Transmission-Line Metamaterial Antennas & Arrays for Advanced Wireless Telecommunications

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As society's appetite for mobile information access continues to grow, next-generation wireless systems will undoubtedly need to provide unparalleled levels of capacity and functionality. Concepts such as multi-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technologies promise to deliver the required new levels of system capacity and reliability. Similarly, cognitive radio systems will redefine the way wireless devices utilize radio spectrum, hugely increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage, thereby creating opportunities for new wireless applications and services. However, these approaches will impose stringent requirements on the antennas which will have to cope with broader bandwidths, support multiple frequency bands, exhibit high radiation efficiency (to conserve battery life and improve the signal-to-noise ratio), and provide additional functionality such as filtering and duplexing, all within a relatively small device such as a BlackBerry. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in deploying advanced communication protocols based on MIMO and cognitive radio concepts is realizing miniaturized antennas arrays that can be packed in handheld wireless devices. To address these challenges we propose to develop advanced antenna technologies based on paradigm-shift metamaterial concepts and reconfigurability. By using this approach, multiple antennas could be placed in a handheld unit, while adaptively changing their radiation patterns to greatly improve signal quality and capacity. This research will not only fuel further innovations in one of Canada's most successful wireless IT companies (Research-In-Motion Inc.), but will enhance Canada's technological know-how and leadership in the wireless communications field, an area of economic and strategic importance.