Reconfigurable Antennas for Next Generation Communication Systems
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Reconfigurable Antennas for Next Generation Communication Systems
Mon, 11/06/2018 - 09:30
Location:
Speaker:
Dr James Kelly, Lecturer in Microwave Antennas, Institute for Communication Systems (ICS)
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
Synopsis:
Reconfigurable antenna technology can be used to enable a communication system to adapt for changes in: user demand, network traffic, interference, etc.. Intelligent high performance communication systems of the future are expected to make increasing use of reconfigurable antenna technology as they find themselves operating in ever more complex, contested and congested environments.
Research into the next generation of mobile network technology (5G) is currently on-going around the world. For this application there is interest in using high gain beam steerable antennas to support high data rate communications. The antennas need to be capable of continuous beam steering. They should have a wide scan angle range along with low overall power loss. The presentation will show some approaches that we have been developing in Surrey to help address these challenges. There have been decades of research into the topic of reconfigurable antennas. However conventional technology, based on switching and tuning elements, suffers from a number of important disadvantages, including: 1) significant overall power consumption, 2) poor harmonic performance, 3) limited tuning range. Recently new electronic materials have emerged which have the potential to address many of these limitations. For the past 2.5 years we have been looking at liquid metals based on Gallium alloys. The presentation will show a selection of work on this topic and discuss some of the advantages and limitations of this approach.
Biography:
Dr James Kelly received the Master’s degree in electronic and electrical engineering and the Ph.D. degree in microwave filters from Loughborough University, U.K., in 2002 and 2007, respectively. From 2007 to 2012 he worked as a research fellow/associate at Loughborough University, as well as the Universities of Birmingham, Durham, and Sheffield. During 2001 and 2012, respectively he worked within the Rolls-Royce Strategic Research Centre and at Airbus Defence and Space Ltd. From 2012 to 2013 he was a Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, U.K.. In 2013 he joined the Institute for Communication Systems (ICS), home of the 5GIC at the University of Surrey, U.K. where he is employed as a Lecturer in Microwave Antennas.
Dr Kelly has published 90 academic papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He holds a European patent on reconfigurable antennas. He is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). His primary research focus is reconfigurable antennas, particularly those based on new electronic materials. His also has experience of working on small antennas for portable device applications, UWB antennas, planar microwave filters, metamaterials, and material characterisation.
We look forward to seeing you at the talk.