Atcs 2

2.
UWB Sources and Antennas

Dr. Rakhesh S. Kshetrimayum
2. UWB Sources and Antennas

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation
2.1.1 Step Recovery Diodes 2.1.2 Drift Step Recovery Diode 2.2.3 UWB Pulse Shaping Circuits
2.2 UWB Antennas

2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts 2.2.2 UWB Antennas: Gain & Aperture 2.2.3 UWB Antennas: Impedance Matching 2.2.4 Requirements on UWB Antennas 2.2.5 UWB Antenna Parameters
UWB Pulse generation
Step Recovery Diodes
Drift Step Recovery Diodes
UWB Pulse Shaping Circuits

Sub-nano sec pulse generation is a critical element of UWB communication systems
high-peak power and fast-rise time < nano sec
Pulses used in
transmitter as well as correlator at the receiver

2.1.1 Step Recovery Diodes Commonly known as charged controlled switch or diode Most common and reliable method for the generation of UWB pulses Simply a PN junction that
store and release charges

Electrons
Fig. 2.1 A PN Junction
Holes

Holes
+ + +
Electrons
Depletion region
Fig. 2.2 A PN junction in forward bias mode

In PN Junction
holes reside in positive region P and electrons reside in negative region N
After applying a forward bias to a PN Junction

diode will conduct normally like in ordinary diodes holes will move away from positive voltage & electrons due to attraction will move towards positive voltage

This movement of holes and electrons create negative & positive charges at the junction (Depletion region) Now charges are stored in the depletion region And junction act as a capacitor with low impedance (typically less than an Ohm) like in normal diodes
Fig. 2.3 A PN Junction in reverse bias

As reverse bias is applied to the PN Junction
the positive charges formed in the depletion region move toward the negative voltage and negative charge move toward the positive voltage
Once the charges are drained from the depletion region Junction has
high impedance and low capacitance

When diodes switch from forward conduction to reverse cut-off
a reverse current flows briefly as stored charge is removed
When all the charge is removed

Diode suddenly turns off or snaps off
This transition occurs very quickly, typically well under a nanosecond

Also known as Snap-off diodes A short pulse is generated with the duration equal to the time it takes to drain the charges SRDs are capable of generating pulses
60-200 pico sec long with amplitudes as high as 20 to 200 volts

2.1.2 Drift Step Recovery Diode Capable of generating sub-nanosec pulses with very high peak power (100 megawatts) Similar operation with SRDs with one major distinction
What is the difference between SRD & DSRD?

SRD, charge storage in diode by
nearly steady-state forward current flow
Forward bias exists continuously for

times comparable to or longer than the hole/electron lifetimes in the active region

DSRD uses
short forward bias pulse to introduce stored charge to the device
Since pulse width considerably less than carrier lifetimes

charge concentrated near the junctions desirable for a sharp reverse step recovery

DSRDs, impulse like current applied first in forward bias to the PN Junction Then the direction of the impulse like current is reverse rapidly
causes the removal of the charge in the junction
This process generates a high-power sub-nano sec pulses at the diodes terminal that are suitable for UWB applications

2.2.3 UWB Pulse shaping circuits Narrow pulses generated by above methods are
either step-like or ramp-like impulses that need to be shaped to the desired UWB pulse
Need proper pulse-shaping circuitry to accomplish this job Will discuss how ramp-like pulse generated by SRD can be converted into a Gaussian monocycle
SRD
Fig. 2.4 Block diagram of a Gaussian Monocycle Generator (1st Method)
Transmissi ion line 1

A simple method for this is
superimpose a step-like pulse with a delayed and inverted version of itself
The pulse that has traveled through the first transmission line will be reflected back with an opposite polarity due to the short circuit

Then this delayed, inverted pulse combines with the other step-like pulse and forms a Gaussian monocycle The duration of the formed Gaussian monocycle is related to the time that it travels through the s.c. path of transmission line 1

Pulse Shaping Network RC Network
Gaussian Pulse Generator
SRD
AC
Gaussian Monocycle
Fig. 2.5 Block diagram of Gaussian Monocycle Generator (2nd Method)

oStored charges degrade diode rectifier behavior at high freq. oTails appear on negative half cycles at higher freq Tails
Fig. 2.6 Tails appearing on negative half cycles at higher freq. of a diode half-wave rectifier

Schottky Diodes (digression)
Fig. 2.7 Schottky diode

Schottky diodes uses
metal such as gold, silver, platinum on one side of the junction & n-type silicon on the other side
Because metal on one side of the junction

the Schottky diode has no depletion layer
since metal has no holes, there is no charge storage and reverse recovery current
Schottky diodes
eliminate tails at high freq and can rectify properly at high freq

