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The European School of Antennas (ESoA), is a new model of
geographically distributed post graduate school created thanks to the European Union support through the ACE NoE - Antenna Center of Excellence (2004-2007) and the
Marie Curie Actions. The school is constituted by a highly qualified
integrated set of advanced one-week courses, distributed in the most
accredited European antenna research centers. 100 among the best
European teachers present lectures in antennas and propagation. The
courses are repeated every two years updating the content.
The general objectives of the School are:
- strengthening the European excellence on antennas
- completing
the individual PhD curricula of students in Electrical and Information
Engineering by offering interaction with the best trainers in Europe
- increasing the link between European Universities and Industries in antenna research and development
- facilitating
the interchange of ideas among early stage researchers and teachers,
thus increasing the future mobility and synergy.
The school is furnished with a centralized WEB support and it is
coordinated so that the courses have the same format and apply common
basic rules for exams and credits.
Further information and data on ESoA is available here
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» All Courses
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All Courses
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Items in this section:
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Advanced Mathematics for Antenna Analysis
14/05/2012 - 19/05/2012
The goal of this course is to explain the mathematical methods used in computational antenna analysis and to provide students with mathematical background necessary for advanced antenna engineering and electromagnetic software development. This course can also serve as a mathematical introduction to other ESoA courses. The course will cover different approaches to solving wave equations, various wave representations, and mathematical theorems used to simplify the original electromagnetic problem. This course has been EXTENDED and now lasts SIX FULL DAYS, comprising a total of 50 HOURS of lectures and exercises.
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Millimeter Wave Antennas
21/05/2012 - 25/05/2012
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TeraHertz Technology and Applications
04/06/2012 - 08/06/2012
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Antenna Measurements
11/06/2012 - 15/06/2012
The course introduces the problematic of antenna measurement. It describes the classical antenna measurement techniques like open fields, compact ranges and near field systems. The course also introduces the most innovative antenna measurement technologies, in particular the special techniques for millimetre and submillimetre frequency bands, the reverberation chambers and the measurement procedures for smart antennas and MIMO systems. The course is aimed to PhD students and engineers from antenna companies.
The course is sponsored by Microwave Vision Group.
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Antennas for Mobile Communication
18/06/2012 - 22/06/2012
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RF-MEMS Based Antennas
25/06/2012 - 29/06/2012
This year ESoA RF-MEMS Based Antennas course will be jointly organized with the 8th International Summer School on RF-MEMS and RF Microsystems.
The objective of this course is to provide a basic overview of antennas designed and fabricated by RF-MEMS technology. The course will cover following topics: brief overview of MEMS technology, its advantages, limitations; basic principles and techniques for the design of RF-MEMS based antennas; MEMS switch as a basic element for RF-MEMS antennas and arrays; applications such as micromachined antennas, reconfigurable antennas (frequency tunable, multiband, polarization and pattern reconfigurable antennas), phased arrays, reflectarrays; biasing techniques, brief discussion of reliability, power handling and packaging issues. This course includes modeling, fabrication techniques and measurements of RF-MEMS antennas. In addition to lectures, design-simulation studies and some measurements of RF-MEMS antennas can be performed. The important fabrication steps will be demonstrated. Fabrication demonstrations will be supported by METU-MEMS Center (www.mems.metu.edu.tr).
The course is mainly intended for doctoral students, Post Docs and researchers with a background in Electromagnetics, but it is open to whoever is interested.
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Arrays and Reflectarrays
10/09/2012 - 14/09/2012
The course will provide a global understanding of the electromagnetic behavior of antenna arrays, with
a special emphasis on wideband arrays, on the effects of mutual coupling and on optimization methods. Reflectarrays will also be studied.
