An ultrawideband rectangular waveguide to microstrip line transition operating at the whole LMDS and Ka band is presented. The transition is based on exciting three overlapped transversal patches ...that radiate into the narrow wall of the waveguide, making the design feasible to be used in λg/2 spaced phased arrays. Both top-side and bottom-side versions were designed and compared to show their differences. They were validated by means of a manufactured back-to-back (B2B) configuration, with a measured fractional bandwidth of 21.2% (top-side) and 23% (bottom-side). The maximum single transition measured insertion losses were 0.67 dB (top-side) and 0.85 dB (bottom-side) in the whole band of operation.
Abstract
Quantum sensors provide unprecedented magnetic field detection sensitivities, enabling these to extend the common magnetometry range of applications and environments of operation. In this ...framework, many applications also require high spatial resolution magnetic measurements for biomedical research, environmental monitoring and industrial production. In this regard, optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) are considered as prominent candidates, but are impaired in size with micrometer scale magnetic particles, e.g. magnetic droplets. In order to address this limitation, here we study the effects of adding a micrometer-to-millimeter magnetic guide to a miniature OPM. This device is applied to detect Fe3O4 magnetic droplets flowing at rates up to 25 drop. s
−1
in a microfluidic channel. The computed spatial resolution is 300
µ
m and the measured signal-to-noise ratio is larger than 15 dB for the different sizes of considered magnetic droplets.
Patient monitoring of vital signals such as breathing rhythm and heartbeat rate can be done remotely by the use of a radar system. This approach is advantageous since it does not require any contact ...with the patient. Obviously, contactless monitoring results in a more comfortable situation for the patient, and in occasions, it is almost mandatory as in the case of heavy burned or newborn patients. Moreover, additional information such movement patterns are also available. A 120 GHz frequency modulated continuous wave radar is described with special focus on the design, construction, and testing of a specific reflector antenna for the system. The system is based on a commercial radar chipset that includes its own antennas. The challenge has been to design the optimum reflector and to build it and test it in a cost-effective way. The reflector has been 3-D printed and a near-field testing technique has been implemented to assess its performance. The results show that the system is able to measure the vital signs at distances beyond 1 m.
The effectiveness of an active noise barrier is heavily dependent on the positioning of secondary sources and error sensors. Typically, these components are located at the edge of the barrier; ...however, research suggests that alternative distributions may improve the performance of the active barrier. This paper utilizes a genetic optimizer to determine optimal transducer locations based on specific criteria. Two approaches are employed: the Two-step approach which, first identifies optimal control source positions and then seeks the best error microphone locations, and the Multi-parameter approach, which optimizes all active noise control parameters simultaneously. The acoustic fields of primary and secondary sources are analyzed for various numbers of control sources progressively increasing from 2 to 10 units. Results indicate that the Multi-parameter approach achieves higher outcomes and requires less computational effort. This approach is more desirable than the Two-step approach. The best configuration for the active noise barrier is determined to be control sources and error microphones placed at a height below the barrier’s edge and are distributed with an interval between a half and a full wavelength. The number of error sensors should be close to the number of secondary sources and both transducers should be placed at the farthest distance from the barrier surface, but oppositely. Furthermore, the study shows that when the primary noise source is close to the barrier adjacent transducers should not be spaced uniformly.
The main intention of this study is to propose general criteria for the locations of the control sources and error microphones that improve the performance of the active noise barrier. Based on the ...proposed criteria of this study, the greater reduction is attained when the diffracted field of the noise source is canceled with the diffracted field of the control sources, that is, it is suggested to locate the control sources on the incident side and below the path that connects the furthest point in the shadow zone to the edge of the barrier. Furthermore, it is suggested that the error microphones are most suitably placed on the shadow side of the barrier where they are under the diffracted field of both the primary and control sources. The results also show that with these general criteria, the active noise control achieves an extra reduction that varies from 14.9 to 3.9 dB (for the one-third octave bands from 63 Hz to 1 kHz) and 9.3 dB for the broadband noises.
Barriers are increasingly used to protect the pedestrian and neighboring buildings from construction noise activities. This study aims to investigate the suitability of applying active noise control ...on barriers in a construction site to protect the street area and neighboring buildings. Transducers that are simulated in this work are close to the barrier, and their optimal positions are defined in such a way that the control system has the maximum performance at the neighboring areas close to the construction sites. To begin with, the suitable location of the control sources is found when the total squared pressure is minimized at the positions of noise receivers. The suitable location of the error sensors is, then, found when the control sources are fixed at the position of the previous step and the total squared pressure is minimized at the error sensors. The best location for the error sensors is defined when the maximum reduction is achieved in the target area. It is observed that suitable positions for the transducers depend on the location of target areas for noise control, the position of the noise source, and its operating frequency. In this investigation, a unique configuration is proposed for the transducers that achieves a comparable reduction both at the street area and the neighboring buildings, simultaneously. The results show that the active noise barrier with a height of 2.5 m can achieve an extra insertion loss in the street zone, varies from 9.3 to 16.4 dB (in comparison with passive noise barrier) when the distance of the noise source from the barrier changes in the range of 7 to 1 m, respectively. Those values are of the same order for the passive noise attenuation. Furthermore, similar results are achieved when attempting to cancel the shadow zone of a façade 15 m away from the barrier.
