In this paper, we analyze high-Tc superconducting (HTS) microstrip antenna (MSA) using modified spectral domain moment method. Although it is assumed that the patch and the ground plane of the MSA are perfect electric conductors (PECs) in the conventional spectral domain method, we modify this method to compute the conduction loss of the HTS-MSA. In our analysis, the effect of the HTS film is introduced by the surface impedance which we can estimate by using the three fluid model and experimental results. This paper presents numerical results about the HTS-MSA, for example, the relations between the thickness of the substrate and the radiation efficiency, the temperature and the resonant frequency, and so forth. And we discuss the effective power range where the performance of the HTS-MSA is superior to that of the Cu-MSA.

A new superresolution technique is proposed for antenna pattern measurements. Unwanted reflected signals often impinge on the antenna when we measure it outdoors. A time-domain superresolution technique (a MUSIC algorithm) has been proposed to eliminate the unwanted signal for a narrow pass-band antenna. The MUSIC algorithm needs many snapshots to obtain a correlation matrix. This is not preferable for antenna pattern measurements because it takes a long time to obtain the data. In this paper, we propose to reduce a noise component (stochastic quantity) using the FFT and gating techniques before we apply the MUSIC. The new technique needs a few snapshots and saves the measurement time.

A theoretical and experimental study of a thin card-sized antenna is presented. The method of moment with a wire-grid model is used to analyze this antenna. In order to validate numerical efficiency, measurements using Wheeler method are preformed on this antenna and its wire-grid models. The experimental and theoretical results are in good agreement if the wire conductivity is well chosen. And the noise reduction of measured Wheeler efficiency using least mean square method is also examined.

This paper discusses a method to evaluate mutual couplings of cavity-backed slot antennas using the FDTD technique. The antenna fed by the short-ended probe is considered, which is investigated as an element of the power transmission antenna, Spacetenna, for the solar power satellite SPS2000. It is found from the FDTD computation on E-plane two- and four-element array antennas that the size of the problem space should be larger for the evaluation of the mutual coupling than for the estimation of the input impedance. Since enlarging the size of the problem space requires a large amount of computer storage, it is not practical for computer simulations. In order to carry out accurate estimations of the mutual coupling with relatively small amount of computer memory, the problem space is extended only in the broadside of the array antenna and in the other directions there are ten cells between the antenna surface and the outer boundary. Computer simulations demonstrate that there are no differences between the results of the proposed problem space geometry and the problem space extended in each direction of the axis coordinate by the same number of cells. Furthermore comparisons of computed and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach after discussing how large the size of the problem space is required to estimate the mutual coupling.

Multipath fading is often serious in radio communications. It is possible to reduce the multipath fading by using an LMS adaptive array. This letter describes the behaviors of the LMS adaptive array in the presence of correlated multipath signals.

In this paper, performance degradation of satellite broadcasting receiving antenna systems due to weather conditions is examined by measuring their G/T continuously. We show that an offset parabolic reflector antenna of smaller aperture tends to be less affected by weather conditions.

A color subcarrier in a television (TV) signal via a broadcasting satellite is expected to be an effective medium for future frequency dissemination. The difficulty inherent in use of the broadcasting satellite is the Doppler shift due to the drift around the geostationary orbit. Therefore, it is important to measure the Doppler frequency shift of the color subcarrier precisely and to establish a technique which cancels out the effect. The Doppler frequency shift measurements were carried out by using a Medium-Scale Broadcasting Satellite for Experimental Purposes (Yuri). This paper reports the results observed at Sapporo. The important results are as follows. The Doppler shift amounts to about 1108 in the worst case. However, when the transmitted frequency is controlled at the Kashima transmitting station, the Doppler shift may be canceled out to within a few parts in 1010 at Sapporo. Furthermore, it is expected that we may usually obtain the standard frequency with an accuracy of the order of 1012 if the Doppler shift compensation is employed at both transmitting and receiving points. These results are important when we construct a nationwide frequency dissemination system using a broadcasting satellite.

Recently, a lot of UWB antennas have been reported by many research groups. Most of the reported antennas have omnidirectional radiation characteristics. The disadvantage of using omnidirectional antennas is that the antenna performance can be degraded by adjacent walls or metals. If unidirectional UWB antennas are utilized, the degradation on the antenna performance due to omnidirectionality can be avoided. Another important topic in UWB antennas is the waveform distortion caused by antennas' transmission characteristics. In impulse-based UWB communications, waveform distortions of transmitted and received pulses caused by antennas deteriorate the communication performance. Therefore, the development of UWB antennas having small waveform distortions is highly desirable. In this paper, we propose a novel bowtie antenna using leaf-shaped radiating elements and a flat reflector. This antenna has unidirectional radiation patterns over the frequency range of 3.0 to 10.5 GHz. The actual gain in the maximum radiation direction is 6.0-9.0 dBi in the frequency range of 4.5-9.4 GHz (relative bandwidth of 71%). The cross-correlations between source pulse and received pulse waveforms are 0.89-0.94, and hence the waveform distortion caused by this antenna is relatively small. As a result, the proposed antenna is useful for impulse-based UWB communication systems using correlation detection.

