This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice outlines a standardized and economical method for the checkout and calibration of electromagnetic interference measurement antennas. Its application is for use when measuring a source 1 m from the antenna in a shield room. This is the typical distance used in performing military EMC testing. The influence of the shield room on the measured field strength is not considered. This standard does not address the measurement of emissions from an unknown distributed source, yet it attempts to resemble reality by using another antenna, in the calibration method, that represents a distributed source. This document presents a technique to determine antenna factors for antennas used primarily in performing measurements in accordance with References 2.1 and 2.2. The purpose of Revision B was to include the calibration of other antennas, such as biconical, horn, monopole and small loop antennas that are also specified for use in these same references

AE-4 Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Committee

Electromagnetic Interference Measurement Antennas; Calibration Method

ARP958E-TEST-REC (Historical)9/1/2021

AE-4 Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Committee

New Materials Boost Efficiency and Stability of Optical Rectennas

TBMG-384862/1/2021

Rectennas convert electromagnetic fields at optical frequencies directly to electrical current. Optical rectennas operate by coupling light’s electromagnetic field to an antenna. The electromagnetic field creates an oscillation in the antenna, producing an alternating flow of electrons. When the electron flow reaches a peak at one end of the antenna, the diode closes, trapping the electrons, then re-opens to capture the next oscillation, creating a current flow. This switching must occur at terahertz frequencies to match the light. The junction between the antenna and diode must provide minimal resistance to electrons flowing through it while open, yet prevent leakage while closed.

Army and Universities Deploy New Warfighter Communication Technology

TBMG-385412/1/2021

Army and Universities Deploy New Warfighter Communication Technology

21AERP02_062/1/2021

Researchers from the U.S. Army and the University of Maryland, College Park, have developed a controller for deploying robots that forms antenna arrays to maintain longer-range wireless communication. Antennas are distributed between mobile robots, allowing the controller to autonomously guide robots to create and maintain a reliable wireless communication network in challenging battlefield environments. Recent progress in antenna design for the lower bands of the very high frequency, or VHF, range and corresponding research shows it is possible to form multi-robot antenna arrays, said, researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's.

Vortex Radiometer for Wireless Communications

TBMG-3820912/1/2020

Communication links are subject to atmospheric effects that reduce the signal power received at the antenna (i.e., a fade). If the atmospheric losses are too high, the signal level could drop below the minimum measurable power of the receiver, causing data loss across the communication link. Previous attempts to forewarn fading using predictive algorithms have yielded sub-optimal results largely because they rely on real-time performance data from the communications link itself, meaning they have very little time to respond.

Four RF Technology Trends You Need to Know for Satellite Communication Device Design

20AERP10_0510/1/2020

Over the past four decades, the sheer amount and complexity of information transmitted through satellite communication (satcom) has substantially increased. At the same time, more mission-critical applications - such as aeronautical, maritime, and military navigation - have become increasingly reliant on these communications. As a result, the RF circuit building blocks that make up satcom technology have been through many changes to accommodate the latest advancements in the industry including miniaturization, increased reliability, and the ability to rapidly transmit even more complex data. This article examines four RF technology trends today that are helping satcom design engineers meet the data demands of their military and aerospace clients while also making RF components that are lighter by size, weight, and power and more cost-effective to produce (SWaP-C).

Four RF Technology Trends You Need to Know for Satellite Communication Device Design

TBMG-3788610/1/2020

Electronically Controlled 2D Reflector Improves Microwave Communications

TBMG-376459/1/2020

Researchers are reinventing the mirror, at least for microwaves, potentially replacing the familiar 3D dishes and microwave horns seen on rooftops and cell towers with flat panels that are compact, versatile, and better adapted for modern communication technologies. The new reflectors offer lightweight, low-profile alternatives to conventional antennas. The panels could be easily incorporated onto surfaces of buildings or terrestrial vehicles.

Quantum Sensor Enables Wide Spectral Coverage

TBMG-376389/1/2020

A quantum sensor was developed that could detect communication signals over the entire radio frequency spectrum from 0 to 100 GHz. Such wide spectral coverage by a single antenna is impossible with a traditional receiver system and would require multiple systems of individual antennas, amplifiers, and other components.

Cryogenic-Capable Isolators Improve the Performance of Millimeter-Wave Systems by Lowering Noise Levels

20AERP08_058/1/2020

Silence is golden when it comes to filtering out unwanted reflected noise, especially in extremely high-frequency, millimeter-wave (MMW) applications. While recent improvements in isolator designs are solving many of these problems, one critical challenge remains: finding isolators that operate optimally under cryogenic conditions. For manufacturers of ultra-high-frequency wireless applications such as 5G and 6G communications, standoff security scanning, and military defense products, the issue of MMW and cryogenics is relatively new. In fact, some system designers may still be unaware that an isolator built to operate at room temperatures will fail to operate optimally when temperatures are reduced to cryogenic levels.