In this letter, a practical fabrication of a novel inhomogeneous gradient-index dielectric flat lens for millimeter-wave applications is presented. A previous theoretical design of a dielectric flat ...lens composed of different permittivity materials is now modeled and analyzed for a practical prototype fabrication and performance evaluation at 60 and 77 GHz. The measurement results at 60 GHz show that with the novel gradient-index dielectric flat lens antenna prototype, we can achieve up to 18.3 dB of broadside gain, beam-steering capabilities in both planes from -30° to +30° with around 15 dB of gain, and up to ±45° with around 14 dB of gain, with low sidelobe levels. At 77 GHz, the performance evaluation shows that we can obtain up to 18.9 dB of broadside gain, beam-steering capabilities in both planes from -30° to +30° with around 17 dB of gain and low sidelobe levels, and up to ±45° with around 15 dB of gain. This novel design leads to a low-cost, low-profile, and lightweight antenna solution, easy to integrate in a compact millimeter-wave wireless communication system.
The need for non-ionizing techniques for medical imaging applications has led to the use of microwave signals. Several systems have been introduced in recent years based on increasing the number of ...antennas and frequency bandwidth to obtain high resolution and good accuracy in locating objects. A novel microwave imaging system that reduces the number of required antennas for precise target location appropriate for medical applications is presented. The proposed system consists of four UWB extended gap ridge horn (EGRH) antennas covering the frequency band from 0.5 GHz to 1.5 GHz mounted on a cylindrical phantom that mimics the brain in an orthogonal set of two EGRH probes. This configuration has the ability to control both the longitudinal and transversal dimensions of the reconstructed target's image, rather than controlling the spatial resolution, by increasing the frequency band that can be easily affected by medium losses. The system is tested numerically and experimentally by the detection of a cylindrical target within a human brain model.
Morphological microwave imaging has shown interesting results on reconstructing biological objects inside the human body, and these parameters represent their actual biological condition, but not ...their biological activity. In this paper, we propose a novel microwave technique to locate the low-frequency (f≃1 kHz) -modulated signals produced by a microtag mimicking an action potential and proved it in a cylindrical phantom of the brain region. A set of two combined UWB microwave applicators, operating in the 0.5 to 2.5 GHz frequency band and producing a nsec interrogation pulse, is able to focus its radiated field into a small region of the brain containing the microtag with a modulated photodiode. The illuminating UWB microwave field was first modulated by the low-frequency (f≃1 kHz) electrical signal produced by the photodiode, inducing modulated microwave currents into the microtag that reradiating back towards the focusing applicators. At the receiving end, the low-frequency (f≃1 kHz) -modulated signal was first extracted from the full set of the backscattered signals, then focused into the region of interest and spatially represented in the corresponding region of the brain, resulting in a spatial resolution of the images in the order of 10 mm.
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•First contribution to the applicability of Halbach arrays within ring-shaped structures.•Halbach arrays do not ensure improved output power of an electromagnetic ...harvester.•Optimization of the proposed transducer improved its output power by almost 30%.•Parameters for power maximization are different from those for voltage maximization.•The highest NPD performance compared to other devices with Halbach arrays is reached.
This paper proposes and studies a ring-shaped architecture with Halbach configuration for electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters. The proposed transducer consists of three ring magnets with a linear Halbach array that concentrates its magnetic field in the inner space of the mechanism where a single vertically-centered concentric coil has been located. This particular structure allows to increase the resonant mass within a fixed dimensions of the transducer and reduces the coil resistance for the same number of turns, enhancing its power generation capabilities. The ring-shaped architecture has been compared with several ring magnet arrangements, including single magnets, double-magnet arrays, and an alternative linear Halbach array, using numerical simulations to determine their influence on its performance. Consequently, this work is the first contribution to the applicability of Halbach configurations for electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters within ring-shaped architectures. Also, a geometrical optimization of the proposed transducer has been conducted, mainly as a function of the inner radius, the height, and the wire diameter of the coil, to increase its power generation. The maximum simulated output power for the optimized generator reaches 3.61 mW for an input harmonic vibration of 0.03 g at a frequency of 61.7 Hz, corresponding to a 29.08 mW/cm3g2 normalized power density performance, significantly higher than devices described in the literature for similar applications. Besides, a harvester prototype based on the proposed configuration has been fabricated to validate the modeling strategy used and to certify the reliability of the proposed design regarding power generation capabilities. Several experimental tests have been conducted under harmonic excitation with frequencies ranging between 10 Hz and 100 Hz and a vibration amplitude of 0.03 g. The experimentally measured induced voltage and electrical output power have been found in good agreement with their corresponding simulated values, with a difference of about 2.1% and 5%, respectively.