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Advanced Computational EM for Antenna Analysis
01/10/2012 - 05/10/2012
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Passive and Active Reconfigurable Antenna Design
08/10/2012 - 12/10/2012
Introduction - Drivers to the need for reconfigurable antennas (Software defined radio; Cognitive radio; Other needs including defence and space applications) - Types of Reconfigurable antennas - Practical Reconfigurable Antennas - Using reconfigurable antennas in Cognitive radio applications, Combining Photonics and RF to produce more versatile reconfigurable systems, Reducing complexity of reconfigurable systems and increase reliability for harsh environments using graph theory, Using machine learning on FPGAs to produce self-adaptive reconfigurable antennas in cognitive radio - Detecting of Failures in Switch Reconfigurable Antenna Arrays - Embedding Reconfigurable Filters in antennas - Introduction to Components and Analysis for Reconfigurable Antennas - Introduction to components - Performance parameters for components - Microwave circuit and antenna analysis - System level behavioural models - Balanced to unbalanced converter technology - Active antennas -
Types of Reconfiguration Devices and Technology (Semiconductors – MEMS) - Integration of devices into antennas (including surface mount, LTCC) - MMIC introduction and design flow - MMIC in antenna applications: system aspects and technology context - System integration - Semiconductor technologies and devices - MMIC design: MMIC simulation - Design examples - Layout generation
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Trasformation Electromagnetic for Antenna Design
22/10/2012 - 26/10/2012
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Metasurfaces for Antennas
11/11/2012 - 16/11/2012
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COMPLETED : Antennas and Propagation for Body-Centric Wireless Communication
20/04/2009 - 24/04/2009
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COMPLETED : Industrial Antenna Design
04/05/2009 - 04/05/2009
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COMPLETED : Antenna Measurements for Millimeter ans Sub-Millimeter Wavelengths
11/05/2009 - 15/05/2009
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COMPLETED : Antenna Project Management
18/05/2009 - 22/05/2009
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COMPLETED : Terahertz Technology
25/05/2009 - 29/05/2009
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COMPLETED : Advanced Spherical Wave Near-Field Antenna Measurements Techniques
29/06/2009 - 03/07/2009
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COMPLETED : Compact Antennas
06/07/2009 - 10/07/2009
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COMPLETED : ARTIC Industrial Training (AIT): Antenna Research and Technology for the Intelligent Car
07/09/2009 - 11/09/2009
The prime intention of the ARTIC Industrial Training (AIT) is the dissemination of knowledge on vehicular communication systems and antenna technology (AM/FM-Radio, TV, DVB-T, GSM/UMTS, GPS, C2C, V2V, .....)
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COMPLETED : Cooperative Communications and Distributed Antennas
28/09/2009 - 02/10/2009
Cooperative communications systems improve the capacity of wireless communications by allowing cooperation between nodes at the physical layer level. It is possible to use cooperation to implement distributed antenna arrays, which allow the utilization of multiple antenna techniques that can provide the benefits of multiple antennas to single antenna terminals. The objective of this course is to provide the fundamental tools to understand, analyze, and design cooperative communications systems in general, and distributed array configurations in particular. The students will understand some of the fundamental tradeoffs involved in wireless communication system design and how collaborative transmission can be used as a tool to improve performance. Students will get insight into basic relaying techniques such as decode-and-forward and amplify-and-forward and also more sophisticated methods. The philosophy of the course is to provide a combination of understanding of fundamental principles and learning of state-of-the-art techniques. Lectures will be given in an interactive style, exploiting the interdisciplinary nature of the topic and a diverse composition of the audience.
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COMPLETED : Frequency Domain Techniques for Antennas Analysis
05/10/2009 - 09/10/2009
The course aims to give the student an appreciation of the uses and limitations of frequency domain computational techniques applied to scattering and antenna problems. The module gives the student a thorough background in the methodology of these techniques from a fundamental standpoint, while giving a grasp of the practical applications. Emphasis will be given to the practical problems encountered in the implementation of these techniques, and more particularly on the integral techniques (convergence, singularities, etc.). Differential techniques will be introduced as a mean of comparison, but will be not be treated in depth. Simple problems are considered to give an understanding of how the choices made in designing the algorithms translate into the real strengths and limitations of the software.
