Designs nextgen ‘hovering’ antennas
An Ohio State University’s research team — led by Iranian researcher Nima Qalichehchian — is designing hovering antennas that could boost cellphone signals and beam images straight to televisions.
Qalichehchian, an Iranian assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, is leading a team of researchers at Ohio State University’s Electroscience Laboratory (ESL) into designing hovering or suspended high-gain millimeter-wave antenna arrays that can increase signal strength, Mehr News Agency wrote.
According to Qalichehchian, a growth for signal strength to send and receive more data through wireless communication comes from increasing the bandwidth in which the data is sent.
“We are trying to go about 50 times higher frequency to get us 50 times higher bandwidth,” Qalichehchian said.
“So, the idea is to create devices that transmit and receive data at these very high frequencies.”
Two graduate research assistants at Ohio State’s Electroscience Lab are working on these devices.
“The central objective is to develop scanning arrays on silicon integrated circuits that exhibit radiation efficiency of greater than 85 percent. Such compact high-efficiency millimeter-wave arrays have not been realized to date,” he said, while addressing the limitations of traditional silicon substrates the antenna is mounted on, which weakens wireless signals.
For the lens components attached to the antenna, graduate research assistants Jiantong Li and Kyoung Ho Jeong, are experimenting with new 3D-printing technologies.
In addition to millimeterwave applications, these unique antennas are intended for short-range communication links, satellite communications, radars, remote sensing, security and medical imaging.