Dielectric and optical properties of europium oxide films

The dielectric properties of vacuum-deposited europium oxide films have been investigated in the frequency range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz at various temperatures (300-543 K). The dielectric constant is found to depend on film thickness and it attains a constant value beyond 1000 Å. Films deposited at higher substrate temperatures (above 423 K) exhibit improved dielectric properties owing to the recovery of stoichiometry. The frequency variation of the loss factor exhibits a minimum which increases with rise in temperature. The breakdown field strength (about 106V cm-1) is found to be thickness dependent and it varies in accordance with the Forlani-Minnaja relation. The films exhibit ohmic conduction with an activation energy of 0.86 eV at low electric fields but at higher fields the conductivity becomes space charge limited. X-ray studies show that the films are amorphous in nature. The a.c. conductivity is proportional to ω at low frequency, whereas a square law dependence is observed at higher frequencies. The optical constants n, α and k and optical band gap are calculated from the UV-visible-near-IR spectra.

Electrical conductivity, dielectric properties and phase transition in ethylenediammonium sulphate single crystals

D.C. and a.c. electrical conductivities, dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor in single crystals of ethylenediammonium sulphate, (H3NCH2CH2NH3)(SO4), have been measured axiswise as a function of temperature. Anomalous variations in all the above properties at 480 K indicate the occurrence of a phase transition in the above material at this temperature. The existence of such a phase transition is also confirmed by DSC measurements. Electrical conductivity results are analysed and the activation energies of conduction at different temperature regions have been evaluated from the logσ vs 103T−1 plot. Possible mechanisms for the electrical conduction process are discussed, the available results being in favour of a proton transport model.

Magnetic, Dielectric and Physicomechanical Properties of Rubber Ferrite Nanocomposites

In the present study the preparation and characterisation of rubber ferrite composites containing nickel ferrite and gamma ferric oxide have been dealt with.Synthetic rubbers viz. ethylene propylene diene rubber and neoprene rubber were used for the incorporation of nickel ferrite and gamma ferric oxide for the synthesis of RFCs. Incorporation of ferrites were carried out according to a specific recipe for various loadings of the magnetic fillers. The ferrites used for the preparation of RFCs were synthesised using sol-gel method and structural characterisation was carried out. Experimental techniques like X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy and other analytical techniques were used for this. Precharaterised ferrites were then incorporated at different loading into rubber according to conventional mixing methods. The cure characteristics, mechanical, dielectric, magnetic and microwave properties of these composites were evaluated. The effect of carbon black on these properties of RFCs were carried out.

Enhancement of Microwave Properties of Planar Filters and Antennas using Photonic Bandgap (PBG) Structures

In this thesis, we explore the design, computation, and experimental analysis of photonic crystals, with a special emphasis on structures and devices that make a connection with practically realizable systems. First, we analyze the propenies of photonic-crystal: periodic dielectric structures that have a band gap for propagation. The band gap of periodically loaded air column on a dielectric substrate is computed using Eigen solvers in a plane wave basis. Then this idea is extended to planar filters and antennas at microwave regime. The main objectives covered in this thesis are:• Computation of Band Gap origin in Photonic crystal with the abet of Maxwell's equation and Bloch-Floquet's theorem • Extension of Band Gap to Planar structures at microwave regime • Predict the dielectric constant - synthesized dieletric cmstant of the substrates when loaded with Photonic Band Gap (PBG) structures in a microstrip transmission line • Identify the resonant characteristic of the PBG cell and extract the equivalent circuit based on PBG cell and substrate parameters for microstrip transmission line • Miniaturize PBG as Defected Ground Structures (DGS) and use the property to be implemented in planar filters with microstrip transmission line • Extended the band stop effect of PBG / DGS to coplanar waveguide and asymmetric coplanar waveguide. • Formulate design equations for the PBG / DGS filters • Use these PBG / DGS ground plane as ground plane of microstrip antennas • Analysis of filters and antennas using FDID method

Design of a microstip fed step slot antenna for UWB communication

The design and performance of a stepped slot printed monopole antenna in the ultrawideband is presented in this article. Multiple resonances generated by the stepped slot geometry are matched in the ultrawideband using a modified microstrip feed. The impedance bandwidth (SWR < 2) of the antenna is from 3 to 11 GHz. Radiation patterns are stable and omnidirectional with appreciable gain throughout the band. Performance of the antenna is also analyzed in the time domain, which reveals good pulse handling capabilities. Compact geometry of the antenna allows easy commercial deployment.

A compact dual-band modified T-shaped CPW-fed monopole antenna

A compact, dual band coplanar waveguide fed modified T-shaped uniplanar antenna is presented. The antenna has resonances at 1.77 and 5.54 GHz with a wide band from 1.47–1.97 GHz and from 5.13–6.48 GHz with an impedance bandwidth of 34% and 26%, respectively. Also the antenna has an average gain of 3 dBi in lower band and 3.5 dBi in higher band with an average efficiency of 90%.

