Mode 2 is a radiation
–4.03
challenging to excite. mode, whereas Modes 1 and 4 are
–7.67
The far field is dependent on null radiation modes.
–11.3 The resonance frequencies,
–14.9 both the characteristic field and
–18.6 the complex weighting coefficients, listed from low to high, are Mode
–22.2 αn, as indicated by Equation 2. To 2 (radiation mode), Mode 4 (null
–25.9 generate radiation nulls, there are radiation mode) and Mode 1 (null
–29.5 two methods. The first method in- radiation mode). According to the
(d)
–33.1
volves generating a mode with zero above analysis, Antenna A does not
characteristic fields in the desired fulfill the condition of having the
 Fig. 5 Far-field patterns for Antenna
direction. Alternatively, the other resonant frequency of the null ra-
A: Mode 1 (a), Mode 2 (b), Mode 3 (c) diation mode located on both sides
and Mode 4 (d). method is to choose the appropri-

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 107

TechnicalFeature

A/m A/m
61.2 61.2
55 55
50 50
45 45
40 40
35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
(a) (b)

A/m A/m
61.2 61.2
55 55
50 50
45 45
40 40
35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
(c) (d)

 Fig. 6 Characteristic currents for Antenna B: Mode 1 (a), Mode 2 (b), Mode 3 (c) and Mode 4 (d).

of the radiation mode’s resonance continuity caused by the longitudi- the H-slot etched on the radiating
frequency. Consequently, it cannot nal slot does not affect the current patch, the resonant frequencies of
achieve the filtering function. distribution in Mode 2 (TM20) and Modes 1 through 4 are tuned. From
From Figure 4b, it is seen that Mode 3 (TM01). However, as shown Figure 3c, it is observed that the
Antenna B not only has four modes in Figure 7d, the longitudinal slot resonant frequencies of Modes 1
but also that these four modes are does affect the current distribution through 4 are 3.65, 3.43, 3.34 and
easily excited. The resonant fre- of the TM11 mode. Interestingly, 3.05 GHz, respectively. According
quencies of Modes 1 through 4 are this effect is positive, as can be seen to the characteristic current distri-
3.56, 3.69, 2.67 and 2.75 GHz, re- by comparing the far-field charac- bution shown in Figure 8, Modes 1
spectively. From Figure 6, it is not teristics in Figure 5d and Figure 7d, through 4 correspond to the TM20
difficult to find that Modes 2, 3 and where the longitudinal slot accentu- mode, the TM01 mode, an im-
4 are the TM20 mode, TM01 mode ates the zero-radiation characteristic proved TM20 mode and the TM11
and TM11 modes, respectively. of the TM11 mode, thus enhancing mode, respectively. The characteris-
From Figure 7, Modes 1 through 4 its filtering capability. tic far-field patterns in Figure 9 show
correspond to the radiation mode, The modes for Antenna B, ar- that Modes 1 through 4 correspond
the null radiation mode, the radia- ranged in ascending order of reso- to null radiation, radiation, radiation
tion mode and the null radiation nant frequency, are Mode 3 (radia- and null radiation modes, respec-
mode, respectively. tion mode), Mode 4 (null radiation tively. For Antenna C, the modes
The current distribution and far- mode), Mode 1 (radiation mode), are listed in ascending order of res-
field radiation characteristics of and Mode 2 (null radiation mode). onant frequencies as Mode 4 (null
Mode 1 shown in Figure 6a and According to the above analysis, radiation mode), Mode 3 (radiation
Figure 7a are the same as those of Antenna B satisfies the condition of mode), Mode 2 (radiation mode),
TM10 mode, but this mode is not having the resonant frequencies of and Mode 1 (null radiation mode).
TM10 mode. The electric field dis- the null radiation mode distributed Based on the above analysis,
tribution of Mode 1 is shown in Fig- on both sides of the resonant fre- Antenna C satisfies the condition
ure 10 and it is seen that the elec- quencies for the radiation modes. of having the resonant frequencies
tric field directions on both sides of However, the resonant frequency of the null radiation modes dis-
the longitudinal slot are opposite. of Mode 4 differs significantly from tributed on both sides of the reso-
Therefore, this mode is not the that of Mode 1, making it unable to nant frequencies for the radiation
TM10 mode and is referred to here achieve satisfactory filtering perfor- modes. The distribution pattern of
as the improved TM20 mode. mance. the resonance frequencies in these
From Figures 6b and c, the dis- By adjusting the parameters of four modes generates radiation

108 MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025

 TechnicalFeature
nulls in the high and low frequency ANTENNA MEASUREMENT er conductor flange is soldered to
bands. It also simultaneously excites AND DISCUSSION the underside of the antenna, while
the TM01 mode and the improved The antenna prototype is shown the inner conductor is connected
TM20 mode, which effectively in Figure 11, with dimensions listed to the radiating patch through the
broadens the antenna’s operating in Table 1. The SMA connector’s out- substrate.
bandwidth.