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COMPLETED : Artificial EBG Surfaces and Metamaterial for Antennas
26/10/2009 - 30/10/2009
bandgaps, cloaking, gap waveguides, packaging, miniaturization, gain enhancement, sidelobe reduction:
In recent years there has been significant research on synthesizing new materials that can enable new and better antennas. These metamaterials are designed by making use of periodic structures, and often it is the surface characteristics of them that are of interest, in particular in antenna design. Special attention has been given to designing surfaces with high surface impedance in order to obtain an artificial magnetic conductor. These surfaces turn out to have frequency bands (bandgaps) inside which no surface waves can propagate along the surface, and they are therefore also referred to as electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) surfaces. This “stop” characteristic of the EBG surface makes it similar to the transversely corrugated surface that already in 1987 was the basis for introducing a concept of soft and hard surfaces, based on a terminology used in acoustics and diffraction theory. The EBG surface is equivalent to a soft surface. During 2006 metamaterials were used to design RF cloaks for making objects invisible to EM waves. The invention got attention in media due to the pictorial resemblance with Harry Potter’s cloak. Similar cloaks were realized already in 1996 by making use of the “go” characteristics of the hard surface.
During this course the background and theory of ideal magnetic conductors and soft and hard surfaces will be explained, as well as how to implement these theoretical models in existing software based on numerical methods such as GO, UTD, FDTD, FEM and moment method. The course covers also how magnetic conductors and soft and hard surfaces can be designed and practically realized, and how to analyze them without having to model each detail of the periodic structure. The limitations of the different analysis models as well as of the surface realizations themselves will be discussed with particular attention to diffraction effects, dispersion, surface waves, leaky waves, local quasi-TEM gap waves, and bandgap properties.
The work will be presented in relation to specific applications such as: ground planes, low-profile antennas, miniaturization, reduction of coupling, removal of parallel-plate noise in multilayer circuit boards, gap waveguides for millimetre waves, waveguide slot arrays, packaging of microstrip circuits, reduction of far out sidelobes, directivity enhancement, high-efficiency hard horns, quasi-TEM waveguides, compact horn antennas, reduction of blockage from cylindrical objects, grid amplifiers, and infinite array simulators.
See detailed program in pdf file below.
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COMPLETED : Antennas for Space Application
08/03/2010 - 12/03/2010
The aim of the course is to give an overview of design approaches, constraints and technical solutions for Space Antennas addressing both theoretical and technological issues. The course will focus on main space applications such as telecommunication, earth observation and science, but will also address other uses of antennas for space, such as navigation, data transmission antennas. The lectures will cover radiofrequency, mechanical and thermal design, material technology and test aspects, ending with a visit to ESTEC satellite and antenna test facilities.
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COMPLETED : Ultra-Wideband Antennas
19/04/2010 - 23/04/2010
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COMPLETED : Advanced Mathematics for Antenna Analysis
10/05/2010 - 18/05/2010
The objective of this course is to explain the mathematical methods used in computational antenna analysis and to provide students with mathematical background necessary for advanced antenna engineering and electromagnetic software development. This course can also serve as a mathematical introduction to other ESoA courses. The course will cover different approaches to solving wave equations, various wave representations, and mathematical theorems used to simplify the original electromagnetic problem.
This course has been EXTENDED and now lasts EIGHT FULL DAYS , comprising a total of 60 HOURS of lectures and exercises.
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COMPLETED : Millimeter Wave Antennas
31/05/2010 - 04/06/2010
The course provides the attendees with a large overview on planar antenna applications, physical principles and technology. Non planar structures are also addressed for mm-wave antennas. Emphasis is put on technological aspects (microstrip, microtechnologies, MEMS, metrology…) and specific field of applications (satellite antennas, mobile phones, base stations, car ACC radar…). The structures and parametric studies presented in the course are validated by CAD softwares (HFSS, Ansoft Designer, etc.).
The first part of the course provides the required details to design microstrip antenna and highlights the most pressing issues in telecommunication area, including broadbanding, circular polarization, and active microstrip antennas in particular.
The second part is dedicated to millimeter wave antennas and describes the main features and specificities of millimeter wave frequency range such as: technological and realization difficulties, antenna measurements, need to characterize the dielectric materials, etc.
