Iranian-led OSU team designs nextgen 'hovering' antennas

Nima Ghalichechian, an Iranian assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, is leading a team of researchers at Ohio State University’s ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) into designing "hovering" or suspended high-gain millimeter-wave antenna arrays that can increase signal strength.

According to Ghalichechian, a growth for signal strength to send and receive more data through wireless communication comes from increasing the bandwidth at which the data is sent.
“We are trying to go about 50 times higher frequency to get us 50 times higher bandwidth,” Ghalichechian said. “So, the idea is to create devices that transmit and receive data at these very high frequencies.”

Two graduate research assistants at Ohio State’s Electroscience Lab are working on these devices.

"The central objective is to develop scanning arrays on silicon integrated circuits that exhibit radiation efficiency of greater than 85 percent. Such compact high-efficiency millimeter-wave arrays have not been realized to date,” he said, while addressing the limitations of traditional silicon substrates the antenna is mounted on, which weakens wireless signals.

For the lens components attached to the antenna, graduate research assistants Jiantong Li and Kyoung Ho Jeong, are experimenting with new 3D-printing technologies. 

In addition to millimeter-wave applications, these unique antennas are intended for short-range communication links, satellite communications, radars, remote sensing, security, and medical imaging.

/SR