Millimetre-wave single layer Slotted Waveguide Array Antennas

Speaker: Dr Jiro Hirokawa, Tokyo Institute of Technology

When: 11.00AM, Monday, 13 January 2003

Venue:University of Queensland, ITEE School, GP-S Blg. Room: 78-420


Abstract:

 Variety of millimeter wave wireless systems have been proposed
 and developed for high speed and wide band data transmission,
 short-range sensors such as radars and road monitors etc.  For
 real popularization of millimeter wave systems, cost reduction
 and miniaturization of the system is indispensable.  Key
 components of these systems are millimeter wave RF modules,
 circuits and antennas as well as connectors. Planar antennas
 instead of reflectors greatly contribute toward miniaturization
 and cost reduction. In millimeter wave bands, the loss in
 planar structure becomes notable and efficiency degradation
 is inevitable. Incidentally, realization of high gain and
 high efficiency antennas is one of the ideal goals of antenna
 engineers. One of the possible way out of this difficulty is to
 use the waveguides where overall loss is negligible provided the
 thickness is large enough to reduce the conductor loss while they
 are inherently free of radiation loss associated for conventional
 open planar lines such as microstrip or triplate lines.  Authors
 have developed high-efficiency and mass producible planar
 arrays using unique single-layer waveguide structures. Low loss
 characteristics of waveguides make these the leading candidates
 for high gain antennas in millimeter wave wireless systems. The
 latest design of single-layer waveguide arrays are directed
 toward the applications such as fixed wireless access (FWA),
 local area network (LAN), video home link, automotive radars and
 road monitors in ITS and mobile communication base stations and
 so on.

 This presentation first summarizes the unique design concepts and
 the principle of single layer waveguide arrays, which will be
 followed by sophisticated analytical aspects. Unique waveguide
 structures drastically reduce high manufacturing cost of the
 waveguides; thick substrate can be used as the waveguide for
 enhancing mass productivity. The state-of-the-art performances
 of the single-layer waveguide arrays are introduced.Various
 types of antenna input ports are being designed for the compact
 interface to millimeter wave RF circuits. Low sidelobe design as
 well as the beam scan/switch capability is also developed. Then
 several specific techniques required for each wireless system are
 reviewed.

Biography:

 Jiro Hirokawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, on May 8, 1965. He
 received the B.S., M.S. and D.E. degrees in electrical and
 electronic engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo,
 Japan in 1988, 1990 and 1994, respectively. He was a Research
 Associate from 1990 to 1996, and is currently an Associate
 Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology. From 1994 to 1995, he
 was with the antenna group of Chalmers University of Technology,
 Gothenburg, Sweden, as a Postdoctoral Researcher, on leave from
 Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research area has been in
 analyses of slotted waveguide array antennas. He received the
 Young Engineer Award from IEICE Japan in 1996.