Università Roma Tre

Module 1: OVERVIEW OF CELLULAR SYSTEMS AND ANTENNA CONCEPTS
o Introduction to cellular communication systems (from first-generation to 5G and 6G systems).
o Basic concepts of electromagnetic radiation (free-space Green’s function, Hertzian dipole, near-field and far-field).
o Fundamental antenna concepts: a historical perspective, types of antennas, radiation mechanisms, current distribution on linear antennas.
o Electrical and radiative properties of antennas: radiation intensity, radiated power, directivity, efficiency, gain, beamwidth, polarization, input impedance, bandwidth, effective length, and effective area.
o Friis transmission formula.
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Module 2: ANTENNAS FOR BASE STATIONS
o Introduction to challenges in base station antenna design.
o Overview of transmitting antennas. Omnidirectional antennas. Thin and thick dipole antennas. Electrical and radiative properties of dipole antennas. Broadband dipoles. Directive antennas. Image principle and use of reflectors. Dipole antennas with reflector.
o Antenna arrays: uniform antenna arrays for base station panels. Analysis and synthesis methods for the single antenna element of a base panel. Design examples of omnidirectional and directive dipole antennas for GSM 900/1800 and UMTS.
o Space diversity and polarization diversity. Beamforming networks for antenna arrays. Mechanical and electrical tilt of antennas. Smart and adaptive antennas.
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Module 3: ANTENNAS FOR MOBILE TERMINALS
o Introduction to challenges in mobile terminal antenna design.
o Overview of antennas for mobile terminals.
o Microstrip antennas: basic concepts. Electrical and radiative properties of microstrip antennas. Analysis of microstrip antennas using the transmission line model. Design techniques for microstrip antennas operating in linear, dual-linear, and circular polarization.
o Examples of microstrip antennas for GSM 900/1800 and UMTS. Examples of microstrip antennas for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Examples of microstrip antenna panels used as indoor UMTS base stations and antennas for Wi-Fi access points.
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Module 4: ANTENNA ANALYSIS, DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS (LAB)
o Use of software simulators for the analysis of antennas for base stations and mobile terminals. Computer-aided design of antenna arrays. Antenna measurement and reverse engineering.
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Module 5: ADVANCED ANTENNA CONCEPTS FOR MOBILE SYSTEMS
o Beam steering and reconfigurable antennas.
o Metasurfaces and Vortex theory, and their potential in mobile systems.

Teaching material prepared by the professor.