Fig. 2.8 Pulse shaping network to reduce ringing 1 Original pulse, 2 50-ohm terminated shunt stub matching 3 with 50-ohm terminated shunt stub matching & series Schottky diode, 4 with resistor, shunt stub matching & series & shunt Schottky diodes)

Waveform 1:
very large ringing results pulse-shaping network not used Severe impedance mismatch between Gaussian pulse generator & RC network

Waveform 2:
ringing removed substantially using very wideband resistive matching network consisting of simple shunt stub terminated by 50- resistor
Waveform 3:
Ringing level further reduced by series Schottky diode This diode, half-wave rectifier, passing only positive parts (Gaussian pulse & positive ringing), removing the negative ringing portion

Waveform 4:
Final Gaussian waveform, with very small ringing, after passing through the shunt Schottky diode This diode functions as a fast switchonly allowing passage of parts of the signal whose amplitudes are greater than a VTH controlled by the dc bias voltage Gaussian waveform shifted down by the dc bias voltage This voltage offset, however, cannot pass through the capacitor in the following RC network and will, thus, not be seen in the monocycle pulse

Simple RC high-pass filter acting as a differentiator for the Gaussian pulse make the monocycle pulse directly Achievable because monocycle pulse waveform obtained by taking derivative of Gaussian pulse waveform

The pulse width resulted from the derivative is almost the same as that before the differentiation The previous approach (the method of summing two Gaussian pulses) significantly reduces monocycle pulse duration to about 50%

1 R << C Vin Vin I I= Vin VC 1 1 jC R+ jC jC dVC dVin VR = IR = C R RC dt dt
Fig. 2.9 RC differentiator circuit
Fig. 2.10 Gaussian Monocycle Pulse generated using second method
2.2 UWB Antennas

What is an antenna? Antenna as a transducer:
converts guided EM energy in a transmission line to radiated energy in free space
Antenna as impedance transformer:

coupling between an input or line impedance and the impedance of free space
Antennas as transducer
Source
Transmission Line
Antenna
Radiated fields
Fig. 2.11
Antennas as impedance transformer

The impedance of an air gap horn is approximately given by Z=Z0(dz/dx) Since Z0 is 377Ohm, a 50 Ohm match requires dz/dx~7.54 Smooth transition from 50 Ohm to 377 Ohm to have proper impedance matching of the antenna to free space
Horn antenna
Fig. 2.12
2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts

UWB system requires an antenna capable of receiving on all frequencies at the same time Antenna behavior must be consistent and predictable across the entire band Stable radiation pattern and impedance matching across the entire band

UWB antenna should be non-dispersive A log-periodic antenna is a dispersive antenna:
larger components radiate low-frequency components smaller components radiate high-frequency components
A small antenna like planar elliptical dipole tend to radiate a more compact, nondispersive waveform
Log-periodic antenna
Dispersive waveform
Fig. 2.13
Dispersion is the stretching out of a UWB signal waveform into a longer, more distorted waveform
Elliptical dipole
Non-dispersive waveform
Fig. 2.14
2.2.1 UWB Antenna Concepts

UWB Antennas (Simple classifications)
Magnetic Antennas
Directional Antennas Non-directional Antennas
Electric Antennas

Directionality of antennas Directional or high gain antennas concentrate energy into a narrower solid angle, narrow field view and have larger size E.g. Horn and reflector antenna typically has a gain of 10dBi and 20 dBi respectively Omni-directional antennas has low gain, wide field view and smaller size E.g. A typical dipole has a gain of 2.2 dBi
Dipole Antenna Omni-directional radiation pattern
Fig. 2.15
Horn Antenna
Directional radiation pattern
Fig. 2.16

Electric or magnetic antennas Electric antennas are characterized by high electric fields close to the antenna
E.g. Dipole, Horn antennas
Magnetic antennas are characterized by high magnetic fields close to the antenna
E.g. Loop, Slot antennas

Electric antennas are prone to couple to a nearby objects Magnetic antennas are preferred for applications involving embedded antennas
Slot Antenna Fig. 2.17
Loop Antenna
2.2.2 UWB Antennas: Gain & Aperture

UWB Antennas (Gain and aperture classifications)
Constant Gain Antenna
Constant Aperture Antenna
Other

(a) Constant Gain Antennas Efficiency=Gain (G)/Directivity (D) Constant Gain & Efficiency Constant Directivity Antennas pattern will not vary Thus high and low freq. components of a signal are uniformly transmitted Minimal distortion of a time domain signal