Analyzing multipath propagation structure is important to develop anti-fading techniques for high-speed digital radio systems. Several techniques have been employed to measure delay profiles and/or arrival angles. This paper presents a simultaneous estimation method of delay times and arrival angles of indoor multipath waves. We obtain frequency-domain data at different receiving antenna positions using a network analyzer. We estimate the propagation parameters by means of a two-dimensional MUSIC algorithm. In order to obtain reliable results, a two-dimensional discrete inverse Fourier transform and a gating technique are employed before the MUSIC algorithm. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method can estimate the propagation parameters properly.

High-speed digital land mobile communications suffer from frequency-selective fading due to a long delay difference. Several techniques have been proposed to overcome the multipath propagation problem. Among them, an adaptive array antenna is suitable for very high-speed transmission because it can suppress the multipath signal of a long delay difference significantly. This paper describes the LMS adaptive array antenna for frequency-selective fading reduction and a new diversity technique. First, we propose a method to generate a reference signal in the LMS adaptive array. At the beginning of communication, we use training codes for the reference signal, which are known at a receiver. After the training period, we use detected codes for the reference signal. We can generate the reference signal modulating a carrier at the receiver by those codes. The carrier is oscillated independently of the incident signal. Then, the carrier frequency of the reference signal is in general different from that of the incident signal. However, the LMS adaptive array works in such a way that the carrier frequency of the array output coincides with that of the reference signal. Namely, the frequency difference does not affect the performance of the LMS adaptive array. Computer simulations show the proper behavior of the LMS adaptive array with the above reference signal generator. Moreover, we present a new multipath diversity technique using the LMS adaptive array. The LMS adaptive array reduces the frequency-selective fading by suppressing the multipath components. This means that the transmitted power is not used sufficiently. We propose a multiple beam antenna with the LMS adaptive array. Each antenna pattern receives one of the multipath components, and we combine them adjusting the timing. Then, we realize the multipath diversity. In addition to the multipath fading reduction, we can improve a signal-to-noise ratio by the diversity technique.

An image NRD guide-fed dielectric rod antenna, which is suitable for use at millimeter-wave frequencies, is presented in this paper. The antenna is composed of a linearly tapered dielectric rod connected to the image NRD guide. First, radiation characteristics of the dielectric rod antenna directly protruded from the end of the image NRD guide are investigated by FDTD analysis and measurements at 30 GHz band. For this case, the degradation of the radiation pattern and the decrease of the gain, which are due to the strong radiation from the guide-to-antenna discontinuity, are observed. In order to minimize this radiation and to realize reasonable radiation characteristics, a transition from the image NRD guide-to-rod antenna is proposed. A simple procedure to determine the optimum dimensions of the transition is described. This procedure is based on parametric study of the transition's dimensions, and is performed using FDTD analysis. Based on the results, the dielectric rod antenna having a length of 10 λ0 is designed, and its performance is analyzed and measured. The results show that radiation patterns with the half power beamwidth of 22, sidelobe level of -21 dB and reasonable gain of 18.5 dBi can be realized by employing the transition having the optimum dimensions.

Weather conditions affect the performance of satellite broadcasting receiving systems. For example, snow accretion on antennas degrades G/T seriously because it reduces received signal power and also can increase antenna noise. We need a continuous measurement of G/T to evaluate the effect of the weather conditions to the satellite broadcasting receiving systems. However, a conventional method cannot perform the continuous measurement because the antenna under test must be oriented in a specific direction (to the zenith) to obtain a noise level in a satellite broadcasting channel. This paper presents the continuous measurement of G/T for the satellite broadcasting receiving systems. We describe details of the measurement method. In our measurement system, a standard antenna is placed at the inside of a room in order to prevent the weather conditions from affecting the gain of the standard antenna. The power flux density at the inside of the room is different from that at the outside where the antennas under test are placed. Employing the effective gain of the standard antenna, we take the difference of the power flux density into account. Moreover, we propose a method to estimate the noise level in the satellite broadcasting channel from the values at the outside of the channel, and clarify the accuracy of the noise estimation. Then, we show measurement results of the G/T values for several receiving systems. From these results, we show that the G/T measurement system has high precision. Also, from the specifications of the antenna gain and typical values of the noise figure, it is expected that the measurement system has a sufficient accuracy.

