Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Microwave patch antennas'

Near field imaging using microwave in medical applications has gain much attention recently as various researches show its high ability and accuracy in illuminating object comparing to the well-known screening tools such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), digital mammography, ultrasound etc. This has encourage and motivate scientists continue to exploit the potential of microwave imaging so that a better and more powerful sensing tools can be developed. This thesis documents the development of antenna design for microwave imaging application such as breast cancer detection. The application is similar to the concept of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) but operating at higher frequency band. In these systems a short pulse is transmitted from an antenna to the medium and the backscattered response is investigated for diagnose. In order to accommodate such a short pulse, a very wideband antenna with a minimal internal reflection is required. Printed monopole and planar metal plate antenna is implemented to achieve the necessary operating wide bandwidth. The development of new compact printed planar metal plate ultra wide bandwidth antenna is presented. A generalized parametric study is carried out using two well-known software packages to achieve optimum antenna performance. The Prototype antennas are tested and analysed experimentally, in which a reasonable agreement was achieved with the simulations. The antennas present an excellent relative wide bandwidth of 67% with acceptable range of power gain between 3.5 to 7 dBi. A new compact size air-dielectric microstrip patch-antenna designs proposed for breast cancer detection are presented. The antennas consist of a radiating patch mounted on two vertical plates, fed by coaxial cable. The antennas show a wide bandwidth that were verified by the simulations and also confirmed experimentally. The prototype antennas show excellent performance in terms the input impedance and radiation performance over the target range bandwidth from 4 GHz to 8 GHz. A mono-static model with a homogeneous dielectric box having similar properties to human tissue is used to study the interaction of the antenna with tissue. The numerical results in terms the matching required of new optimised antennas were promising. An experimental setup of sensor array for early-stage breast-cancer detection is developed. The arrangement of two elements separated by short distance that confined equivalent medium of breast tissues were modelled and implemented. The operation performances due to several orientations of the antennas locations were performed to determine the sensitivity limits with and without small size equivalent cancer cells model. In addition, a resistively loaded bow tie antenna, intended for applications in breast cancer detection, is adaptively modified through modelling and genetic optimisation is presented. The required wideband operating characteristic is achieved through manipulating the resistive loading of the antenna structure, the number of wires, and their angular separation within the equivalent wire assembly. The results show an acceptable impedance bandwidth of 100.75 %, with a VSWR < 2, over the interval from 3.3 GHz to 10.0 GHz. Feasibility studies were made on the antenna sensitivity for operation in a tissue equivalent dielectric medium. The simulated and measured results are all in close agreement.

Near field imaging using microwave in medical applications has gain much attention recently as various researches show its high ability and accuracy in illuminating object comparing to the well-known screening tools such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), digital mammography, ultrasound etc. This has encourage and motivate scientists continue to exploit the potential of microwave imaging so that a better and more powerful sensing tools can be developed. This thesis documents the development of antenna design for microwave imaging application such as breast cancer detection. The application is similar to the concept of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) but operating at higher frequency band. In these systems a short pulse is transmitted from an antenna to the medium and the backscattered response is investigated for diagnose. In order to accommodate such a short pulse, a very wideband antenna with a minimal internal reflection is required. Printed monopole and planar metal plate antenna is implemented to achieve the necessary operating wide bandwidth. The development of new compact printed planar metal plate ultra wide bandwidth antenna is presented. A generalized parametric study is carried out using two well-known software packages to achieve optimum antenna performance. The Prototype antennas are tested and analysed experimentally, in which a reasonable agreement was achieved with the simulations. The antennas present an excellent relative wide bandwidth of 67% with acceptable range of power gain between 3.5 to 7 dBi. A new compact size air-dielectric microstrip patch-antenna designs proposed for breast cancer detection are presented. The antennas consist of a radiating patch mounted on two vertical plates, fed by coaxial cable. The antennas show a wide bandwidth that were verified by the simulations and also confirmed experimentally. The prototype antennas show excellent performance in terms the input impedance and radiation performance over the target range bandwidth from 4 GHz to 8 GHz. A mono-static model with a homogeneous dielectric box having similar properties to human tissue is used to study the interaction of the antenna with tissue. The numerical results in terms the matching required of new optimised antennas were promising. An experimental setup of sensor array for early-stage breast-cancer detection is developed. The arrangement of two elements separated by short distance that confined equivalent medium of breast tissues were modelled and implemented. The operation performances due to several orientations of the antennas locations were performed to determine the sensitivity limits with and without small size equivalent cancer cells model. In addition, a resistively loaded bow tie antenna, intended for applications in breast cancer detection, is adaptively modified through modelling and genetic optimisation is presented. The required wideband operating characteristic is achieved through manipulating the resistive loading of the antenna structure, the number of wires, and their angular separation within the equivalent wire assembly. The results show an acceptable impedance bandwidth of 100.75 %, with a VSWR < 2, over the interval from 3.3 GHz to 10.0 GHz. Feasibility studies were made on the antenna sensitivity for operation in a tissue equivalent dielectric medium. The simulated and measured results are all in close agreement.