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COMPLETED : Terahertz Technologies, Antennas and Applications
07/06/2010 - 11/06/2010
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COMPLETED : Antenna Measurements
14/06/2010 - 18/06/2010
The course is an intensive 5 day study on state-of-the-art near and far field antenna measurement techniques. It combines theoretical sessions with hands-on exercises. This allows participants to put newly acquired theory to practice and gives insight into all aspects of practical antenna measurements. The course also gives the fundamentals of recognizing and troubleshooting erroneous measurements due to testing variables and possible complications. The course is divided in four main parts covering all aspects of practical antenna measurements:
1. Antenna Measurement Theory
2. Antenna Measurement Preparation
3. Actual Measurement Execution
4. Trouble Shooting and Interpretation of Measurement Results
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COMPLETED : Antennas for Mobile Communication
21/06/2010 - 25/06/2010
see http://esoa.elmag.org/
Course topics:
Antennas for user terminals: Small antennas
Theory of characteristic modes, its applications to antenna design, measurement
Higher order modes for the design of planar antennas with specific properties
Propagation in build-up areas
Base stations and smart antennas
Antennas for mobile communication devices, design and measurement
Small antennas – applicators for medical applications
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COMPLETED : RF-Mems Based Antennas
28/06/2010 - 02/07/2010
The objective of this course is to provide a basic overview of antennas designed and fabricated by RF-MEMS technology. The course will cover following topics: brief overview of MEMS technology, its advantages, limitations; basic principles and techniques for the design of RF-MEMS based antennas; MEMS switch as a basic element for RF-MEMS antennas and arrays; applications such as micromachined antennas, reconfigurable antennas (frequency tunable, multiband, polarization and pattern reconfigurable antennas), phased arrays, reflectarrays; biasing techniques, brief discussion of reliability, power handling and packaging issues. This course includes modeling, fabrication techniques and measurements of RF-MEMS antennas. In addition to lectures, design-simulation studies and some measurements of RF-MEMS antennas can be performed. The important fabrication steps will be demonstrated.
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COMPLETED : Automotive Antennas
06/09/2010 - 10/09/2010
The main focus of the course are the relevant fundamentals on antennas and the mobile propagation channel and their practical application in automotive technology. The specific mobile to base station and mobile to mobile radio channel characteristics are presented. The relevant characteristics of vehicle antennas are evaluated, taking into account their functionalities and design aspects. Combining antennas and the radio channel, the inherent system aspects will be elaborated for Diversity, SIMO and MIMO. DSRC spectrum allocations and standards, e.g. IEEE 802.11p will be discussed. One of the goals of the course is to present processes for the optimization of car integrated antenna systems prior to their hardware development and vehicle integration by „Virtual Drive“. The topics will be complemented by a short introduction to automotive radar in collaboration with the EU project MOSARIM (MOre SAfety for all by Radar Interference Mitigation).
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COMPLETED : Antenna Human Body Interaction
13/09/2010 - 17/09/2010
The course covers several issues related to the interaction of electromagnetic waves with human bodies.
How body tissues might alter antenna characteristics and how antennas might alter body tissues.........
The course begins with a reminder of electromagnetics fundamentals required to understand the physical basics of the interactions (Electromagnetic properties of matter, body tissue characteristics, propagation and absorption parameters)
Then, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) issues will be covered with emphasis on experimental procedures and phantom designs as well as related topics like SAR sensors.
Simulation aspects will also be treated from the FEM and FDTD points of view. 3D numerical phantoms will be compared. Benefits resulting from the combined use of different numerical methods will also be stressed.
Standardization and regulation issues are developped, essentially in the context of wireless communications. The analysis of interactions will not only focus on UHF of microwaves but will also deal with millimeter waves including in-vivo and in-vitro studies.
On-body antennas for BAN, mobile or RFID applications will be detailed. The detuning and efficiency degradation due to the presence of the human body as well as On-body propagation aspects (Creeping-wave theory and path loss modelling) will be emphasized in this part.
An attempt to define ideal antennas insensitive to the body will be done.