A/m
184
dBi
160
9.17
5.53 140
1.89 120
–1.74
100
–5.38
–9.02 80
–12.7 60
–16.3
40
–19.9
–23.6 20
–27.2 0
–30.8 (a)
(a)
A/m
dBi 184
8.08
4.45 160
0.809 140
–2.83 120
–6.46
–10.1 100
–13.7 80
–17.4 60
–21.0
40
–24.6
–28.3 20
–31.9 0
(b)
(b)
dBi
9.30
A/m
5.66
184
2.02
–1.61 160
–5.25 140
–8.89
120
–12.5
–16.2 100
–19.8 80
–23.4
60
–27.1
–30.7 40
(c) 20
dBi 0
8.11 (c)
4.47
0.834 A/m
–2.80 184
–6.44 160
–10.1
–13.7 140
–17.3 120
–21.0 100
–24.6
80
–28.3
–31.9 60
(d)
40
20
0
 Fig. 7 Far-field patterns for Antenna
 Fig. 8 Characteristic
(d) currents for Antenna C: Mode 1 (a), Mode 2 (b), Mode 3 (c)
B: Mode 1 (a), Mode 2 (b), Mode 3 (c)
and Mode 4 (d). and Mode 4 (d).

MWJOURNAL.COM  JANUARY 2025 109

TechnicalFeature
|S11| and gain from simulations expanded band- V/m
and measurements are shown in width of the anten- 19810
18000
Figure 12, showing close agree- na. The measured
16000
ment. From the graph, it can be -10 dB impedance 14000
observed that there are two reso- bandwidth is 10.13 12000
nance frequencies within the pass- percent (3.09 to 10000
band, corresponding to Modes 2 3.42 GHz) and the 8000
6000
and 3, respectively. The excitation maximum antenna
4000
of Modes 2 and 3 contributes to the gain is 8.5 dBi at 2000
3.1 GHz. Due to 0
dBi the excitation of
8.10 Modes 1 and 4,  Fig. 10 Mode 1 electric field distribution.
4.47
two radiation nulls
0.829
–2.81
are formed at 3.51 and 2.98 GHz for
–6.44 out-of-band suppression in the up-
–10.1 per and lower frequency bands. The
–13.7 resonances for Modes 3 and 4 occur
–17.4 at 3.30 and 3.19 GHz, respectively.
–21.0
Normalized radiation patterns of
–24.6
–28.3
the measured and simulated filter-
–31.9 ing antenna are shown in Figure 13.
(a) Figure 13a shows the E-plane results
dBi
and Figure 13b the H-plane results
9.18 at 3.1 GHz. Figure 13c shows the
5.54 E-plane results and  Fig. 11 Filtering antenna prototype.
1.90 Figure 13d the H-
–1.73 plane results at 3.4 0 10
–5.37
GHz. These results
–9.00
–12.6
show good agree- –10
–16.3 ment between 0

Realized Gain (dBi)

–19.9 measurement and
–20
–23.6 simulation. The
|S11 | (dB)

–27.2 co-polarized fields –10

–30.8
(b) in the E- and H- –30
dBi planes are stron- Sim.
8.87 ger than the cross- Mea. –20
–40 Sim.
5.24 polarized fields by Mea.
1.60 greater than 23 dB
–2.04
–5.67
at boresight. –50 –30
–9.31 A comparison 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0

–12.9 with other reported Frequency (GHz)

–16.6 filtering patch an-
–20.2 tennas in Table 2  Fig. 12 Simulated and measured |S11| and antenna gain.
–23.9 shows that this an-
–27.5
tenna achieves an excellent filtering trolled to achieve excellent filtering
–31.1
response without the need for extra performance. The filtering antenna
(c) operates at 3.1 GHz with a gain of
dBi filtering, consequently eliminating
the additional loss associated with 8.5 dBi. Compared with previously
7.55
3.92 external filters while achieving a reported antennas, it provides ex-
0.28 high gain of 8.5 dBi. Additionally, cellent performance in a simple,
–3.36
the antenna’s design on a single- low-profile structure.
–6.99
–10.6
layer substrate enables the lowest ACKNOWLEDGMENT
–14.3 profile.
This work was supported by the
–17.9
–21.5 CONCLUSION Hunan Provincial Natural Science
–25.2 A low-profile compact filter- Foundation of China under Grant
–28.8
ing antenna is designed using the (2021JJ30478).
–32.4
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