This master’s thesis introduces to the reader with a modern antenna type the microstrip patch antennas. The most common types of microstrip antennas and their parameters and feeding methods are introduced in the theoretical section of this master’s thesis. This section deals with the circularly polarized microstrip antennas. Design of an active dual-band circularly polarized antenna for global navigation satellite application in the AWR Microwave Office is presented in the practical section. The proposed single-fed dual-band circularly polarized design is achieved using two stacked square microstrip patches. The antenna operates at the L1 + E1 and L5 + E5a frequency bands. Antenna preamplifier consists of a low-noise transistor and a dual-band band-pass filter. The thesis describes realization and measurement results of the dual-band antenna performance in the anechoic chamber. Measured results of the preamplifier performance are presented.

The objective of the proposed research is to design, implement, and characterize low-cost, lightweight front-end components and subsystems in the microwave domain through innovative packaging architectures for remote sensing applications. Particular emphasis is placed on system-on-package (SoP) solutions implemented in organic substrates as a low-cost alternative to conventional, expensive, rigid, and fragile radio- frequency substrates. To this end, the dielectric properties of organic substrates RT/duroid 5880, 6002 and 6202 are presented from 30 GHz to 70 GHz, covering most of the Ka and V radar bands, giving also a thorough insight on the uncertainty of the microstrip ring resonator method by means of the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. Additionally, an ultra-thin, high-power antenna-array technology, with transmit/ receive (T/R) functionality is introduced for mobile applications in the X band. Two lightweight SoP T/R array panels are presented in this work using novel technologies such as Silicon Germanium integrated circuits and microelectromechanical system switches on a hybrid organic package of liquid crystal polymer and RT/duroid 5880LZ. A maximum power of 47 dBm is achieved in a package with a thickness of 1.8 mm without the need of bulky thermal management devices. Finally, to address the thermal limitations of thin-film substrates of interest (liquid crystal polymer, RT/duroid 6002, alumina and Aluminum Nitride), a thermal assessment of microstrip structures is presented in the X band, along with the thermal characterization of the dielectric properties of RT/duroid 6002 from 20 ºC to 200 ºC and from 30 GHz to 70 GHz. Additional high-power, X-band technologies presented in this work include: a novel and compact topology for evanescent mode filters, and low-profile Wilkinson power dividers implemented on Aluminum Nitride using Tantalum Nitride thin-film resistors.

