Browsing by Author "Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S."
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- A 2D ray-tracing based model for wave propagation through forests at micro-and millimeter wave frequenciesPublication . Leonor, Nuno R.; Sanchez, Manuel Garcia; Fernandes, Telmo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper proposes the extension of a 2-D ray-tracing-based model for radiowave propagation in the presence of trees and vegetation areas to include real-sized trees and outdoor forest scenarios. The original propagation model proved to be suitable to characterize the electromagnetic behavior in the presence of indoor tree formation scenarios, despite some limitations found when applied to real-sized trees. In addition, the original propagation model requires the prior knowledge of the trees’ re-radiation function to extract the relevant propagation input parameters, which is not always possible to obtain in outdoor scenarios. Therefore, an empirical method to extract the relevant input propagation parameters based on simple measurements is proposed. The performance of the proposed propagation model extension is extensively assessed in both the line-of-trees and tree formation scenarios, including various (and mixed) species, both in- and out-of-leaf foliation states, and at three signal frequencies. Finally, depending on the type of scenario, a benchmark between the proposed propagation model and both the radiative energy transfer (RET) and discrete RET (dRET) models, for line-of-trees and tree formation, respectively, is presented.
- 3-D Mechanically Tunable Square Slot FSSPublication . Ferreira, David; Cuinas, Inigo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Fernandes, TelmoWe introduce an innovative 3-D mechanically tunable frequency selective surface (FSS), which is inspired by the classical flat square slot FSS. The proposal improves the performance of classical 2-D FSS designs, and it also represents a novel method of achieving mechanical frequency tuning, despite other 3-D designs that consist of a collection of stacked 3-D layers exist. In our proposal, the rotation of an inner element provides tuning capability to the squared cell structure, consisting of metallic grids with a movable inner element. An aluminum prototype was built, which can be tuned from 2.4 to 4 GHz, and also compared its measured performance and numerical simulations. Some characteristics of the proposed structure are the rejection level at main polarization, up to 20 dB, and the maximum frequency sweep of approximately 50% of the fundamental frequency. The prototype showed a stable frequency response for angles of incidence up to 45°. Since results are in good agreement with simulations, we provide parametric equations to design 3-D structures at desired frequencies.
- 3D Indoor Radio Coverage for 5G Planning: a Framework of Combining BIM with Ray-tracingPublication . Louro, João; Fernandes, Telmo Rui; Rodrigues, Hugo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper presents a framework to predict indoor radio wave coverage in buildings. Such method includes the capability to import BIM (Building Information Modelling) files that contain structured physical geometry and dimension data, including the material types that are of uttermost importance in evaluating their dielectric properties. Appropriated extraction of physical and dielectric attributes of the building elements was used as input to a 3D radio wave propagation ray-tracing developed in MatLab that allows the prediction of the received radio signal level at any location within the computational volume. Results are presented for line-of-sight contributions and first and second order reflections. Despite the generic nature of the proposed framework, prediction results are presented at 3.6 GHz, envisaging emerging 5G indoor radio coverage.
- All-digital reconfigurable STDCC radar baseband implementation in FPGAPublication . Duarte, Luís; Ribeiro, Carlos; Alves, Luís N.; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper reports the architecture of an all-digital Swept Time-Delay Cross-Correlator (STDCC) baseband. Until recently, the sliding correlator technique has been mainly em-ployed for sounding the radio propagation channel. However, recent benchmarks have shown promising results in target detection context when compared to commercially available solutions. STDCC takes advantage of the sliding correlation properties of Pseudo-Noise (PN) sequences. Therefore, this paper presents the baseband generation for this new radar technique with on-the-fly sequence tuning using a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The reconfigurable STDCC radar baseband generates both PN sequences digitally and requires a low-cost ADC to acquire the time dilated result. At the end, the proposed architecture is evaluated regarding resource usage efficiency and then the radar performance will be discussed in terms of the all-digital PN sequence spectrum and the real-time slide correlation. Our analysis confirmed a strong correlation between both sequence length and sampling frequency with radar detectable distance.
- Characterization of wireless propagation through traditional Iberian brick wallsPublication . Ferreira, David; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Fernandes, Telmo R.; Cuinas, InigoThis paper presents the wireless transmission properties for brick walls with different thicknesses and facade finish coatings. The ceramic hollowed bricks under study are traditionally employed in the Iberian residential construction, where the 11, 15 and 20 cm thicknesses are most common in indoor and outdoor walls. For each brick dimension, three different prototypes were manufactured varying in the type of wall finish, i.e.: naked brick, smooth painted plaster and rough painted plaster. The prototypes were measured in an anechoic chamber at frequencies ranging from 680MHz up to 10GHz. Results demonstrate that the brick wall internal heterogeneity, as well as the type of finish, significantly influence the frequency response of the walls.