Finally, the issues related to losses in body tissues will be described in the context of in-body antennas (Antennas in pacemakers, defibrillators, bio-electromagnetic compatibility).
It is planned to visit the Orange labs facilities for SAR measurements.
Demonstration on CST and HFSS are also included (evaluation of power density or attenuation in biological tissues)
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COMPLETED : Advanced Computational EM for Antenna Analysis
04/10/2010 - 08/10/2010
Held in the EPFL campus, this course addresses frequency-domain, integral-equation based computational techniques for the analysis of challenging antenna problems. The challenges come from the need to apply computational electromagnetics to real-life antenna and antenna platform design. The course will give a working knowledge of a number of topics that allow to solve complex antenna problems, including multilayered geometries. In addition, Prof. Wilton from University of Houston, USA, will discuss the important topic of higher order basis functions. While addressing advanced topics, it is structured so as to give attendees a practical understanding of problems, the techniques to solve them, and of how to implement them when "back at home". Attendees willing to participate actively in practical sessions are asked to come equipped with a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection.
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COMPLETED : Time Domain Technique for Antenna Analysis
11/10/2010 - 15/10/2010
This course is a unique opportunity to get an overview of the famous time domain techniques used for solving actual and future challenging electromagnetic problems. Basic knowledge’s and state of the art given during the course will be helpful for PhD students or scientists implementing their own time domain simulation tools. For customers of commercial software’s, it will provide additional theoretical guidelines allowing an optimal use of the vendor simulation tools. Furthermore, a large amount of time will be devoted to practice, fully supported by CST. The course will be divided into 20h of academic lectures and 20h of practice.
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COMPLETED : Antenna Project Management
21/03/2011 - 25/03/2011
The aim of this course is to provide the students with the required background to efficiently cope with the technical management of an antenna project. The technical key steps of a project, starting from a customer's needs, to the final antenna design and testing will be approached. The students will learn how to clarify the requirements of a customer, make trade offs, look for additional information like standards, propagation channels, telecommunication theory and link budgets to establish the antenna specifications, and finally propose the best antenna system to fulfill those requirements. Dong this, we will of course need to keep an eye on the budget and the timeframe of the project. Topics treated include an introduction to project management, a review of antennas and systems and their characteristics, but also a review of the relevant telecommunication theory and an introduction to project management, from the industrial point of view.
The course is aimed to PhD students and Postdocs, but is open to whoever is interested. It will have two legs : a theoretical approach in the mornings, were topics essential to the efficient lead of an antenna project are approached, and practical guided group work in the afternoons, were the students will go through all the phases of a project. In these practical session, each group will be given an industrial antenna problem, linked for instance to wireless application in the automotive sector, or to future telecommunication platforms. The initial requirement will be quite general, and the groups will during the week refine these requirements to come up with specifications and potential solutions.
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COMPLETED : Industrial Antenna Design
04/04/2011 - 08/04/2011
The design of antennas for commercial applications like mobile phones, laptop computers, WLAN mobile devices and routers, etc. is driven by many more issues in addition to the antenna concept. In such industrial projects the antenna design is one part in the whole chain of development. Therefore the antenna designer has to collaborate with teams from many other disciplines like mechanical design, aesthetic design, compliance testing, etc. in order to arrive at a good product. During the design of the product, the antenna designer should be able to anticipate the influence of possible changes in the product specifications and be flexible to adapt his antenna concept to the next design step.
This course on “Industrial Antenna Design” aims to prepare the participants for this kind of work. The course will cover lectures, practical work and team based project work using state of the art design tools and applications.
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COMPLETED : Leaky Waves and Periodic Structures for Antenna Applications
26/04/2011 - 29/04/2011
The Course will offer Lectures on different concepts, realizations,
and applications of Leaky-Wave Antennas and Periodic Structures.
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COMPLETED : Antenna Measurements at Millimeter and Submillimeter Wavelengths
16/05/2011 - 20/05/2011
Testing of large (high-gain) satellite antennas at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths is a difficult task. The classical far-field method has two major obstacles at mm and submm wavelengths: impractically large measurement distance and high atmospheric loss.