Also constant transmit power density yields a constant EIRP for constant gain antennas A constant gain antenna at the receiver, receive power density rolls off as 1/f2

(b) Constant Aperture Antennas What is effective aperture of an antenna? The effective aperture of an antenna is its effective capture area:
the area of an incident wave front that the antenna can intercept
Antenna Aperture
A = (/2)2G= (2/42) G= c2G/4f2 A~(1/f2)

Antenna aperture decreases with increasing freq., such antennas receives less energy with frequency Dipole antenna is an example: it has low gain, wide omni-directional pattern, small size

A is fixed G ~(f2) Gain increase with freq. Field view must become narrow at higher freq. Radiated and received waveforms will experience dispersion at the edge of the field view

For example horn & reflector antennas Usually has large, high gain and directional pattern At transmitter higher gain of the antenna must be compensated by a lower transmit power at the higher freq. to meet constant EIRP FCC limits

Narrow field view may be advantageous to avoid interference At the receiver, since G increases f2, it cancels out 1/f2 roll off in the Friis law a constant EIRP yields a constant power If the application can tolerate narrow field of view that becomes more narrower at higher freq., constant aperture antenna may be used

(c) Other UWB antennas Common UWB antennas deviate from both constant gain and constant aperture antennas Electrically small antennas may have constant pattern which is desirable for less waveform distortion, but gain may increase with freq.
2.2.3 UWB Antennas: Impedance Matching

(a) UWB Antenna Impedance Matching
RF Front End Matching Network Antenna
Fig. 2.18 Narrowband comm. systems: RF front ends & antenna impedance matching is done with the help of a impedance matching network

A half-wave thin-wire dipole impedance is about 73 Ohm A quarter-wave thin-wire monopole impedance is about 36 Ohm

Let us say RF front ends usually has 50 Ohm impedance, then,
design a matching network to match 50 Ohm to 73 or 36 Ohm A quarter-wave transformer will do just good for this case
That is traditional way of doing antenna impedance matching

To match a UWB antenna starts with a wellmatched antenna Impedance of a UWB antenna is a design parameter, not an intrinsic property of antenna unlike in narrowband systems For instance monopole has half the impedance of a dipole for a narrowband case

For instance, planar elliptical UWB dipole antenna yield an excellent match to 50 Ohm Narrowband experience, planar elliptical monopole should have impedance 25 Ohm In fact elliptical monopole also offers good match to 50 Ohm Both these antennas rely on a controlled impedance variation from the feed point to the free space (geometry control)
RF Front End
Feed Line
Feed Region
Radiating elements
Surrounding medium or free space ANTENNA
Fig. 2.19 UWB antenna comprises of (a) Feed line (b) Feed region and (c) Radiating elements

A feed line to connect an antenna to RF Front end A feed region transition between feed line and radiating elements Radiating element that serve to couple between the radiating fields and the guided field in the antennas feedline

A well matched UWB antenna will have a smooth and continuous impedance transformation designed into
the feed line , the feed region (it plays an important role in UWB antenna design) and the radiating elements
Fig. 2.20
Printed UWB Antenna
2.2.4 Requirements on UWB Antennas

UWB system performance heavily dependent on antenna performance Traditional antenna performance parameters like
gain and reflection coefficient
not sufficient to analyze their performance

Requirements on the
size, phase linearity and spectral efficiency
More demanding for UWB antennas New figures of merit for UWB antennas

Requirements on UWB Antennas
Stability over frequency of the transmission-reception transfer function:
Efficiency and matching
Signal distortion and ringing

(a) Efficiency and matching: Pulses of very short duration are used
huge spectrum
The spectral efficiency evaluates the quality of matching over the whole frequency range

where Pt is the power at the terminals of the transmitting antenna The efficiency is representative for the whole spectrum Strictly speaking, or reflection efficiency should be multiplied by the radiation efficiency due to conductor and dielectric losses

(b) Signal distortion and ringing: UWB antenna deforms the transmitted signal Antenna response to short UWB pulses creates ripple after the pulse Ringing This effect translates into frequency dispersion or time delay, reduces transmission speed

Ringing accentuated for Self-similar antennas Planar monopole antennas (same area of the radiating element at all frequencies) mitigates the ringing
Fig. 2.21 Typical response of a UWB antenna to an input pulse

(c) Stability over frequency of the transmissionreception transfer function: Antenna transfer function: Stability over frequency involves evaluating variability with frequency of the
antenna matching, gain and polarization in the link direction

Two ways to shape the spectrum of the radiated signals: (a) Constant transfer function: Pulses are selected by the source to fit into FCC spectral mask Desirable constant antenna transfer function over all frequencies so that it doesnt affect the pulse