Cryogenic-Capable Isolators Improve the Performance of Millimeter-Wave Systems by Lowering Noise Levels

TBMG-373728/1/2020

5 Important ESD Protection Considerations for Augmented Reality Wearables

TBMG-372247/1/2020

Those of us who wear vision correction glasses are used to seeing the world through lenses. New technologies will allow a virtual world to be layered on top of the real world that we normally see. The lenses will become displays that allow us to see the “real” world that is augmented with overlaid information and images, creating an Augmented Reality (AR). An example would be the integration of navigation into the AR glasses to allow a user to walk through town with turn-by-turn instructions (visual or verbal) to help them easily get to their destination. Other examples include facial recognition, fitness tracking, first-person photos and videos, as well as health-sensing and travel applications (Figure 1).

Stretchable, Wearable Coils May Make MRI, Other Medical Tests Easier on Patients

TBMG-369145/1/2020

Anyone who has had a mammogram or an MRI knows how uncomfortable and awkward the tests can be. Now, Purdue University researchers have taken technology used in the defense and aerospace industries to create a novel way of doing some medical imaging.

Electric Nanoscale Device Sees Through Walls

TBMG-368415/1/2020

Researchers have developed a nanodevice that operates more than 10 times faster than today’s fastest transistors and about 100 times faster than the transistors on most computers. The device generates high-power terahertz waves, which are notoriously difficult to produce and are useful in a variety of applications ranging from imaging and sensing to high-speed wireless communications.

Secure Optical Mobile Local Communications Systems Support Royal Navy

TBMG-366114/1/2020

Link Microtek Hampshire, UK +44 (0)1256 355771

Machine Learning Algorithm Identifies Objects Using Microwaves

TBMG-363844/1/2020

Engineers have developed a method to identify objects using microwaves that improves accuracy while reducing the associated computing time and power requirements. The system could provide a boost to object identification and speed in fields where both are critical such as autonomous vehicles, security screening, and motion sensing.

Atoms Can Receive Common Communications Signals

TBMG-359862/1/2020

A new type of sensor was developed that uses atoms to receive commonly used communications signals. Cesium atoms were used to receive digital bits (1s and 0s) in the most common communications format used in cellphones, Wi-Fi, and satellite TV. In this format, called phase shifting or phase modulation, radio signals or other electromagnetic waves are shifted relative to one another over time. The information (or data) is encoded in this modulation. The method works across a wide range of frequencies.

Wireless Sensor “Stickers” Track Physiological Signals

TBMG-358231/1/2020

Engineers have developed a way to detect physiological signals emanating from the skin with sticky sensors that beam wireless readings to a receiver clipped onto clothing. To demonstrate the wearable technology, the researchers stuck sensors to the wrist and abdomen of a test subject to monitor the person's pulse and respiration by detecting how their skin stretched and contracted with each heartbeat or breath. Likewise, stickers on the person's elbows and knees tracked arm and leg motions by gauging the minute tightening or relaxation of the skin each time the corresponding muscle flexed.

Sandia’s Nanoantennas Help Detectors See More Heat, Less Noise

TBMG-357611/1/2020

A team of researchers at Sandia National Laboratories has developed a nanoantenna-enabled detector that can boost the usable signal of a thermal infrared camera by up to three times and improve image quality by reducing dark current, a major component of image noise, by 10 to 100 times.

Virtually Optimizing Metasurface Topology with a Genetic Algorithm

TBMG-357641/1/2020

Often in engineering, we look to the natural world to find inspiration for new ways to approach our design problems. Whether we are taking inspiration from fluid flow around wings to inform a system for cooling devices, studying slug slime to invent better medical adhesives, or designing the nose of a bullet train to resemble the beak of a bird, nature holds the key to even the most elusive design solutions.

Method Produces Three-Dimensional, Curved Electronics

TBMG-3545111/1/2019

Contact lenses that can monitor the wearer’s health and correct eyesight use embedded electronics. These, and other curved devices such as solar cells and electronics, could be manufactured using a new method called conformal additive stamp (CAS) printing.

Technique Locates Robots and Humans in GPS-Challenged Environments

TBMG-3527810/1/2019

An algorithm enables localization of humans and robots in areas where GPS is unavailable. The Army needs to be able to localize agents operating in physically complex, unknown, and infrastructure-poor environments. This capability is critical to help find dismounted soldiers and for humans and robotic agents to team together effectively.

