D. Vanhoenacker-janvier | UCLouvain (University of Louvain) (original) (raw)

Papers by D. Vanhoenacker-janvier

Research paper thumbnail of An advanced propagation tool for satellite ATM and aeronautical communications

2017 11th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP), 2017

The objective of this paper is to present the development of a new software tool for the analysis... more The objective of this paper is to present the development of a new software tool for the analysis of propagation effects on satellite-to-aircraft communications, valid for frequencies between VHF and Ka-band. This tool shall take into account several phenomena that influence the characteristics of the propagation channel, and therefore the performances of the link. First of all, the antenna pattern is modified by the antenna installation on the airborne platform, due to interactions with the structural elements of the platform (including in the case of moving elements e.g. helicopter blades), and this can also generate short delay additional multipaths. Secondly, the aircraft dynamics on its flight trajectory results in attitude variations modifying the received signals. Third, surface scattering effects may create multipaths, and this has to be taken into account for sea and ground surfaces, including the case with vegetation layers. Finally atmospheric effects due to troposphere and/or ionosphere may impair the channel depending on the frequency band.

Research paper thumbnail of The effects of atmospheric turbulence on broadband communication channels above 10 GHz

[Conference Record] SUPERCOMM/ICC '92 Discovering a New World of Communications

Atmospheric turbulence generates of scintillation of the received signals that can seriously affe... more Atmospheric turbulence generates of scintillation of the received signals that can seriously affect communications systems above 10 GHz. A model developed by the authors simulates scintillation effects observed on experimental links with the OLYMPUS satellite of the European Space Agency and predicts the influence of turbulences on broadband propagation channels. The influences of the link parameters, of the antennas, and

Research paper thumbnail of Design of a unbiased microwave circulator using a magnetic nanowired substrate

Microwave, European Conference, 2004

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Global Archive of propagation measurements for satellite communication systems

This paper presents the study carried out to design and develop an archive of propagation measure... more This paper presents the study carried out to design and develop an archive of propagation measurements. The goal of this action was to be able to keep measured datasets in good shape, because due to the rapid changing situation in the telecommunication sector, some of the datasets may become unavailable. This will be damageable since these datasets are of very

Research paper thumbnail of Robust signal constellations for spatial multiplexing in the presence of real fading propagation channels

IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2003. ICC '03.

Spatial multiplexing is employed in MIMO communication systems to increase spectral efficiency. T... more Spatial multiplexing is employed in MIMO communication systems to increase spectral efficiency. The performance of spatial multiplexing is highly dependent on the propagation conditions such as the richness of scattering, the presence of dominant components and the inter-element spacings. In this paper, new robust signal constellations for use in spatial multiplexing over real fading propagation channels are developed. It is

Research paper thumbnail of Mutual coupling effects on the channel capacity and the space-time processing of MIMO communication systems

IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2003. ICC '03.

... 1. Each radiation pattern is expressed in its own coordinate system. Fig. ... MA Beach and PN... more ... 1. Each radiation pattern is expressed in its own coordinate system. Fig. ... MA Beach and PN Fletcher, “Experimental investigation into the impact of mutual coupling on MIMO communications systems ... [5] J. Luo, JR Zeidler and S. McLaughlin, “Performance analysis of compact ...

Research paper thumbnail of A 2-mW Power Consumption Low Noise Amplifier in PD SOI CMOS Technology for 2.4 GHz Applications

2007 Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2007

This paper reviews and analyzes a fully integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power and na... more This paper reviews and analyzes a fully integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power and narrow-band applications using a cascode inductive source degeneration topology, with a body contacted transistor in 130 nm partially depleted CMOS SOI technology. Thanks to the SOI technology, the LNA shows only 2 mW power consumption when power gain of 10 dB and a noise figure of

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of gate oxide scaling on RF performance of SOI MOSFETs

2011 IEEE 11th Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2011

... M. Emam, D. Vanhoenacker-Janvier and J.-P. Raskin ... Kilchytska, J. Alvarado, A. Cerdeira, a... more ... M. Emam, D. Vanhoenacker-Janvier and J.-P. Raskin ... Kilchytska, J. Alvarado, A. Cerdeira, and D. Flandre, “Characterization and design methodology for low-distortion MOSFET-C analog structures in multithreshold deep-submicrometer SOI CMOS technologies,” IEEE Trans. ...