The objective of the proposed research is to design, implement, and characterize low-cost, lightweight front-end components and subsystems in the microwave domain through innovative packaging architectures for remote sensing applications. Particular emphasis is placed on system-on-package (SoP) solutions implemented in organic substrates as a low-cost alternative to conventional, expensive, rigid, and fragile radio- frequency substrates. To this end, the dielectric properties of organic substrates RT/duroid 5880, 6002 and 6202 are presented from 30 GHz to 70 GHz, covering most of the Ka and V radar bands, giving also a thorough insight on the uncertainty of the microstrip ring resonator method by means of the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. Additionally, an ultra-thin, high-power antenna-array technology, with transmit/ receive (T/R) functionality is introduced for mobile applications in the X band. Two lightweight SoP T/R array panels are presented in this work using novel technologies such as Silicon Germanium integrated circuits and microelectromechanical system switches on a hybrid organic package of liquid crystal polymer and RT/duroid 5880LZ. A maximum power of 47 dBm is achieved in a package with a thickness of 1.8 mm without the need of bulky thermal management devices. Finally, to address the thermal limitations of thin-film substrates of interest (liquid crystal polymer, RT/duroid 6002, alumina and Aluminum Nitride), a thermal assessment of microstrip structures is presented in the X band, along with the thermal characterization of the dielectric properties of RT/duroid 6002 from 20 C to 200 C and from 30 GHz to 70 GHz. Additional high-power, X-band technologies presented in this work include: a novel and compact topology for evanescent mode filters, and low-profile Wilkinson power dividers implemented on Aluminum Nitride using Tantalum Nitride thin-film resistors.

Recent advances in the electrical conductivity levels of Conducting Polymers (CP) and impressive improvements in their stability are making these materials very attractive potential alternatives to copper in planar antennas. This is particularly so in applications where light weight, inexpensive and/or wearable/conformal antennas are a consideration. There have been isolated efforts in the past towards using CP as material for antenna and transmission line design. This thesis endeavours to provide a systematic study of key factors that are important for the understanding of these materials, their design and simulation as basis material for building microwave antennas. The thesis could be considered as made up of two parts. The first part (Chapter 2 and Appendix A) presents a mathematical model of electrical conduction and permittivity in CPs as a function of dopant concentration and frequency. The electrical conduction and permittivity are very dispersive for these materials primarily due to different relaxation times exhibited by the conduction electrons. This part also develops closed-form expressions formulas for rapid estimation of the effective permittivity of microstrip lines on multi-layer substrates. A 2D finite element eigen-mode analysis leading to the effective permittivity for two and three layer microstrip line structures is used as a reference solution and successfully validates the closed-form expressions. The second part (Chapter 3 and 4) presents the design, simulation and fabrication of microwave antennas using thin CP films. Results on CP based microstrip patch antennas operating at 2 GHz, 4.5 GHz and 6 GHz are presented. This part also presents a systematic study on the impact of CP film thickness, conductivity and fabrication method on antenna performance. An indirect method for determination of the permittivity of non-standard RF substrates and detection of dispersion in the electrical conductivity of CP film has been demonstrated. This part validates the possibility of using CPs as microwave antennas and gives credence to many possibilities in the field of conformal antennas, wearable antennas, sports and medical applications. The thesis is concluded in chapter 5 by summarising the results and presenting some exciting possibilities that these exotic materials open for future applications in the field of antenna applications.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 2012

This dissertation investigates a simple LC-matching network for the impedance bandwidth enhancement of microstrip patch antennas. Wideband impedance matching is a standard practice for active circuits. Simple impedance matching of antennas is also quite common, but data on wideband impedance matching of antennas is not found very much in the open literature. The matching circuit presented consists out of a resonant LC-circuit with a quarterwave matching line as part of the design. Results for a number or experimental antennas, on which the new technique was applied, are included in the report. A well-defined design procedure is also presented, and results in a relatively small circuit to implement. It is shown that the antenna VSWR bandwidth could be improved to more than double the original size in most of the antennas investigated.