Structure Deformation Calculation Program for Structural Shape Monitoring

TBMG-3528910/1/2019

Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center are pioneering shape-sensing technologies that seek to maximize structural integrity and efficiency. A new and versatile computer program offers critical shape-monitoring capabilities and has applications for a wide variety of structures.

Antenna Near-Field Probe Station Scanner

TBMG-351349/1/2019

Antenna characterization techniques are often expensive and time-consuming. NASA’s Glenn Research Center developed a highly versatile and automated system to perform characterization of single or multiple small circuit antennas, printed on-wafer or on other substrates, by measuring the antenna’s near-field radiated power.

Multi- and Wide-Band Single-Feed Patch Antenna

TBMG-351309/1/2019

A novel patch antenna technology was developed that provides significant benefits to NASA satellite communication applications, offering a unique wide-band/multi-band operating capability. For other non-space applications, the antenna design also offers broadband capability with high gain for applications where signal strength and smaller antenna sizes are important. The technology was developed to design antennas for satellites where the target communication frequency is unknown or unassigned.

Shape-Shifting Origami Could Help Antenna Systems Adapt On-the-Fly

TBMG-351079/1/2019

Conventional reconfigurable electrical and radio frequency (RF) structures commonly used in applications involving real-time reconfigurability in response to fast varying operational scenarios require specialized substrates or complex electrical circuits. Origami-based RF reconfigurable components and modules offer a solution with unique properties. First, they enable re-configurability over continuous-state ranges (as opposed to discrete states). Second, they do not require specialized mechanical support for multilayer frequency-selective surface structures. Moreover, deployable origami-based RF structures can achieve large surface re-configurability ratios from folded to unfolded states. Finally, these structures allow for independent control of multiple figures of merit: bandwidth, frequency of operation, and angle of incidence.

Technology Produces Unclonable Digital Fingerprints for Internet of Things Devices

TBMG-349328/1/2019

Researchers have created technology that is 10 times more reliable than current methods of producing unclonable digital fingerprints that can be used to authenticate devices linked to the Internet of Things (IoT).

Products of Tomorrow: July 2019

TBMG-347577/1/2019

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

Multi-Agent RF Propagation Simulator

TBMG-345316/1/2019

A desirable interface between multi-agents is through over-the-air RF connections that include not only the intended direct RF communications paths but also highly variable multi-ray propagation, range attenuation, external RF influences, and near-earth influence. These influences are all difficult to predict, control, and repeat in an outdoor environment. This outdoor testing, as has traditionally been done, is extremely expensive while simultaneously providing fewer data points than more controlled events and the testing events are generally not repeatable.

Affordable integrated Antennas on Helicopters

F-0075-2019-14550

5/13/2019

The antennas number is increasing on-board rotorcraft and this trend is not ready to slow down regarding the growing need of connectivity. Rotorcrafts, especially the lightest ones will soon be saturated in antennas. This paper, without being exhaustive, presents some ways to tackle this fact, with the use of integrated antennas. Besides technical difficulties, the current certification constraints should be re-defined or at least adjusted.

DUTRUC, Herve, Filias, François-Xavier

Wireless Sensor Monitors Blood Flow after Surgery

TBMG-339973/1/2019

A new device developed by Stanford University researchers could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery. The sensor, detailed in a paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, monitors the flow of blood through an artery. It is biodegradable, battery-free, and wireless, so it is compact and doesn't need to be removed, and it can warn a patient's doctor if there is a blockage.

Hardware Design of a High Dynamic Range Radio Frequency (RF) Harmonic Measurement System

TBMG-337622/1/2019

Miniaturizing Smart Wearables for Fitness and Activity Tracking

TBMG-337292/1/2019

Traditionally, small chip antennas used in Bluetooth-enabled devices have required a designated ground “keep out” area to minimize interference from other components and ensure the ideal radiation pattern for wireless signals. In some cases, this reserved space can eat up as much as 15 × 20 mm of the printed circuit board (PCB).

Hardware Design of a High Dynamic Range Radio Frequency (RF) Harmonic Measurement System

19AERP02_052/1/2019

Radio frequency (RF) circuit elements that are traditionally considered to be linear frequently exhibit nonlinear properties that affect the intended operation of many other RF systems. Devices such as RF connectors, antennas, attenuators, resistors, and dissimilar metal junctions generate nonlinear distortion that degrades primary RF system performance. The communications industry is greatly affected by these unintended and unexpected nonlinear distortions. The high transmit power and tight channel spacing of the communication channel makes communications very susceptible to nonlinear distortion. To minimize nonlinear distortion in RF systems, specialized circuits are required to measure the low-level nonlinear distortions created from traditionally linear devices, i.e., connectors, cables, antennas, etc. Measuring the low-level nonlinear distortion is a difficult problem. The measurement system requires the use of high-power probe signals and the capability to measure very weak

Ricocheting Radio Waves Monitor the Tiniest Movements

TBMG-336131/1/2019

Infrared motion detectors can cover only a limited amount of space, a person has to be within the detector's line of sight to be detected, and lights can go off when a person remains still for too long. Work has demonstrated that patterns made by radio waves can detect a person's presence and location anywhere inside a room. A new motion sensor based on metamaterials is sensitive enough to monitor a person's breathing.