The planar near-field scanning method has been used up to 1 THz. The applied near-field methods give useful information only on the main beam and its vicinity, because the field-sampling is typically very sparse.
Reflector-based compact antenna test range (CATR) measurements have been carried out up to 500 GHz. Recently, also hologram-based CATR measurements have been carried out at 650 GHz.
This short course discusses the techniques and limitations of the various test methods, and introduces the participants to the planar near-field scanning and hologram-based CATR as well as to antenna pattern correction techniques also through laboratory demonstrations/exercises (including demonstration of vector network analyzer measurement at 1 THz).
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COMPLETED : Propagation and MiMo
30/05/2011 - 03/06/2011
Wireless mobile communications is continuously adapting to new areas and services. After wide area networks, like TV and FM, mobile communications, e.g. GSM and UMTS, were topics for wave propagation modelling and network planning for the last 15 years. Presently and in the near future micro-cells, pico-cells and femto-cells, like WLAN, WAN, PAN, BAN and hot spots are for planning ahead. For these new systems profound knowledge of indoor and urban wave propagation, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems, ultra-wideband (UWB) techniques as well as RF system level characterisation are essential. This course will introduce to these topics. The participants will be instructed in basics of propagation effects and propagation channel modelling. Tools, like GTD, UTD and ray-tracing for the efficient system characterisation of future wireless data, video and audio/speech transmission will be presented. State of the art wave propagation models for the relevant scenarios are further topics. Emphasis is placed on MIMO techniques and UWB systems. MIMO techniques can increase the channel capacity considerably. UWB systems in the frequency range from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz reclaim the spectrum in coexistence with present systems. Upcoming is also the mobile to mobile communications (C2C), which requires a specifically adjusted problem treatment. The application of these new techniques and systems requires the consideration of the whole system. Channel characterisations by delay spread, Doppler spread, angular spread and so on are presented. By the combined treatment of the RF front-end, antennas and propagation channel this course teaches system competence. The course includes theory as well as tutorials and ends with an exam for those requiring ECTS points.
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COMPLETED : Compact Antennas 6-10 June 2011
06/06/2011 - 10/06/2011
The course deals with the modeling and design principles of small antennas for communications in mobile environments with emphasis on wideband, multiband and multi-element antenna geometries.
The course includes the theoretical background, design principles, implementation aspects and measurement methods.
The fundamental radiation principles and limits will be presented and discussed. The main analytical and numerical techniques will also be studied. The basic and the most successful models will be presented and studied.
As a special case the principles of the fractal geometries and its application to the design of miniaturized and self-complementary antennas and devices will be presented. Specific constraints for wideband (UWB) and multiantenna designs will be addressed.
The participants will design antennas, with different analytical and software tools and asses their directivity, efficiency, and diversity performance with both experimental and computational methods. Some prototypes will be designed, implemented and measured, to check the validity of the methodology.
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COMPLETED : Terahertz Technology and Applications 13-17 June 2011
13/06/2011 - 17/06/2011
The Terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which spans from 100 GHz to 10 THz, has attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to the developments in new generation and detection techniques and due to the potential applications in the commercial, scientific, and government areas. As most dielectric materials are transparent at these frequencies and metals are opaque, there has been considerable interest in developing THz technology as an imaging technique for biomedical, industry, and security applications.
The course will present the radiation and propagation characteristics of the electromagnetic waves at terahertz frequencies, will discuss the technological aspects and design criteria for its different components: sources, receivers and antennas and will modelling and measurement techniques.
The main applications and system architectures for active and passive systems will be analyzed and the more significant parameters compared.
The participants will model the different components of a Terahertz System, with different analytical and software tools and asses their performance in terms of the system response. A realistic system for space or terrestrial applications will be designed and characterized, to check the validity of the methodology.