Dissertation (M Eng (Electronic Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
unrestricted

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電信工程學研究所
99
A concept for designing a broadband aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna is presented in this thesis. The proposed patch antenna is fed by a coupling aperture, offset from the patch center. This generates a fictitious open circuit within the resonating edges of the patch, and therefore, an additional resonant frequency is produced and a wide impedance bandwidth can be obtained. Also, a broadband patch array using the patch as its radiating elements is presented. All the designs are fabricated and verified via both measurements and simulations. Then, the proposed patch array is integrated with an off-the-shelf power amplifier module, and the power density radiated by the system is further characterized. Finally, this system is used as a microwave virus sanitizer to eliminate the H1N1 viruses, and a series of experiments is setup and performed. The associated results are also presented.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電信工程學研究所
104
This thesis is divided into two parts. First of all, based on transmission-line theory,different kinds of transmission line are used, for example : a microstrip line, strip line, coplanar waveguide transmission line to derive different types of properties, and then take advantage of the characteristics of the transmission line to obtain the electrical characteristic parameters of substrate. We will use similarity matrix which has the same eigenvalues and use the ring resonator method to extract and verify the accuracy of the parameters. Also additional effects, such as surface roughness and a variety of transmission lines and electrical characteristic parameters of multilayer substrate will be extracted. The second part is about antenna design, including antennas used in 5G communications base station antennas and 24GHz automotive collision avoidance radar.The antenna for 5G uses the substrate from Boardtek and we use a series-fed antenna to increase antenna gain. Equal amplitude excitation is used at Ka band, at the center frequency of 38GHz. Next, the antenna at 24GHz for automotive radar is designed using Rogers RO4003C substrate. In order to suppress the amplitude of sidelobe, a taper distribution of excitation is used.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
電子工程系
94
In this paper, we will design miniaturized and wideband antennas in order to apply in different environments. We will discuss about three kinds of antennas, meander-line antennas, bow-tie antennas and untra-wide band antennas in three sections. In these sections, we will do simulations by full-wave simulation software IE3D and realize them using FR-4. After all, we will measure the S parameters of three antennas by using a network analyzer and the patterns in a chamber to understand the real characteristics of three antennas. It is important to combine an antenna with the circuit for a completed system. We will also discuss how to realize the impedance matching between the antenna and the circuit to achieve the biggest power output in this paper.

Καθώς η εξέλιξη της βιοϊατρικής επιστήμης και τεχνολογίας είναι συνεχής και ραγδαία, η έρευνα επικεντρώνεται τόσο στη βελτίωση των κλινικών τεχνικών όσο και στην ανάπτυξη νέων με κυριότερο σκοπό την ακριβέστερη και ασφαλέστερη διάγνωση και θεραπεία. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία, μελετάται η χρήση δύο περιοχών του φάσματος, των μικροκυματικών και των ηχητικών συχνοτήτων για διαγνωστικές λειτουργικές εφαρμογές εγκεφάλου. Παρόλο που η χρήση των υπερήχων έχει αξιοποιηθεί στην κλινική εφαρμογή, οι αναφορές για τη χρήση των ηχητικών κυμάτων στις βιοιατρικές εφαρμογές είναι περιορισμένες στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία μελετάται η ανάπτυξη ενός συστήματος για διαγνωστικές εφαρμογές εγκεφάλου στις ηχητικές συχνότητες. Στα δύο πρώτα κεφάλαια περιγράφονται οι βασικές αρχές που διέπουν την επιστήμη του ήχου (ακουστική) αλλά και οι φυσικές αρχές αλληλεπίδρασης των ηχητικών κυμάτων με τους βιολογικούς ιστούς (δημιουργία και εξέλιξη των φυσικών φαινομένων ανάκλασης, διάθλασης, μετάδοσης και απορρόφησης της ηχητικής δέσμης). Πιο συγκεκριμένα μοντελοποιείται και μελετάται θεωρητικά το πρόβλημα της αλληλεπίδρασης των ηχητικών κυμάτων με τον ανθρώπινο εγκέφαλο. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο παρατίθεται η θεωρητική ανάλυση και οι βασικές αρχές της προτεινόμενης μεθόδου για μέτρηση της εγκεφαλικής δραστηριότητας στις ηχητικές συχνότητες καθώς και τα βασικά στοιχεία της πρακτικής της υλοποίησης που περιλαμβάνουν ανάλυση του πιεζοηλεκτρικού φαινομένου και των αντίστοιχων μετατροπέων καθώς και το αντίστοιχο σύστημα λήψης ηχητικών σημάτων. Τα μικροκύματα έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί σε πλήθος διαγνωστικών και θεραπευτικών τεχνικών τόσο σε επίπεδο έρευνας όσο και στην κλινική πράξη. Στην παρούσα εργασία πραγματοποιείται θεωρητική μελέτη δύο πολυσυχνοτικών κυρτών προσαρμόσιμων μικροταινιακών τυπωμένων κεραιών για χρήση τους με συστήματα ευαίσθητων δεκτών μικροκυματικής ραδιομετρίας. Στο κεφάλαιο 4 περιγράφονται η βασική τεχνολογία και οι βασικές αρχές λειτουργίας της παθητικής μεθόδου διάγνωσης με μικροκύματα, της μικροκυματικής ραδιομετρίας. Οι προτεινόμενες κυρτές κεραίες μοντελοποιήθηκαν (κεφάλαιο 5) και μελετήθηκαν με τη βοήθεια του ηλεκτρομαγνητικού προσομοιωτικού λογισμικού πακέτου HFSS που χρησιμοποιεί τη μέθοδο των πεπερασμένων στοιχείων. Παρουσιάζονται αναλυτικά οι ιδιότητες εστίασης των κεραιων αυτών σε δύο διαφορετικά μοντέλα κεφαλιού στος εύρος συχνοτήτων 2 – 3.5 GHz.