In this paper, the characteristics of the card-sized paging antenna composed of plates and wires are estimated in view of its efficiency. To analyze this type of antennas using the reaction matching technique for the wire antenna, we approximate the plate parts to the wire grids. In the analysis of the antenna with a complex configuration, the numerical input impedance by the usual reaction technique assumed the local symmetry in calculating one mutual impedance, is sometimes incorrect. Therefore, we carry out the reaction matching on the condition that the dipoles are placed at their own positions throughout calculating the mutual impedances. In modeling the plate with a wire-grid, we estimate the loss effect of the plate parts by introducing the equivalent radius. Furthermore, we examine the validity of the wire-grid model for the card-sized antenna. And, we estimate the radiation efficiency as a function of the gap distance of the plates, and discuss the polarization matching and the impedance matching of the thin paging antenna, in view of the total efficiency.

It is well known that weather conditions affect the performance of satellite broadcasting receiving systems. For example, snow accretion on antennas degrades the receiving performance seriously because it reduces received signal power and also can increase antenna noise. Since effects of the weather are considered to differ for various types of receiving antenna, an investigation on this phenomenon is very important. A study on weather effects to three types of satellite broadcasting receiving antenna, a planar antenna, a center-fed parabolic reflector antenna, and an offset parabolic reflector antenna, is presented in this paper. Since the performance of receiving antennas can be determined by a parameter G/T, a long-term and continuous measurement of G/T must be performed. Furthermore, the measurement of more than one receiving system should be performed simultaneously. Also, the measurement should be performed in a snowy area (in winter) and a rainy area (in the other seasons) to evaluate the effect of the weather. To fulfil the criterion, a continuous measurement system of G/T has been built in Hokkaido University, Sapporo. Sapporo, which is located at latitude 42 degrees north, has a long and snowy winter, and also has rainy days in the other seasons so that we can evaluate the effect of weather. Using this measurement system, cumulative distributions of measurement results are obtained so that the performance of different types of receiving system can be evaluated. In this paper, some considerations on the noise level are also discussed briefly to evaluate the performance degradation of the receiving systems.

The efficient use of frequency spectrum is one of the most important problems in mobile radio communication systems. In a small zone system (the so-called cellular system), the algorithm used to make the channel assignment for a call has a great effect on system performance (traffic characteristics). This paper presents the relationships between the traffic-carrying capacity and the graph which represents the relation among a zone and its buffer zones in the system. Furthermore, using these relationships, an algorithm for the dynamic frequency (channel) assignment which has all channel available at all base stations is proposed. The performance characteristics of this algorithm obtained from computer simulations are also presented. The computer simulation treats the two examples (systems), one is the system in which the mobile units does not cross a zone boundary during a communication (the zone size is sufficiently large and the probability of the occurrence can be neglected.), the other is the system in which the mobile unit may cross a zone boundary during a communication. The results from these simulations show that the algorithm carries more traffic per channel at a given blocking rate than the RING method.

The effects of mode coupling in multimode fibers have been reported using coupled power equations of power flow equations, and the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results provides further evidence that the power flow equation is a useful description of the power distribution in a multimode optical fiber. This paper develops a simple formalism to analyze power flow equations with the help of a variational principle. The results can treat not only any mode coupling mechanism involving the previous works and the experimental results but also any input modal distribution, and the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results shows the validity of our theory. As an example of applications, mode coupling due to random bends of the fiber axis is studied in detail, and the mode coupling-induced losses and the steady-state pulse width are calculated.

As previously reported, we derived the matrix equation which describes mode-coupling phenomena in multimode optical fibers. This paper examines the accuracy of its numerical solution because we contrived this equation as a numerical method.

A superresolution technique is considered for use in antenna gain measurements. A modification of the MUSIC algorithm is employed to resolve incident signals separately in the time domain. The modification involves preprocessing the received data using a spatial scheme prior to applying the MUSIC algorithm. Interference rejection in the antenna measurements using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) based techniques have been realized by a recently developed vector network analyzer, and its availability has been reported in the literature. However, response resolution in the time domain of these conventional techniques is limited by the antenna bandwidth. The MUSIC algorithm has the advantage of being able to eliminate unwanted responses when performing antenna measurements in situations where the antenna band-width is too narrow to support FFT based techniques. In this paper, experimental results of antenna gain measurements in a multipath environment show the accuracy and resolving power of this technique.