Research paper thumbnail of High temperature RF behavior of SOI MOSFETs for low-power low-voltage applications

2008 IEEE International SOI Conference, 2008

... 2 Semiconductor R&D Department, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. E-mail: m... more ... 2 Semiconductor R&D Department, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. E-mail: mostafa.emam@ uclouvain.be, Tel: +32(0)10478096 ... REFERENCES [1] M. Emam et al., Proc. EuroSOI, Jan. 2008. [2] MI Elmasry, Proc. ICM, Oct. 2000. [3] M. El Kaamouchi et al., Proc. ...

Research paper thumbnail of High Temperature DC and RF Behavior of Partially Depleted SOI versus Deep n-Well Protected Bulk MOSFETs

2009 IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2009

The introduction of deep n-well protection for bulk MOS transistors can highly enhance their DC a... more The introduction of deep n-well protection for bulk MOS transistors can highly enhance their DC and RF performance. It also gives the advantage of having floating-body and body-tied structures in bulk MOSFETs while eliminating the disadvantages related to the shift in performance ...

Research paper thumbnail of Soi Cmos Transistors for RF and Microwave Applications

International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems, 2001

The new communication markets are vey demanding: high frequency, high degree of integration, low ... more The new communication markets are vey demanding: high frequency, high degree of integration, low power consumption. Silicon-on-Insulator offers many advantages and this paper illustrates the potentialities of this technology for RF and microwave applictions. After an overview of the SOI material, the properties of the SOI MOSFET's are analyzed and compared to bulk Si MOSFET's. The models of transmission lines and inductors on SOI are compared and further used in the on-wafer characterization of the transistors. Various models for the transistors are presented and their limitations are given. A new model is described, valid from DC to the microwave region. This model agrees very well with the measurements for various transistor dimensions. Finally, variuos RF and microware circuits are presented. Ths paper does not fully describe all the properties and applications of SOI but the numerous references offered to the reader help him to gather more informations.

Research paper thumbnail of Time series-based prediction of fade dynamics and shadowing correlation statistics for navigation systems

IET Seminar Digests, 2007

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of DTMOS Low Noise Amplifier Design in Partially Depleted SOI CMOS Technology

2006 IEEE international SOI Conferencee Proceedings, 2006

This paper reviews and analyzes a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power applications using a ca... more This paper reviews and analyzes a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power applications using a cascode inductive source degeneration topology, with a dynamic threshold MOSFET (DTMOS) transistor in 130 nm CMOS SOI technology. Thanks to the introduction of dynamic threshold-voltage MOSFET (DTMOS), the measurement of the LNA shows 13 dB gain and -30 dB reflection input, while dissipating 6 mW under

Research paper thumbnail of Fully-Depleted SOI CMOS Technology for Low-Voltage Low-Power Mixed Digital/Analog/Microwave Circuits

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, 1999

This paper demonstrates that fully-depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology offers uni... more This paper demonstrates that fully-depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology offers unique opportunities in the field of low-voltage, low-power CMOS circuits. Beside the well-known reduction of parasitic capacitances due to dielectric isolation, FD SOI MOSFETs indeed exhibit near-ideal body factor, subthreshold slope and current drive. These assets are both theoretically and experimentally investigated. Original circuit studies then show how a basic

Research paper thumbnail of Coverage analysis of a stratospheric communication system

IEE Proceedings - Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, 2001

... Traffic destined for subscribers outside the platform coverage area is routed through ground ... more ... Traffic destined for subscribers outside the platform coverage area is routed through ground stations to the public networks or to other platforms serving nearby cities. Subscribers will also communicate through a terrestrial gateway that redi-rects the traffic to wireless LANs. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Optimization of Nonlinear Signal Constellations for Real-World MIMO Channels

IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 2004

The performance of spatial multiplexing (SM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication ... more The performance of spatial multiplexing (SM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems is highly dependent on the richness of scattering, the presence of dominant components, and the interelement spacings. In this paper, a new interpretation of the impact of transmit correlation on the performance of SM is given based on a so-called "symbol-related array factor." Nonlinear signal constellations for SM over real-world fading channels are then designed by minimizing an estimate of the average symbol error rate under an average transmit power constraint. The new transmission scheme exploits the spectral efficiency advantage of SM and the robustness of eigen-beamforming. Through simulations, it is shown to be more robust against fading correlations and high Ricean K-factors than SM using the classical phase shift keying (PSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations. The symbol error rate performance of this scheme is not affected by a change in the propagation environment or the interelement distance. Furthermore, if the scheme is used on the uplink, no explicit rate-consuming feedback link from the base station to the mobile station is required.

Research paper thumbnail of Spectral domain form of new variational expression for very fast calculation of multilayered lossy planar line parameters

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1994

A new spectral domain formulation of the propagation characteristics for planar and coplanar line... more A new spectral domain formulation of the propagation characteristics for planar and coplanar lines is presented. It is based on a newly established variational principle, valid for a spatial as well as for a spectral formulation. In combination with conformal mapping, it drastically reduces the complexity of the numerical computation and leads to rapidly convergent results even when higher order modes are considered. Mathieu functions are shown to be very efficient expressions for trial fields of the dominant and the higher order modes in slots. Calculation is fast: it is made on-line on a regular PC. Results obtained on open and shielded lines have been successfully checked with new experimental data and with previously published data. The method is general enough to accommodate gyrotropic substrates. The paper however is limited to isotropic media

Research paper thumbnail of Accurate SOI MOSFET characterization at microwave frequencies for device performance optimization and analog modeling

IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 1998

The maturation of low-cost silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET technology in the microwave domain h... more The maturation of low-cost silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET technology in the microwave domain has brought about a need to develop specific characterization techniques. An original scheme is presented, which, by combining careful design of probing and calibration structures, rigorous in situ calibration, and a new powerful direct extraction method, allows reliable identification of the parameters of the non-quasi-static (NQS) small-signal model for MOSFET's. The extracted model is shown to be valid up to 40 GHz.

Research paper thumbnail of Short-term project on microwave passive planar circuits: an educational approach

IEEE Transactions on Education, 2000

The paper presents a short-term project on microwave planar circuits proposed to undergraduate st... more The paper presents a short-term project on microwave planar circuits proposed to undergraduate students at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, in the frame of a basic course on microwave engineering. It helps the students to familiarize with all circuit aspects at microwaves and millimeter waves: they design, analyze, realize, and measure a planar passive component operating in the frequency range 0-40 GHz. Their attention is especially focused on microwave concepts: modeling a transmission line behavior and its limitations, spurious effects at high frequencies (radiation, coupling, and reactive behavior from higher order modes), influence of etching, mechanical tolerances, and wide-band behavior. The educational relevance of the project results from the opportunity given to the students to obtain in a very short period of time an actual component by combining up-to-date theoretical models, modern etching facilities, and measurement equipment, like in industry. Such an opportunity is rather unique and of prime interest for their possible future career in the growing area of microwave and millimeter wave communications.

Research paper thumbnail of From electromagnetics to system performance: a new method for the error-rate prediction of atmospheric communications links

IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 1997

An original and general method is proposed to predict the impact of electromagnetic effects due t... more An original and general method is proposed to predict the impact of electromagnetic effects due to the environment on the error performance of microwave communications systems. The method is based on the concept of a processoriented model which consists of a simplified representation of the physical phenomenon responsible for transmission impairments and simulates its influence on the signals received by any given communications link. The method yields a thorough characterization of the system impairments in both the time domain, by calculating the fluctuations of the received signal during the evolution of the physical process, and the frequency domain, by inferring the communication channel transfer function from the frequency dependence of the received waveform. In addition, by introducing the simulated channel transfer function as a filter in a communications system simulation software, the method evaluates the degradation induced on system performances. Three applications as different as scintillation due to turbulence in clouds, depolarization by rain and ice crystals, and interference in the presence of diffraction on obstacles demonstrate the ability of the method to deal with actual radiocommunications system impairments.