As the evolution in the field of biomedical science and technology is continuous, the research focuses mainly on the improvement of existent clinical techniques and the development of new ones, aiming to the most accurate and safe diagnosis and treatment. In the present thesis, the usage of two frequency bands is investigated, the microwave and sound frequencies for diagnostic functional brain applications. Despite the fact that ultrasounds have been utilized in clinical practice, the references regarding the application of sound frequencies in medical diagnosis are restrained in international literature. In the present thesis the development of a system for diagnostic brain applications operating at sound frequencies is studied. In the first two chapters the basic principles of acoustics and the physical principles of the interaction of sound waves with biological tissue (including physical phenomena of reflection, diffraction, transmission and absorption of sound) are described. More specifically, the problem of the interaction of sound waves with the human brain tissues is theoretically modeled and studied. In the third chapter theoretical analysis and basic principles of the suggested method are given together with the basic points of its practical implementation that include analysis of the piezoelectric phenomenon, the respective piezoelectric transducers and sound signal receiver. Microwaves have been used in many diagnostic and therapeutic techniques both at research level and in clinical practice. Herein, a theoretical study of two multi-frequency conformal microstrip patch antennas is performed, in order to use them in conjunction with sensitive microwave radiometry receivers. In chapter 4 the basic technology and the basic operation principles of the passive diagnostic method with microwaves (microwave radiometry) are described. The suggested conformal antennas are modeled (chapter 5) and studied using the electromagnetic simulation tool HFSS that implements the finite element method (FEM). The properties of these antennas and their focusing ability on specific brain areas are presented at 2 – 3.5 GHz in two different head models.

Yes
In this article, a novel uniplanar ultra‐wideband (UWB) stop frequency selective surface (FSS) was miniaturized to maximize the gain of a compact UWB monopole antenna for microwave imaging applications. The single‐plane FSS unit cell size was only 0.095λ × 0.095λ for a lower‐operating frequency had been introduced, which was miniaturized by combining a square‐loop with a cross‐dipole on FR4 substrate. The proposed hexagonal antenna was printed on FR4 substrate with coplanar waveguide feed, which was further backed at 21.6 mm by 3 × 3 FSS array. The unit cell was modeled with an equivalent circuit, while the measured characteristics of fabricated FSS array and the antenna prototypes were validated with the simulation outcomes. The FSS displayed transmission magnitude below −10 dB and linear reflection phase over the bandwidth of 2.6 to 11.1 GHz. The proposed antenna prototype achieved excellent gain improvement about 3.5 dBi, unidirectional radiation, and bandwidth of 3.8 to 10.6 GHz. Exceptional agreements were observed between the simulation and the measured outcomes. Hence, a new UWB baggage scanner system was developed to assess the short distance imaging of simulated small metallic objects in handbag model. The system based on the proposed antenna displayed a higher resolution image than the antenna without FSS.
The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 29 Mar 2020.