- Electronically Reconfigurable FSS-Inspired Transmitarray for 2-D BeamsteeringPublication . Reis, João R.; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Hammoudeh, Akram; Copner, NigelA novel electronically reconfigurable transmitarray (TA) with 2-D beamsteering capability is presented in this communication. The proposed structure, inspired on frequency selective surfaces loaded with varactor diodes, allows the phase range of each TA element to be individually controlled enabling an automated steering of the main lobe of an original antenna pattern, in both elevation and azimuth planes (2-D beamsteering). This has been demonstrated on a 5 × 5 unit-cell stacked structure with active feeding, coupled to the aperture of a standard gain horn antenna. A complete electromagnetic study using CST Microwave Studio is presented to evaluate and characterize the TA elements and the effect the proposed feeding network has on the structure's behavior. Following initial simulations, a prototype of the active TA has been characterized. Automated antenna beamsteering with ranges up to Az = 28° and El = 26° and 1° of angular resolution, is achieved by means of electromagnetic simulations and validated against experimental results at 5.2 GHz.
- Enabling spatial diversity and beamsteering with reduced RF-chains using reconfigurable transmitarraysPublication . João R. Reis; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Fernandes, Telmo R.; Hammoudeh, AkramThis manuscript introduces a new vision on the implementation of spatial diversity with beamsteering capability, by suppressing the typical beamforming networks of antenna phased arrays and replace them by Reconfigurable Transmitar- rays. Consequently, the radio frequency components, i.e. RF- chains that compose such systems, were replaced by a device with the capability to perform two-dimensional beamsteering relying on single antenna source, hence reducing the number of associated RF hardware in comparison with traditional phased array systems. By spatially distributing side-by-side more than one device, spatial diversity with beamsteering is enabled with an estimated reduction of 1:8 in the number of associated RF-chains. This new concept clearly demonstrates its merit by directly reducing the implementation costs„ RF-chain components and increasing the energy efficiency, specially in larger systems.
- Input parameter extraction method for point scatterer formulation in vegetation media at millimetre-wave frequenciesPublication . Leonor, Nuno R.; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Sánchez, Manuel García; Fernandes, TelmoAn empirical method to extract the relevant point scatterer formulation input parameters for appropriate radio coverage simulation in vegetation areas, is proposed. While the original propagation model would require the prior knowledge of the complete tree(s) re-radiation function(s) to extract the relevant propagation input parameters, the empirical method proposed herein is based only on two simple measurements. Re-radiation measurements of several specimens of Thuja pelicata and Ficus benjamina trees at two frequencies have been used to validate the proposed simplified extraction method. The proposed empirical model was then used to characterise the propagation phenomena of various trees arranged in four different scenarios. Subsequently, directional spectra measurements performed inside an anechoic chamber at both 20 and 62.4 GHz were used to assess the empirical model performance, while predicting the received signal level arriving from various directions. A relatively good overall model performance when applied to tree formations was obtained which, coupled with the simplified parameter extraction proposed, makes it suitable to be integrated in commercial simulation platforms and/or as input data to other propagation models that may require the prior knowledge of the individual tree re-radiation functions.
- Metamaterial-inspired Flat-Antenna Design for 5G Small-cell Base-Stations Operating at 3.6 GHzPublication . Reis, João R.; Fernandes, Telmo R.; Patrício Carreira Vala, Mário António; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.In this paper, a flat-beamsteering antenna for 5G applications is being presented. The antenna, designed to operate at 3.6 GHz (5G new radio (NR) frequency range 1 (FR1) band n78), presents a unique flat form factor which allows easy deployment and low visual impact in 5G dense scenarios. The antenna presents a multi-layer structure where a metamaterial inspired transmitarray enables the two-dimensional (2D) beamsteering, and an array of microstrip patch antennas is utilised as RF source. The use of metamaterials for beamsteering control allows for the reduction of costly and complex phase-shifter networks by using discrete capacitor diodes to control the transmission phase-shifting and subsequently, the direction of the steering. According to simulations, the proposed antenna presents 13.9 dBi of gain, 100 MHz of bandwidth with a maximum steering range of ±20 degrees, achievable in both elevation and azimuth planes, independently.
- A mm Wave solution to provide wireless Augmented Reality in classroomsPublication . Gomes, Rodolfo; Sismeiro, Luis; Ribeiro, Carlos; Sanchez, Manuel G.; Hammoudeh, Akram; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper presents a very high throughput wireless data transmission solution for Augmented Reality (AR) Head Mounted Devices (HMDs) in the 60 GHz band. Its feasibility is assessed in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) downlink communication towards five User Equipment (UE) devices, placed at different locations inside an indoor classroom environment scenario. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as Error Vector Magnitude (EVM), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), and path loss are considered for Quality of Service (QoS) assessment. Experimental results demonstrate the reliability of the proposed mmWave system, where a data rate of 312.5 Mbps is achieved over distances of 1, 2.4 and 4.1 m, regardless the UE position.