ERI: Novel Dielectric Antennas for Microwave and mmWave Communication and Imaging Systems

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。无线通信现已发展到毫米波（mmWave）时代，用于自动驾驶、安全检查站和无损检测的毫米波频率成像系统也在大力追求。对于所有这些系统，节能和定向天线和波束成形设备是关键部件。虽然金属天线一直在sub-6 GHz（低于6 GHz）频率范围内占据主导地位，但介质天线具有高辐射效率以及材料和3D几何形状选择的大设计自由度，在高微波和毫米波应用中发挥着越来越重要的作用。该项目的目标是通过设计框架的理论开发和使用先进陶瓷增材制造技术的实际实现，为毫米波系统开发新型介质天线和紧凑型波束成形设备。开发的新型介质天线系统将提供紧凑、低成本和节能的前端解决方案，可应用于各种无线通信和毫米波成像系统。拟议的研究还辅之以一项教育一体化计划，包括课程模块开发以及本科生和研究生研究人员的培训。目前对介质谐振器天线的研究主要局限于规范的几何结构，由于缺乏通用的设计方法和合适的制造技术，复杂的高介电常数结构。折射率（GRIN）透镜构成了一种替代的低成本波束成形解决方案，但报告的实现主要限于使用印刷塑料的笨重的低介电常数设备，而有限的陶瓷实现经历显着的性能下降。在这项拟议的研究中，我们研究了数字光处理（DLP）3D打印技术，用于制造具有复杂几何形状和材料分布的紧凑型高介电常数DRA和GRIN透镜，并为这些器件开发了新的设计和合成方法，利用这些自由度。该工作的成功实施将为介质谐振天线的工作原理和性能极限带来新的认识，并将为小型定向波束形成器件的设计和实现带来新的思路。陶瓷增材制造在微波和电磁设备上的应用将为3D微波打印社区提供新的实验和测量数据，并融合不同学科的新研究可能性和方向。最后，北卡罗来纳州农业和技术州立大学（NCAT），作为最大的公立HBCU，毕业的非洲裔美国工程师最多。这使得PI在促进和影响少数群体的工程研究和教育方面处于独特的地位。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Wireless communication has now evolved into the millimeter wave (mmWave) era, and imaging systems operating at mmWave frequencies for autonomous driving, security checkpoint and non-destructive detection are also intensively pursued. For all such systems, energy-efficient and directive antennas and beamforming devices are critical components. While metallic antennas have been dominating the applications at the sub-6 GHz (below 6 GHz) frequency range, dielectric antennas, featuring high radiation efficiency and large design freedom in material and 3D geometry options, play an increasingly important role in high microwave and mmWave applications. The goal of this project is to develop novel dielectric antennas and compact beamforming devices for mmwave systems through both theoretical development of design frameworks and practical implementation using advanced ceramic additive manufacturing technology. The developed novel dielectric antenna systems will provide compact, low cost and energy-efficient front end solutions that find application in various wireless communication and mmWave imaging systems. The proposed research is also complemented by an education integration plan including course module development, and training of undergraduate and graduate researchers. Current research on dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) has been largely limited to canonical geometries, due to the lack of generalized design methods and suitable fabrication techniques for intricate high permittivity structures. Gradient-index (GRIN) lenses constitutes an alternative low cost beamforming solution, but reported implementations are primarily limited to bulky low-permittivity devices using printed plastics while limited ceramic implementations experience significant performance degradation. In this proposed research, we investigate the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology for the fabrication of compact high-permittivity DRAs and GRIN lenses with complex geometries and material distributions, and develop novel design and synthesis methods for these devices that take advantage of these degrees of freedom. With successful execution, the proposed work is expected to bring new understandings to dielectric resonator antenna's operation principle and performance limits, and arouse novel design methods and implementation of compact directive beamforming devices. The application of ceramic-based additive manufacturing to microwave and electromagnetic devices will produce new experimental and measurement data for the 3D microwave printing community and fuse new research possibilities and directions across different disciplines. Lastly, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT), as the largest public HBCU, graduates the most African American engineers in the US. This puts the PI in a unique position to promote and impact the engineering research and education among minority groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.