Research paper thumbnail of An advanced propagation tool for satellite ATM and aeronautical communications

2017 11th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EUCAP), 2017

The objective of this paper is to present the development of a new software tool for the analysis... more The objective of this paper is to present the development of a new software tool for the analysis of propagation effects on satellite-to-aircraft communications, valid for frequencies between VHF and Ka-band. This tool shall take into account several phenomena that influence the characteristics of the propagation channel, and therefore the performances of the link. First of all, the antenna pattern is modified by the antenna installation on the airborne platform, due to interactions with the structural elements of the platform (including in the case of moving elements e.g. helicopter blades), and this can also generate short delay additional multipaths. Secondly, the aircraft dynamics on its flight trajectory results in attitude variations modifying the received signals. Third, surface scattering effects may create multipaths, and this has to be taken into account for sea and ground surfaces, including the case with vegetation layers. Finally atmospheric effects due to troposphere and/or ionosphere may impair the channel depending on the frequency band.

Research paper thumbnail of The effects of atmospheric turbulence on broadband communication channels above 10 GHz

[Conference Record] SUPERCOMM/ICC '92 Discovering a New World of Communications

Atmospheric turbulence generates of scintillation of the received signals that can seriously affe... more Atmospheric turbulence generates of scintillation of the received signals that can seriously affect communications systems above 10 GHz. A model developed by the authors simulates scintillation effects observed on experimental links with the OLYMPUS satellite of the European Space Agency and predicts the influence of turbulences on broadband propagation channels. The influences of the link parameters, of the antennas, and

Research paper thumbnail of Design of a unbiased microwave circulator using a magnetic nanowired substrate

Microwave, European Conference, 2004

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Global Archive of propagation measurements for satellite communication systems

This paper presents the study carried out to design and develop an archive of propagation measure... more This paper presents the study carried out to design and develop an archive of propagation measurements. The goal of this action was to be able to keep measured datasets in good shape, because due to the rapid changing situation in the telecommunication sector, some of the datasets may become unavailable. This will be damageable since these datasets are of very

Research paper thumbnail of Robust signal constellations for spatial multiplexing in the presence of real fading propagation channels

IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2003. ICC '03.

Spatial multiplexing is employed in MIMO communication systems to increase spectral efficiency. T... more Spatial multiplexing is employed in MIMO communication systems to increase spectral efficiency. The performance of spatial multiplexing is highly dependent on the propagation conditions such as the richness of scattering, the presence of dominant components and the inter-element spacings. In this paper, new robust signal constellations for use in spatial multiplexing over real fading propagation channels are developed. It is

Research paper thumbnail of Mutual coupling effects on the channel capacity and the space-time processing of MIMO communication systems

IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2003. ICC '03.

... 1. Each radiation pattern is expressed in its own coordinate system. Fig. ... MA Beach and PN... more ... 1. Each radiation pattern is expressed in its own coordinate system. Fig. ... MA Beach and PN Fletcher, “Experimental investigation into the impact of mutual coupling on MIMO communications systems ... [5] J. Luo, JR Zeidler and S. McLaughlin, “Performance analysis of compact ...

Research paper thumbnail of A 2-mW Power Consumption Low Noise Amplifier in PD SOI CMOS Technology for 2.4 GHz Applications

2007 Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2007

This paper reviews and analyzes a fully integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power and na... more This paper reviews and analyzes a fully integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power and narrow-band applications using a cascode inductive source degeneration topology, with a body contacted transistor in 130 nm partially depleted CMOS SOI technology. Thanks to the SOI technology, the LNA shows only 2 mW power consumption when power gain of 10 dB and a noise figure of

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of gate oxide scaling on RF performance of SOI MOSFETs

2011 IEEE 11th Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2011

... M. Emam, D. Vanhoenacker-Janvier and J.-P. Raskin ... Kilchytska, J. Alvarado, A. Cerdeira, a... more ... M. Emam, D. Vanhoenacker-Janvier and J.-P. Raskin ... Kilchytska, J. Alvarado, A. Cerdeira, and D. Flandre, “Characterization and design methodology for low-distortion MOSFET-C analog structures in multithreshold deep-submicrometer SOI CMOS technologies,” IEEE Trans. ...