(b) Variable transfer function Antenna transfer function may also help to shape the spectrum in order to fit FCC spectral mask Antenna acts as a filter in this case
2.2.5 UWB Antennas parameters

UWB Antennas parameters variability Frequency domain Space domain Uniformity SATF Magnitude & Phase of System transfer function Time domain SAGD SCF Fidelity factor Time spread PSF

(a) Variability in the frequency domain The function relating the pulse to be transmitted and the pulse received in the frequency domain is called the system transfer function (H())

Consider the typical transmitting/receiving antenna system in UWB radio systems shown below
Fig. 2.22

Friis transmission formula for NB systems
Friis transmission formula for UWB systems

Time average input power of the transmitting antenna
Time average input power of the receiving antenna

Transfer function (c is the speed of light and r is the distance between the transmitter and receiver)

H() may be broken down into transmission transfer function of antenna 1 and reception transfer function of antenna 2
The relation between the two transfer function for two identical antennas at the transmitter and receiver oriented at same angle

Magnitude of the transfer function (i) Stability of the reflection coefficient In addition to good level of stability for
The total efficiency must be high to ensure sufficient matching throughout the band (ii) Polarization (coupling) stability

The aim is to make this close to 1 over the whole spectrum (iii) Gain stability and channel losses Gain stability w.r.t. frequency for a plane interest is more important than the stability of the maximum gain w.r.t. different directions

As mentioned before, the path loss for free space propagation through the channel follows (1/f2) This could be compensated for constant aperture antenna whose gain increases as f2

Phase of the transfer function In UWB applications, all frequency components are radiated at the same time In order to reconstruct the pulse on reception, the stability must take into account the phase differences for different components Group Delay (GD) is taken as the new figure of merit for studying the phase behavior of the transfer function
f0 is the frequency of interest An ideal UWB system would have a constant GD so that phase would vary linearly over the frequency A poor GD causes ringing (some possible effects):
(i) longer pulses means lower achievable data rates (ii) more zero crossings within the effective width of the pulse make detection process difficult (more number of fingers on the RAKE receiver) and so on

(b) Variability in the time domain: The pulse emitted by the transmitting antenna is exposed to distortion and dispersion Several figures of merit which analyze the degree of similarity between the original pulse and the received pulse in the time domain

(i) Fidelity factor Measures the degree of similarity between the shape of the input pulse to the transmitting x(t) and the shape of the pulse received y(t) at the terminals of the receiving antenna
Fig. 2.23 Example of a transmitted and received pulse in a UWB system
Allows us to compare the shape of the pulse independently of their amplitude It is calculated as the maximum w.r.t. the time delay of the normalized correlation coefficient between x(t) and y(t)

(ii) Time Spread Because of the ringing, energy transmitted is extended over time A 99% energy window (E99) expresses the period of time measured from the start of the pulse which contains 99% of its energy From the value of E99, we can determine the time spread, which calculates the ratio between the E99 for x(t) and y(t) An ideal UWB system would have the same E99 for both the pulses and therefore a time spread of 1

(c) Variability in the space domain In pulsed transmission system, variability of the antenna parameters over spatial direction of the link is also useful Variability in space is measured through
statistical averages or analysis of correlation between different propagation directions in the frequency or time domains

(i) Uniformity: Expresses the probability that the deviation of the radiation pattern from its maximum value is less than or equal to 6dB in the section plane under consideration for a given frequency

U= (No. of measured points with deviations from the maximum 6dB) /(No. of total measured points in a single plane cut and frequency) With the uniformity variation of the radiation pattern with frequencies can be easily observed, even though the maximum for each case may not be the same for different frequency (this may not be also the overall maximum gain)
Fig. 2.24

A typical plot of uniformity for two antennas are shown Uniformity curve exhibit two dual peaks over the frequency region of interest (3.1-10.6 GHz) and remains almost greater than 0.8 for frequencies up to 8 GHz for reference antenna It eventually degrades at the higher frequency due to the higher order modes at the upper operating band edge Miniaturization degrades the uniformity

(ii) Spatially averaged transfer function (SATF):
where Hnorm are the normalized (to the amplitude maximum) transfer functions within limited frequency band ; N and M are the number of finite propagation directions along the and coordinates respectively

BW should be chosen so that most of the energy of the pulse driving the antenna is included It can be very helpful in optimization of the antenna alignment in case of finite number of known propagation directions This is basically averaging the transfer function over a solid angle in space assuming that all the directions are equally possible

