Class-E, Active Electrically-Small Antenna for High-Power Wideband Transmission at the High-Frequency (HF) Band

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Strachen, Nathan, Booske, John H., Behdad, Nader
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916193226457088
author Strachen, Nathan
Booske, John H.
Behdad, Nader
author_facet Strachen, Nathan
Booske, John H.
Behdad, Nader
contents Antennas operating at the high-frequency (HF) band (3-30 MHz) are frequently electrically small due to the large wavelength of electromagnetic waves (10-100 m). However, the bandwidth-efficiency products of passively matched electrically small antennas (ESAs) are fundamentally limited. Wideband HF waveforms using bandwidths of 24 kHz or more have recently received significant attention in military communications applications. Efficiently radiating such signals from conventional passive ESAs is very challenging due to fundamental physical limits on bandwidth-efficiency products of ESAs. However, active antennas are not subject to the same constraints. In this work, we present the design and experimental characterization of a high-power, active ESA with enhanced bandwidth-efficiency product compared to {that of} passively matched ESAs. Specifically, the proposed active ESA can radiate wideband HF signals with banwidths of 24 kHz or more, with total efficiencies up to 80$\%$, and radiated power levels approaching 100 W. Our approach uses a highly-efficient, integrated class-E switching circuit specifically designed to drive an electrically small, high-Q HF antenna over a bandwidth exceeding 24 kHz. Using a high-Q RLC antenna model, we have successfully demonstrated wideband binary ASK, PSK, and FSK modulations with the proposed class-E switching architecture. Experimental results indicate that the bandwidth-efficiency product of this class-E active antenna is 5.4-9.8 dB higher than that of an equivalent passive design with the same data rate, and bit-error-rate (BER).
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_03468
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Class-E, Active Electrically-Small Antenna for High-Power Wideband Transmission at the High-Frequency (HF) Band
Strachen, Nathan
Booske, John H.
Behdad, Nader
Applied Physics
Systems and Control
Signal Processing
Instrumentation and Detectors
Antennas operating at the high-frequency (HF) band (3-30 MHz) are frequently electrically small due to the large wavelength of electromagnetic waves (10-100 m). However, the bandwidth-efficiency products of passively matched electrically small antennas (ESAs) are fundamentally limited. Wideband HF waveforms using bandwidths of 24 kHz or more have recently received significant attention in military communications applications. Efficiently radiating such signals from conventional passive ESAs is very challenging due to fundamental physical limits on bandwidth-efficiency products of ESAs. However, active antennas are not subject to the same constraints. In this work, we present the design and experimental characterization of a high-power, active ESA with enhanced bandwidth-efficiency product compared to {that of} passively matched ESAs. Specifically, the proposed active ESA can radiate wideband HF signals with banwidths of 24 kHz or more, with total efficiencies up to 80$\%$, and radiated power levels approaching 100 W. Our approach uses a highly-efficient, integrated class-E switching circuit specifically designed to drive an electrically small, high-Q HF antenna over a bandwidth exceeding 24 kHz. Using a high-Q RLC antenna model, we have successfully demonstrated wideband binary ASK, PSK, and FSK modulations with the proposed class-E switching architecture. Experimental results indicate that the bandwidth-efficiency product of this class-E active antenna is 5.4-9.8 dB higher than that of an equivalent passive design with the same data rate, and bit-error-rate (BER).
title Class-E, Active Electrically-Small Antenna for High-Power Wideband Transmission at the High-Frequency (HF) Band
topic Applied Physics
Systems and Control
Signal Processing
Instrumentation and Detectors
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.03468