5 Ws of Spray-On Antennas

TBMG-3340112/1/2018

Manufacturers and users of wearables, functional fabrics, mobile devices, wireless routers, and Internet of Things devices.

2018 Create the Future Design Contest: Electronics/Sensors/IOT Category Winner

TBMG-3331311/1/2018

Soft, Pliable, 3D Stretchable Electronics

TBMG-3312010/1/2018

By stacking and connecting layers of stretchable circuits on top of one another, soft, pliable 3D stretchable electronics were fabricated that can pack a lot of functions while staying thin and small in size.

Tech Briefs: September 2018

18AERP099/1/2018

Enhanced SATCOMs for Unmanned Aerial Systems The Bus Too Tough to Die Combating Infrared Threats on the Battlefield Optical Interconnect Design Challenges in Space High-Performance Computing for the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Merging Antenna and Electronics Boosts Energy and Spectrum Efficiency Integrated Magneto-Optical Devices for On-Chip Photonic Systems Development of magneto-optical (MO) materials could lead to a range of nonreciprocal optical devices for emerging standardized photonic integrated circuit (PIC) fabrication processes. Low Power Optical Phase Array Using Graphene on Silicon Photonics Electrostatic doping of 2D materials embedded in waveguides could enable ultrafast devices with unprecedented power. Spatial Resolution and Contrast of a Focused Diffractive Plenoptic Camera New technology captures spectral and spatial information of a scene in one snapshot while raising pixel counts and improving image quality. Ultracompact, High-Speed Field-Effect Optical

Merging Antenna and Electronics Boosts Energy and Spectrum Efficiency

TBMG-329109/1/2018

Merging Antenna and Electronics Boosts Energy and Spectrum Efficiency

18AERP09_069/1/2018

By integrating the design of antennas and electronics, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have boosted the energy and spectrum efficiency for a new class of millimeter-wave transmitters, allowing improved modulation and reduced generation of waste heat. The new co-design technique - achieved through research sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Intel Corp. - allows simultaneous optimization of the millimeter-wave antennas and electronics. The hybrid devices use conventional materials and integrated circuit (IC) technology, meaning no changes would be required to manufacture and package them. The co-design scheme allows fabrication of multiple transmitters and receivers on the same IC chip or the same package, potentially enabling multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems as well as boosting data rates and link diversity.

Toon, John

Structural Multifunctionality for Weight Reduction

F-0074-2018-12883

5/14/2018

ABSTRACT The US Army's Aviation Development Directorate (ADD) has successfully collaborated with its industry partners to reduce system parasitic weight for aviation platforms through multifunctional structures technology development. In short, this can be generalized as achieving weight savings by replacing the combination of aircraft structure and an independent, add-on mission enabler with a singular system that performs the functions of both structure and mission enabler. This extensive multifunctional technology development for aviation structural applications has yielded significant weight savings over parasitic designs. Technologies demonstrating this structural multifunctionality for weight reduction include integrally armored helicopter floor, lightweight integrally armored helicopter floor, lightning-protected structure, structural antenna aperture, helicopter empennage antenna structure, combat tempered aft fuselage, blast attenuating aircraft structure, and highly durable

Robeson, Mark

Cup Cylindrical Waveguide Antenna

TBMG-287084/1/2018

NASA Glenn’s cup cylindrical waveguide antenna (CCWA) is a short backfire microwave antenna capable of simultaneously supporting the transmission or reception of two distinct signals having opposite circular polarizations. Short backfire antennas are widely used in mobile satellite communications, tracking, telemetry, and wireless local area networks because of their compactness and excellent radiation characteristics.

Remote Detection of Electronic Devices

TBMG-285593/1/2018

Non-Linear Junction Detection is a well-known technique for detecting electronics that utilize semiconductor (solid-state) junctions. The current state of the art for finding hidden electronics — such as electronic eavesdropping devices — using this technology has a maximum range of about 2 m, and more typically between 6 and 12”.

Laser Direct Structuring for Sensor Manufacturing

TBMG-283622/1/2018

Every day the world’s leading medical device companies rely upon laser direct structuring (LDS) to meet their most demanding design and performance requirements. Millions of electronic components with complex geometries are cost-effectively manufactured each year through the use of LDS to create circuit traces on three-dimensional molded interconnect devices (3D-MID).

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