Research paper thumbnail of High temperature RF behavior of SOI MOSFETs for low-power low-voltage applications

2008 IEEE International SOI Conference, 2008

... 2 Semiconductor R&D Department, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. E-mail: m... more ... 2 Semiconductor R&D Department, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. E-mail: mostafa.emam@ uclouvain.be, Tel: +32(0)10478096 ... REFERENCES [1] M. Emam et al., Proc. EuroSOI, Jan. 2008. [2] MI Elmasry, Proc. ICM, Oct. 2000. [3] M. El Kaamouchi et al., Proc. ...

Research paper thumbnail of High Temperature DC and RF Behavior of Partially Depleted SOI versus Deep n-Well Protected Bulk MOSFETs

2009 IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2009

The introduction of deep n-well protection for bulk MOS transistors can highly enhance their DC a... more The introduction of deep n-well protection for bulk MOS transistors can highly enhance their DC and RF performance. It also gives the advantage of having floating-body and body-tied structures in bulk MOSFETs while eliminating the disadvantages related to the shift in performance ...

Research paper thumbnail of Soi Cmos Transistors for RF and Microwave Applications

International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems, 2001

The new communication markets are vey demanding: high frequency, high degree of integration, low ... more The new communication markets are vey demanding: high frequency, high degree of integration, low power consumption. Silicon-on-Insulator offers many advantages and this paper illustrates the potentialities of this technology for RF and microwave applictions. After an overview of the SOI material, the properties of the SOI MOSFET's are analyzed and compared to bulk Si MOSFET's. The models of transmission lines and inductors on SOI are compared and further used in the on-wafer characterization of the transistors. Various models for the transistors are presented and their limitations are given. A new model is described, valid from DC to the microwave region. This model agrees very well with the measurements for various transistor dimensions. Finally, variuos RF and microware circuits are presented. Ths paper does not fully describe all the properties and applications of SOI but the numerous references offered to the reader help him to gather more informations.

Research paper thumbnail of Time series-based prediction of fade dynamics and shadowing correlation statistics for navigation systems

IET Seminar Digests, 2007

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of DTMOS Low Noise Amplifier Design in Partially Depleted SOI CMOS Technology

2006 IEEE international SOI Conferencee Proceedings, 2006

This paper reviews and analyzes a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power applications using a ca... more This paper reviews and analyzes a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for low-power applications using a cascode inductive source degeneration topology, with a dynamic threshold MOSFET (DTMOS) transistor in 130 nm CMOS SOI technology. Thanks to the introduction of dynamic threshold-voltage MOSFET (DTMOS), the measurement of the LNA shows 13 dB gain and -30 dB reflection input, while dissipating 6 mW under

Research paper thumbnail of Fully-Depleted SOI CMOS Technology for Low-Voltage Low-Power Mixed Digital/Analog/Microwave Circuits

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, 1999

This paper demonstrates that fully-depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology offers uni... more This paper demonstrates that fully-depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology offers unique opportunities in the field of low-voltage, low-power CMOS circuits. Beside the well-known reduction of parasitic capacitances due to dielectric isolation, FD SOI MOSFETs indeed exhibit near-ideal body factor, subthreshold slope and current drive. These assets are both theoretically and experimentally investigated. Original circuit studies then show how a basic

Research paper thumbnail of Coverage analysis of a stratospheric communication system

IEE Proceedings - Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, 2001

... Traffic destined for subscribers outside the platform coverage area is routed through ground ... more ... Traffic destined for subscribers outside the platform coverage area is routed through ground stations to the public networks or to other platforms serving nearby cities. Subscribers will also communicate through a terrestrial gateway that redi-rects the traffic to wireless LANs. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Optimization of Nonlinear Signal Constellations for Real-World MIMO Channels

IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 2004

The performance of spatial multiplexing (SM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication ... more The performance of spatial multiplexing (SM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems is highly dependent on the richness of scattering, the presence of dominant components, and the interelement spacings. In this paper, a new interpretation of the impact of transmit correlation on the performance of SM is given based on a so-called "symbol-related array factor." Nonlinear signal constellations for SM over real-world fading channels are then designed by minimizing an estimate of the average symbol error rate under an average transmit power constraint. The new transmission scheme exploits the spectral efficiency advantage of SM and the robustness of eigen-beamforming. Through simulations, it is shown to be more robust against fading correlations and high Ricean K-factors than SM using the classical phase shift keying (PSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations. The symbol error rate performance of this scheme is not affected by a change in the propagation environment or the interelement distance. Furthermore, if the scheme is used on the uplink, no explicit rate-consuming feedback link from the base station to the mobile station is required.

Research paper thumbnail of Spectral domain form of new variational expression for very fast calculation of multilayered lossy planar line parameters

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1994

A new spectral domain formulation of the propagation characteristics for planar and coplanar line... more A new spectral domain formulation of the propagation characteristics for planar and coplanar lines is presented. It is based on a newly established variational principle, valid for a spatial as well as for a spectral formulation. In combination with conformal mapping, it drastically reduces the complexity of the numerical computation and leads to rapidly convergent results even when higher order modes are considered. Mathieu functions are shown to be very efficient expressions for trial fields of the dominant and the higher order modes in slots. Calculation is fast: it is made on-line on a regular PC. Results obtained on open and shielded lines have been successfully checked with new experimental data and with previously published data. The method is general enough to accommodate gyrotropic substrates. The paper however is limited to isotropic media

Research paper thumbnail of Accurate SOI MOSFET characterization at microwave frequencies for device performance optimization and analog modeling

IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 1998

The maturation of low-cost silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET technology in the microwave domain h... more The maturation of low-cost silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET technology in the microwave domain has brought about a need to develop specific characterization techniques. An original scheme is presented, which, by combining careful design of probing and calibration structures, rigorous in situ calibration, and a new powerful direct extraction method, allows reliable identification of the parameters of the non-quasi-static (NQS) small-signal model for MOSFET's. The extracted model is shown to be valid up to 40 GHz.

Research paper thumbnail of Short-term project on microwave passive planar circuits: an educational approach

IEEE Transactions on Education, 2000

The paper presents a short-term project on microwave planar circuits proposed to undergraduate st... more The paper presents a short-term project on microwave planar circuits proposed to undergraduate students at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, in the frame of a basic course on microwave engineering. It helps the students to familiarize with all circuit aspects at microwaves and millimeter waves: they design, analyze, realize, and measure a planar passive component operating in the frequency range 0-40 GHz. Their attention is especially focused on microwave concepts: modeling a transmission line behavior and its limitations, spurious effects at high frequencies (radiation, coupling, and reactive behavior from higher order modes), influence of etching, mechanical tolerances, and wide-band behavior. The educational relevance of the project results from the opportunity given to the students to obtain in a very short period of time an actual component by combining up-to-date theoretical models, modern etching facilities, and measurement equipment, like in industry. Such an opportunity is rather unique and of prime interest for their possible future career in the growing area of microwave and millimeter wave communications.

Research paper thumbnail of From electromagnetics to system performance: a new method for the error-rate prediction of atmospheric communications links

IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 1997

An original and general method is proposed to predict the impact of electromagnetic effects due t... more An original and general method is proposed to predict the impact of electromagnetic effects due to the environment on the error performance of microwave communications systems. The method is based on the concept of a processoriented model which consists of a simplified representation of the physical phenomenon responsible for transmission impairments and simulates its influence on the signals received by any given communications link. The method yields a thorough characterization of the system impairments in both the time domain, by calculating the fluctuations of the received signal during the evolution of the physical process, and the frequency domain, by inferring the communication channel transfer function from the frequency dependence of the received waveform. In addition, by introducing the simulated channel transfer function as a filter in a communications system simulation software, the method evaluates the degradation induced on system performances. Three applications as different as scintillation due to turbulence in clouds, depolarization by rain and ice crystals, and interference in the presence of diffraction on obstacles demonstrate the ability of the method to deal with actual radiocommunications system impairments.