Καθώς η εξέλιξη της βιοϊατρικής επιστήμης και τεχνολογίας είναι συνεχής και ραγδαία, η έρευνα επικεντρώνεται τόσο στη βελτίωση των κλινικών τεχνικών όσο και στην ανάπτυξη νέων με κυριότερο σκοπό την ακριβέστερη και ασφαλέστερη διάγνωση και θεραπεία. Στην παρούσα διατριβή, μελετάται η χρήση δύο περιοχών του φάσματος, που ανήκουν στο πεδίο των μη ιοντιζουσών ακτινοβολιών, των μικροκυματικών και των ακουστικών συχνοτήτων, για διαγνωστικές λειτουργικές εφαρμογές εγκεφάλου. Παρόλο που η χρήση των υπερήχων έχει αξιοποιηθεί στην κλινική εφαρμογή, οι αναφορές για τη χρήση των ακουστικών κυμάτων στις βιοϊατρικές εφαρμογές είναι περιορισμένες στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία. Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή μελετάται η ανάπτυξη ενός συστήματος για διαγνωστικές εφαρμογές εγκεφάλου στις ακουστικές συχνότητες. Στα δύο πρώτα κεφάλαια περιγράφονται οι βασικές αρχές που διέπουν την επιστήμη του ήχου (ακουστική) αλλά και οι φυσικές αρχές αλληλεπίδρασης των ακουστικών κυμάτων με τους βιολογικούς ιστούς (δημιουργία και εξέλιξη των φυσικών φαινομένων ανάκλασης, διάθλασης, μετάδοσης και απορρόφησης της ηχητικής δέσμης). Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μοντελοποιείται και μελετάται θεωρητικά το πρόβλημα της αλληλεπίδρασης των ακουστικών κυμάτων με τον ανθρώπινο εγκέφαλο ενώ τέλος παρουσιάζονται βασικές και σύγχρονες εφαρμογές ακουστικής στην ιατρική. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο παρατίθεται η θεωρητική ανάλυση και οι βασικές αρχές της προτεινόμενης μεθόδου για μέτρηση της εγκεφαλικής δραστηριότητας στις ακουστικές συχνότητες και πραγματοποιούνται προσομοιώσεις, με τη βοήθεια του λογισμικού MATLAB, παραθέτοντας τα αντίστοιχα αριθμητικά αποτελέσματα. Ολοκληρώνοντας το πρώτο μέρος της διατριβής, στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζεται η πρακτική υλοποίηση του προτεινόμενου συστήματος, περιλαμβάνοντας ανάλυση του πιεζοηλεκτρικού φαινομένου και των αντίστοιχων αισθητήρων, εκτενής μελέτη του κάθε τμήματός του καθώς και πειραματικές μετρήσεις με ομοιώματα. Τα μικροκύματα έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί σε πλήθος διαγνωστικών και θεραπευτικών τεχνικών τόσο σε επίπεδο έρευνας όσο και στην κλινική πράξη. Στην παρούσα διατριβή πραγματοποιείται θεωρητική μελέτη και υλοποίηση πολυσυχνοτικών κυρτών προσαρμόσιμων μικροταινιακών τυπωμένων κεραιών και χρήση τους με σύστημα ευαίσθητου δέκτη μικροκυματικής ραδιομετρίας. Στο κεφάλαιο 5 περιγράφονται η βασική τεχνολογία και οι βασικές αρχές λειτουργίας της παθητικής μεθόδου διάγνωσης με μικροκύματα, της μικροκυματικής ραδιομετρίας ενώ στο κεφάλαιο 6 μοντελοποιούνται οι προτεινόμενες κυρτές κεραίες και μελετούνται με τη βοήθεια του ηλεκτρομαγνητικού προσομοιωτικού λογισμικού πακέτου HFSS που χρησιμοποιεί τη μέθοδο των πεπερασμένων στοιχείων. Επίσης, παρουσιάζονται αναλυτικά οι ιδιότητες εστίασης των κεραιών αυτών σε δύο διαφορετικά μοντέλα κεφαλιού στο εύρος συχνοτήτων 2 – 3.3 GHz. Τέλος, οι κεραίες που μελετήθηκαν θεωρητικά, κατασκευάζονται και χρησιμοποιούνται ως κεραίες λήψης ραδιομέτρου τύπου διακόπτη Dicke (Dicke switch) για πειραματικές μετρήσεις σε ομοιώματα (κεφάλαιο 7). Ο συνδυασμός των δύο συστημάτων σε μια κοινή υλοποίηση και η πραγματοποίηση κοινών πειραματικών μετρήσεων και στις δύο περιοχές συχνοτήτων είναι μια πολύ σημαντική προοπτική που μπορεί να βελτιώσει τα πιθανά μειονεκτήματα της κάθε μεθόδου αλλά και να τις επαληθεύσει, με την παροχή και το συνδυασμό διαφορετικού είδους πληροφορίας για το ίδιο αίτιο.
