Non-standard Antennas

Introduction ¹

 

 

 

Antennas technologies and concepts are moving forward rapidly, in relation to different factors:

– evolution of primary technologies, such as metamaterials, or MMIC;

– continuous evolution of signal processing, both in terms of algorithms and computing power, opening the way to the implementation of new sensor concepts, or to smart exploitation of low-cost sensors (deformable antennas, for instance);

– evolution of requirements and applications, i.e. with the advent of multifunction antennas, terahertz antennas, or satellite reception on the move.

In order to review and discuss those recent advances, a workshop was organized in January 2009 by SEE and Groupement de Recherche “Ondes” (Research Group “Waves”) from CNRS, in France. This book, prepared after these exchanges, surveys the areas of new concepts and systems, emerging technologies, applications and processing techniques for detection and localization, and ultra-wideband systems. Though obviously not exhaustive, this review deals with most of the current problematics in this lively technical and scientific domain, at the core of future sensor design.

This wide field of activity will be explored here from four different perspectives, which have been organized into separate parts. Though somewhat arbitrary, this variety of view points will hopefully provide a global insight in the essential issues and advances, with the following chapters:

Part 1. Emerging Concepts: different transmit/receive architectures ...