Ultrawideband antenna for low energy, short range

Virginia Tech researchers have developed what they claim is an efficient, compact, ultra-wideband antenna for a range of home, motor vehicle, medical and military applications.

The antenna has achieved a near optimal performance for size and bandwidth, according to inventor Taeyoung Yang.

Yang, an electrical and computer engineering PhD student with the Wireless@Virginia Tech group, presented the theory for making an ultra-wideband antenna as close as possible to the theoretical limit on antenna size and performance, plus the design for an antenna.

The project is part of his dissertation. Co-inventors are Professors WA Davis and WL Stutzman.

Ultra-wideband antennas are designed for low-energy, short-range transmission of lots of data. Wireless transmission of data from a mobile phone or digital camcorder to a computer is one potential use.

A smaller antenna that can send large movies is easily appreciated.

There are also complex and critical applications for such technology, said Yang. Examples are pulsed radar systems to prevent collisions between cars, medical imaging systems to detect tumors and military applications, such as unmanned aircraft.

“To our best knowledge, our invented antenna is the world’s smallest with more than a 10:1 bandwidth. It has more than 95% efficiency for signal transmission, and a fairly constant omnidirectional radiation pattern,” said Yang.

The inventors’ strategy to reduce the size and increase the adaptability of the antenna was to configure it as a structure that can be printed on the inner side of the protective housing, which can be light plastic.

The design also makes it cheap and simple to produce. “The required material expense is low, the fabrication process is simple, and it is versatile for mounting on curved surfaces,” said Yang. “It is convenient to install and disassemble.”