Dr. Martinez-Vazquez of IMST GmbH, Germany

The demand for ubiquitous connectivity in data-intensive applications calls for a more efficient use of the radio spectrum, and for the extension of current systems towards additional frequency bands above 6 GHz, in the (sub-)millimetre-wave region and beyond. To accommodate all the range of devices and applications, from low power, low data rate sensors up to ultra-high data rate multimedia, new strategies have to be developed and implemented for the air interface. Costs and sustainability will also be capital for the development of 5G technologies and beyond, with focus on reducing power consumption and operational costs. The use of the bands above 6 GHz relies strongly on new advanced antenna technologies and call for a change of paradigm in the way antenna front-ends are designed. Mm-wave antennas need to feature a large degree of reconfigurability and involve a significant number of radiating elements arranged in large arrays. Signal processing aspects should be included in the whole RF frontend design. Indeed, advanced RF-switching, beamforming and beamsteering algorithms, as well as advanced Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) strategies will have to be developed to overcome the challenging propagation scenarios in the mmW region, increase efficiency, and allow for higher data rates, while still providing reasonable coverage. Large, complex antenna arrays will be required, which feature large number of elements and multiple configurations. This may be an important limiting factor in the deployment of future frontends. Component size, power efficiency and thermal management are some of the bottlenecks for the design of phased arrays for future communications systems. This webinar gives an overview of these challenges and the potential solutions.

Biography:

Marta Martínez-Vázquez obtained her MSc. (1997) and PhD. (2003) in Telecommunication Engineering from the U.P. Valencia. Since 2000 she has worked as senior engineer and project manager in the IMST Antennas and EM Modelling department. She has been the chair of the COST IC1102 Action “Versatile, Integrated and Signal-aware Technologies for Antennas” (VISTA) and the vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the European Association of Antennas and Propagation (EurAAP). Her research interests include the design and applications of antennas for mobile devices, planar arrays, radar sensors, and RF systems.