Title :
Tunable harmonic re-radiator for sensing applications
Author :
Aguilar, Suzette M. ; Weller, Thomas M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Abstract :
A tunable harmonic re-radiator using meandered shorted patch antennas is designed for wireless sensing applications. The device operates by receiving an interrogation signal and re-transmitting the (modulated) second harmonic. Tunability is achieved by integrating a varactor diode into the input matching network, providing the means for modulating the retransmitted harmonic. Special emphasis has been placed on developing electrically small antennas to significantly reduce the overall footprint without compromising efficiency. The re-radiator measures 22 mm times 8.8 mm and has a measured conversion efficiency of 1.3% at a doubler input power of only 18 muW.
Keywords :
electric sensing devices; microstrip antennas; modulation; receiving antennas; signal processing; transmitting antennas; tuning; varactors; electrically small antennas; input matching network; interrogation signal; meandered shorted patch antenna; power 18 muW; retransmitted harmonic modulation; tunable harmonic reradiator; varactor diode; wireless sensing application; Antenna measurements; Application software; Frequency; Patch antennas; Receiving antennas; Schottky diodes; Transmitting antennas; Tunable circuits and devices; Varactors; Wireless sensor networks; Wireless sensors; conversion efficiency; harmonic re-radiator; meandered shorted patch antenna;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium Digest, 2009. MTT '09. IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2803-8
Electronic_ISBN :
0149-645X
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.2009.5166009