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COMPLETED : Advanced Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurement Techniques
20/06/2011 - 24/06/2011
Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurements constitutes the most accurate technique for experimental characterization of radiation from antennas – and it forms the basis for the operation of the DTU-ESA Spherical Near-Field Antenna Test Facility. This is an external reference laboratory for the European Space Agency (ESA) which is operated by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) for high-accuracy measurements and calibrations of spacecraft antennas. The technique is a strong combination of advanced theory - on electromagnetics, mathematics, antennas, and microwave technology - and advanced experimental work with high precision instrumentation in a radio anechoic chamber.
For the third time we now offer the Ph.D.-level ESoA course "Advanced Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurement Techniques" at the DTU-ESA Facility to interested and qualified participants. The course aims for a set of learning objectives and participates who meet these will be able to:
1. Explain the theory for spherical near-field antenna measurements
2. Explain the theory for first-order and higher-order probe correction
3. Explain the theory and properties of the general diagnostics technique from far-field and of the SWE-to-PWE technique
4. Calculate and analyze the aperture field distribution given a far-field pattern which shows anomalies and identify the source of errors
5. Carry out mechanical and electrical alignment of spherical near-field antenna measurement systems
6. Carry out measurements of antenna radiation with spherical near-field antenna measurement systems - in particular the system of the DTU-ESA Spherical Near-Field Antenna Test Facility
7. Perform basic setup and full 2-port calibration of a network analyzer
8. Carry out measurements of scattering coefficients of antennas and microwave components by use of the network analyzer
Hence, in this course, the participants will acquire a theoretical understanding of spherical near-field measurements as well as a practical experience in performing such measurements. The course involves lectures, several practical exercises, student presentations, and a multiple-choice exam.
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COMPLETED : Body Area Network
27/06/2011 - 30/06/2011
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COMPLETED : Antenna Imaging Techniques
27/06/2011 - 01/07/2011
In contrast with the optical frequencies, the
quality of images in the lower frequency range of
the electromagnetic spectrum is a challenge. This
is due to inadequate resolution and/or lack of
strong power sources. In these cases scientists
need to resort to hoc antenna imaging techniques:
i.e. they need to pay attention to the efficiency in
coupling radiated energy into the receivers.
In the cm-wavelength regime digital signal
processing can be used, in connection to ad hoc
front end designs, to increase the signal to noise
ratios. In the mm and sub-mm wave regimes only
analog antenna techniques can be used to obtain
high signal to noise ratios at reasonable costs.
This course will discuss the antenna theory and
techniques most widely used in actual systems. It
will also discuss on going state of the art research
in a number of application domains in which
antenna imaging is truly key to the developments.
The applications treated will include space
science radiometry, security, medical imaging,
non destructive testing and telecommunications..
The frequency range covered will span from the
microwaves to the mm and sub-mm waves.
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COMPLETED : Antenna Synthesis
05/09/2011 - 09/09/2011
The course is divided in two main parts. The first one covers the general aspects of the antenna synthesis problem, with the aim of providing a sound and unitary mathematical framework and discussing the most relevant characteristics of the main classes of optimization algorithms exploited in antennas’ design. In the light of the above framework, the second part is devoted to specific topics in array antennas synthesis, selected for their practical and/or theoretical relevance. Guided numerical exercises with brief presentations of the results are also foreseen. LIST OF THE TOPICS - The synthesis problem: General formulation of the synthesis problem: external and internal synthesis. Mathematical formulation of the synthesis problem. The role of design and physical constraints. Ill-position, field properties and degrees of freedom. The trapping problem. A general framework for the synthesis problem: the intersection approach. Synthesis issues with complex elements or platforms. Optimization algorithms: Local and global optimization algorithms. Evolutionary algorithms. Mixed algorithms. Topics in antenna synthesis: Convex and non convex problems. Sum and difference patterns synthesis. Shaped beams synthesis. Non conventional arrays. Reflectarrays. Beam forming networks and active arrays.