As progress in the field of biomedical science and technology is continuous, the research focuses mainly on the improvement of existing clinical techniques and the development of new ones, aiming at the most accurate and safe diagnosis and treatment. In the present thesis, passive diagnosis in the non ionizing radiation regime and especially two frequency bands, microwave and acoustic frequencies, are used for diagnostic functional brain applications. Despite the fact that ultrasounds have been utilized in clinical practice, the references regarding the application of acoustic waves in medical diagnosis are restrained in international literature. In the present thesis the development of a system for diagnostic brain applications operating at acoustic frequencies is studied. In the first two chapters the basic principles of acoustics and the physical principles of the interaction of acoustic waves with biological tissue (including physical phenomena of reflection, diffraction, transmission and absorption of sound) are described. More specifically, the problem of the interaction of acoustic waves with the human brain tissues is theoretically modeled and studied. In the third chapter theoretical analysis is carried out and the basic operation principles of the suggested method for monitoring brain activity in acoustic frequencies are described. Simulations are performed using the MATLAB software and the respective numerical results are presented. Completing the first part of the thesis, the fundamentals of the system’s practical implementation are introduced in the fourth chapter. All system modules are described and the results of the implementation study through experiments using phantoms are presented. Microwaves have been used in many diagnostic and therapeutic techniques both at research level and in clinical practice. Herein, a theoretical study and implementation of various multi-frequency conformal microstrip patch antennas are performed, and finally they are used in conjunction with a sensitive microwave radiometry receiver. In chapter 5 the basic technology and the basic operation principles of the passive diagnostic method with microwaves (microwave radiometry) are described, while in chapter 6 the suggested conformal antennas are modeled and studied using the electromagnetic simulation tool HFSS that implements the finite element method (FEM). Moreover, the properties of these antennas and their focusing ability on specific brain areas are presented at 2 – 3.3 GHz in two different head models. Finally, a few are materialized in Rogers 4350B dielectric substrate and two of them are used together with a Dicke switch type radiometer for experimental measurements with phantoms (chapter 7). The combination of the aforementioned systems in a common implementation and the realization of common experimental measurements in both frequency bands is a very significant prospective which can optimize the performance of each methodology, by collecting and combining different types of information originating from the same event.

Yes
A feasibility study of a novel configuration for a super-wide impedance planar antenna is presented based on a 2 × 2 microstrip patch antenna (MPA) using CST Microwave Studio. The antenna comprises a symmetrical arrangement of four-square patches that are interconnected to each other with cross-shaped high impedance microstrip lines. The antenna array is excited through a single feedline connected to one of the patches. The proposed antenna array configuration overcomes the main drawback of conventional MPA with a narrow bandwidth that is typically <5%. The antenna exhibits a super-wide frequency bandwidth from 20 GHz to 120 GHz for S11 < −15 dB, which corresponds to a fractional bandwidth of 142.85%. The antenna’s performance of bandwidth, impedance match, and radiation gain were enhanced by etching slots on the patches. With the inclusion of the slot, the maximum radiation gain and efficiency of the MPA increased to 15.11 dBi and 85.79% at 80 GHz, which showed an improvement of 2.58 dBi and 12.54%, respectively. The dimension of each patch antenna was 4.3 × 5.3 mm2 . The results showed that the proposed MPA is useful for various existing and emerging communication systems such as ultra-wideband (UWB) communications, RFID systems, massive multiple-output multiple-input (MIMO) for 5G, and radar systems.
This work was partially supported by the Innovation Program under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424 and financial support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant EP/E022936/1.