Part of the book: Wireless Communications and Networks
Dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) are ceramic based materials that are nonmetallic in nature. They offer high permitivity values (εr: 10-100). DRAs? have made their mark in various applications specially in the microwave and millimeter wave (MMW) spectrum, and are making encouraging progress in the THz band, because of their low conduction losses and higher radiation efficiencies compared to their metallic counterparts. With the advancements in nano fabrication, metallic antennas designed in the THz band have taken an interest. These antennas are termed as optical antennas or nantennas. Optical antennas work by receiving the incident electromagnetic wave or light and focusing it on a certain point or hot spot. Since most of the antennas are metallic based with Noble metals as radiators, the conducting losses are huge. One solution that we offer in this work is to integrate the nantennas with DRs. Two different DR based designs, one triangular and other hexagonal, are presented. Both the antennas operate in the optical C-band window (1550 nm). We design, perform numerical analysis, simulate, and optimize the proposed DR nantennas. We also consider array synthesis of the proposed nantennas in evaluating how much directive the nantennas are for use in nano network applications.
Part of the book: Optical Communication Technology
Dual-band near-field wireless energy transfer (WET) designs outweigh single-band system with regard to either concurrent energy and data transfer or multiple wireless charging standard functionalities. There are two major approaches in resonator designs, namely, multi-coil and single-coil. This chapter presents a review on design constraints for each design approach and rectification techniques available in counteracting impediments of dual-band near-field WET systems. Challenges pertinent to link design are discussed primarily followed by methods implemented to mitigate detrimental impact on performance metrics. Front-end dual-band resonator design methods are accentuated in this chapter in lieu of end-to-end WET system. This is envisioned to offer insights for designers contemplating on design modes or developing ways to facilitate a boost in rectification options currently available.
Part of the book: Recent Wireless Power Transfer Technologies
In this chapter, we focus on the application of plasma structures to realize reconfigurable antennas. Several approaches are presented to dynamically control the beamwidth and radiation gain of circularly polarized helical antennas based on plasma reflectors. Ideas and design principles were discussed and confirmed by full-wave simulations and measurements of realized prototypes. It is shown that plasma reflectors can be effectively used to design reconfigurable helicone antennas with controllable gain and beamwidth. The chapter also presents a reconfigurable slotted antenna using a plasma tube inside the metallic waveguide. It is shown that the radiation pattern of the antenna can be readily reconfigured by changing the state of the plasma column. In short, it is shown that in contrast to conventional methods based on electronic or mechanical devices, reconfigurable antennas based on plasma media benefit from simple and relatively low-cost structures as well as high performance.
Part of the book: Plasma Science