Ultra-wideband slot antenna with band-notch characteristics for wireless USB dongle applications

A compact ultra-wideband (UWB) printed slot antenna is described, suitable for integration with the printed circuit board (PCB) of a wireless, universal, serial-bus dongle. The design comprises of a near-rectangular slot fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW) printed on a PCB of size 20 × 30 mm2. It has a large bandwidth covering the 3.1–10.6 GHz UWB band, with omnidirectional radiation patterns. Further, a notched band centered at 5.45 GHz wireless local area network bands is obtained within the wide bandwidth by inserting a narrow slot inside the tuning stub. Details of the antenna design are described, and the experimental results of the constructed prototype are presented. The time domain studies on the antenna shows a linear phase response throughout the band except at the notched frequency. The transient analysis of the antenna indicates very little pulse distortion confirming its suitability for high speed wireless connectivity.

An electromagnetically coupled dual-band dual-polarized microstrip antenna for WLAN applications

A new design of a dual-band dual-polarized electromagnetically coupled slot loaded square patch antenna, covering the WLAN 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands, achieving bandwidth enhancement by using tapered slot structure, is presented here. The proposed antenna covers 5.09–5.47 GHz and 5.7–5.88 GHz bands. Details of the antenna design along with experimental and simulated results are presented and discussed.

Microstrip band rejection filter using open loop resonator

Design of a compact microstrip band reject filter is proposed. The device consists of an Open Loop Rectangular Resonator (OLRR) coupled to a microstrip line. The transmission line has a U-bend which enhances the coupling with the OLRR element and reduces the size of the filter. The filter can be made tunable by mounting variable capacitance to the system. Simulated and experimental results are presented.

Ultra-wideband slot antenna for wireless USB dongle applications

An ultra-wideband (UWB) printed slot antenna, suitable for integration with the printed circuit board (PCB) of a wireless universal serial-bus (WUSB) dongle is presented. The design comprises a near-rectangular slot fed by a coplanar waveguide printed on a PCB of width 20 mm. The proposed design has a large bandwidth covering the 3.1-10.6 GHz UWB band, unaffected by the ground length, and omnidirectional radiation patterns. A linear phase response throughout the band further confirms its suitability for high-speed wireless connectivity.

Scattering Behaviour of fractal based metallo-dielectric structures

The scattering behaviour of fractal based metallodielectric structures loaded over metallic targets of different shapes such as flat plate, cylinder and dihedral corner reflector are investigated for both TE and TM polarizations of the incident wave. Out of the various fractal structures studied,square Sierpinski carpet structure is found to give backscattering reduction for an appreciable range of frequencies. The frequency of minimum backscattering depends on the geometry of the structure as well as on the thickness of the substrate. This structure when loaded over a dihedral corner reflector is showing an enhancement in RCS for corner angles other than 90◦.

Compact dual-polarised square microstrip antenna with triangular slots for wireless communication

Design of a dual linearly-polarised microstrip patch antenna, excited by two orthogonal microstrip feed lines, is presented. A reduction in patch size of 35% is obtained when compared to a square patch operating at the same frequency. The polarisations are oriented at +45 and - 45 with an isolation of more than 36 dB between the ports. Unlike earlier designs, the proposed structure provides better gain.

Circular microstrip antenna with a sector-slot for dual-port operation

Design of a dual-port circular patch antenna with a sector-slot for dual-frequency operation is presented. The antenna resonates at two distinct frequencies with orthogonal polarizations and broad radiation characteristics. Unlike the conventional circular patch, this antenna can be microstrip-fed to operate at either of the resonances. The two polarizations can be simultaneously excited using two electromagnetically coupled ports with an isolation better than −30 dB between the ports. This antenna has the added advantage of size reduction of 44% compared to the conventional circular patch without any reduction in gain.

Active Microwave Imaging for Breast Cancer Detection

Active microwave imaging is explored as an imaging modality for early detection of breast cancer. When exposed to microwaves, breast tumor exhibits electrical properties that are significantly different from that of healthy breast tissues. The two approaches of active microwave imaging — confocal microwave technique with measured reflected signals and microwave tomographic imaging with measured scattered signals are addressed here. Normal and malignant breast tissue samples of same person are subjected to study within 30 minutes of mastectomy. Corn syrup is used as coupling medium, as its dielectric parameters show good match with that of the normal breast tissue samples. As bandwidth of the transmitter is an important aspect in the time domain confocal microwave imaging approach, wideband bowtie antenna having 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of 46% is designed for the transmission and reception of microwave signals. Same antenna is used for microwave tomographic imaging too at the frequency of 3000 MHz. Experimentally obtained time domain results are substantiated by finite difference time domain (FDTD) analysis. 2-D tomographic images are reconstructed with the collected scattered data using distorted Born iterative method. Variations of dielectric permittivity in breast samples are distinguishable from the obtained permittivity profiles.