(iii) Spatially averaged group delay (SAGD):
Similarly GD can be averaged over space so that it is more representative The bar sign over GD shows that the GD is normalized over the maximum value

(iv) Spatial Correlation Factors (SCF) in time and frequency domains Fidelity is an important parameter which gives the correlation between the input pulse to the transmitting antenna and the output pulse from the receiving antenna Another useful parameter for examining correlation of a pulse transmitted in a reference point to a pulse transmitted within a solid angle of interest

Spatial correlation factor in the time domain (SCFTD=f2) expresses the degree of correlation between the field radiated in one direction (r,r) and that radiated in a reference direction (0,0) Note that notation (0,0) for reference direction and (r,r) for direction under consideration

It can also be seen as the ratio between the correlated energy UC between the chosen direction and the reference direction to the total energy UE SCFTD=f2 is less than or equal to 1 and better for closer to 1

where e(r,r,t) and e(0,0,t) are the field components radiated in the (r,r) and (r,r) directions Spatially correlation factor in frequency domain (SCFFD using Parseval theorem):

Correlation Pattern in frequency domain (CPFD) C(0,0) is the average value of the factor SCFFD=F2 for the whole range of possible operating directions for the antenna within the solid angle w.r.t. the reference direction (0,0) Keeping the (0,0) fixed, we will vary (r,r) over the whole solid angle
An ideal antenna would have F2=1 for any direction w.r.t. all reference direction and C=1 for all reference directions (v) Pattern Stability Factor (PSF): Define a single figure of merit to quantify the overall pattern stability performance known Pattern Stability Factor

Average of CPFD =C(0,0)over all the possible reference directions in
An ideal antenna would have PSF equal to 1 A PSF of greater 0.95 is considered to be good PSF decreases when increases PSF also worsens when antenna BW increases We can define an angular range AR(0,0): maximum angle coverage within which PSF0.95
References
1.
2. 3.
F. Nekoogar, Ultra-Wideband Communications: Fundamentals and Applications, Prentice Hall, 2005. A. Malvino and D. J. Bates, Electronic Principles, Tata McGraw Hill, 2007. J. Han and C. Nguyen, A New UltraWideband, Ultra-Short Monocycle Pulse Generator With Reduced Ringing, IEEE Microwave & Wireless Components Letters, vol. 12, no. 6, June 2002, pp. 206-8.
References
4. 5. 6. 7.
http://www.antenna-theory.com C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2005. H. Schantz, The Art and Science of Ultrawideband Antennas, Artech House, 2005. D. Valderas, J. I. Sancho, D. Punte, C. Ling and X. Chen, Ultrawideband Antennas Design and Applications, Imperial College Press, 2011.
References
8.
9.
Z. N. Chen, H. X. Wu, H. F. Li, N. Yang and M. Y. W. Chia, Considerations for source pulses and antennas in UWB radio systems, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 52, no. 7, July 2004, pp. 1739-48. M. Klemm and G. Troster, Characterization of small antennas for UWB mobile terminals, Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, 5, 2005, pp. 525-536.
References
11.
12.
T.-G. Ma and S.-K. Jeng, Planar Miniature Tapered-Slot-Fed Annular Slot Antennas for Ultra-wideband radios, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 53, no. 3, March 2005, pp. 1194-1202. T. Dissanayake and K. P. Esselle, Correlation-based pattern stability analysis and a figure of merit for UWB antennas, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 54, no. 11, Nov 2006, pp. 3184-3191.

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2.

UWB Sources and Antennas

2. UWB Sources and Antennas

2.2 UWB Antennas

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

UWB Pulse generation

Step Recovery Diodes

Drift Step Recovery Diodes

UWB Pulse Shaping Circuits

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.1 A PN Junction

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.2 A PN junction in forward bias mode

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

After applying a forward bias to a PN Junction

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.3 A PN Junction in reverse bias

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

When all the charge is removed

This transition occurs very quickly, typically well under a nanosecond

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Forward bias exists continuously for

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Since pulse width considerably less than carrier lifetimes

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.4 Block diagram of a Gaussian Monocycle Generator (1st Method)

Transmissi ion line 1

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Gaussian Pulse Generator

Fig. 2.5 Block diagram of Gaussian Monocycle Generator (2nd Method)

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.7 Schottky diode

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Because metal on one side of the junction

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.9 RC differentiator circuit

2.1 UWB Pulse Generation

Fig. 2.10 Gaussian Monocycle Pulse generated using second method

2.2 UWB Antennas

Antenna as impedance transformer:

Antennas as impedance transformer

2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts

2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts

2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts

2.2.1 UWB Antennas Concepts

2.2.1 UWB Antenna Concepts