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COMPLETED : Antenna Synthesis
05/09/2011 - 09/09/2011
The course is divided in two main parts. The first one covers the general aspects of the antenna synthesis problem, with the aim of providing a sound and unitary mathematical framework and discussing the most relevant characteristics of the main classes of optimization algorithms exploited in antennas’ design. In the light of the above framework, the second part is devoted to specific topics in array antennas synthesis, selected for their practical and/or theoretical relevance. Guided numerical exercises with brief presentations of the results are also foreseen. LIST OF THE TOPICS - The synthesis problem: General formulation of the synthesis problem: external and internal synthesis. Mathematical formulation of the synthesis problem. The role of design and physical constraints. Ill-position, field properties and degrees of freedom. The trapping problem. A general framework for the synthesis problem: the intersection approach. Synthesis issues with complex elements or platforms. Optimization algorithms: Local and global optimization algorithms. Evolutionary algorithms. Mixed algorithms. Topics in antenna synthesis: Convex and non convex problems. Sum and difference patterns synthesis. Shaped beams synthesis. Non conventional arrays. Reflectarrays. Beam forming networks and active arrays.
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COMPLETED : Frequency Domain Techniques for Antenna Analysis
19/09/2011 - 23/09/2011
The course aims to give the student an appreciation of the uses and limitations of frequency domain computational techniques applied to scattering and antenna problems. The module gives the student a thorough background in the methodology of these techniques from a fundamental standpoint, while giving a grasp of the practical applications. Emphasis will be given to the practical problems encountered in the implementation of these techniques, and more particularly on the integral techniques (convergence, singularities, etc.). Differential techniques will be introduced as a mean of comparison, but will be not be treated in depth. Simple problems are considered to give an understanding of how the choices made in designing the algorithms translate into the real strengths and limitations of the software.
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COMPLETED : Radiowave Propagation for Space Systems
28/11/2011 - 29/11/2011
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COMPLETED : Reflector and Lens Antennas
05/12/2011 - 09/12/2011
The course is divided in five parts:
Monday: Peter Meincke from TICRA will present design and analysis techniques for reflector antennas. TICRA is recognized as the world-leader of commercial reflector antenna software, which will serve to illustrate the presentation by means of examples.
Tuesday: Per-Simon Kildal and Jian Yang will contribute to the course with reflector and feed antenna designs and design methods that have been described in more than 30 journal articles and several patents. The lectures will cover: cylindrical reflector and line feed for EISCAT, small L-band reflector with beam-forming ring feed for satellite terminal, dual reflector feed system for radio telescope in Arecibo, hat feed for radio link antenna, and recent decade bandwidth Eleven feed for radio telescopes and satellite communications.
Wednesday: Marianna Ivashina will contribute to the course with antenna designs and design methods that have been described in 30 papers by her and her coworkers. The lectures will cover: design of a wide-band Focal Plane Array (FPA); effects of strong array element coupling on system analysis and optimization; Vivaldi element FPA system as a practical demonstrator of the innovative FPA technology for New Generation Radio Telescopes.
Thursday: Stefano Maci will present high frequency methods used to analyze reflection, diffraction and scattering from reflector antenna surfaces, such as geometrical optics, geometrical theory of diffraction, incremental theory of diffraction, and shadow boundary Integral techniques.
Friday: Ronan Sauleau will review the lens antenna technologies and applications for millimeter and sub-millimeter wave applications. The lectures will cover: 1) the analysis, the synthesis and the optimization of dielectric focusing systems using HF and full-wave techniques 2) the design of homogeneous / multi-shell, axis-symmetric / arbitrarily-shaped lenses (integrated lens antennas, dielectric lenses, dome antennas).
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COMPLETED : Antennas for Space Application
12/03/2012 - 16/03/2012
The aim of the course is to give an overview of design approaches, constraints and technical solutions for Space Antennas addressing both theoretical and technological
issues. The course will focus on main space applications such as telecommunication, earth observation and science, but will also address other uses of antennas for space, such as navigation, data transmission antennas. The lectures will cover radiofrequency, mechanical and thermal design, material technology and test aspects, ending with a visit to ESTEC satellite and antenna test facilities.
The course is structured by domain of application (Telecommunication, Earth Observation and Science).
For each domain an introduction illustrating the different requirements and constraints for the antenna design is presented and antenna design and technologies are discussed.
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COMPLETED : Ultra-Wideband Antennas
16/04/2012 - 20/04/2012
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