Invited Speaker 1
Base station antennas for the 5G mobile system
by Prof. Yoshihide Yamada, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology
Now, the next generation mobile system (5G mobile) is developing for the standardization at 2020. As for radio wave technologies, the millimetre frequency band and a very small radio cell of 200 meter radius are remarkable. For increasing user capacity, base station should have many radio wave beams and one beam is assigned for one user so that trace user movements. So, base station antennas are requesting to achieve many beams. Because an antenna size becomes small at the millimetre frequency band, many types of antennas such as array, reflector or dielectric lens antenna can become candidates.
In the lecture, antenna structures, design methods and electrical performances are explained. As for array antennas, to achieve many beams is quite different from the present single beam array antenna. Some methods of achieving many beams (multi beam) and examples of designing are shown. As for reflector and lens antennas, many feed elements are arranged to achieve many beams. The main subjects become designing of reflector and lens shapes and feed positions for excellent multi beam radiation patterns. Shaping methods and radiation characteristics will be explained.
About the speaker:
Yoshihide Yamada received the B.E. and M.E. degrees on electronics from Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan in 1971and 1973, respectively. And he received the D.E. degree on electrical engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan in 1989. In 1973, he joined the Electrical Communication Laboratories of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). Till 1984, he was engaged in research and development of reflector antennas for terrestrial and satellite communications. From 1985, he engaged in R&D of base station antennas for mobile radio systems. In 1993, he moved to NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (NTT DoCoMo). In 1995, he was temporarily transferred to YRP Mobile Telecommunications Key Technology Research Laboratories Co., Ltd. At the same time, he was a guest professor of the cooperative research center of Niigata University, and a lecturer of Science University of Tokyo, both from 1996 to 1997. In 1998, he changed his occupation to a professor of National Defense Academy, Kanagawa, Japan. In 2014, he had started working as a professor at Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Now, he is interested in very small antennas, array antennas, aperture antennas and electromagnetic simulation of radar cross section. He received the best paper award and the best tutorial paper award from IEICE in 2013 and 2014, respectively. He is a Fellow member of the IEICE and is a senior member of IEEE AP society. He is also a member of the ACES.
Invited Speaker 2
Wideband Multi-Beam Electronically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (MB-ESPAR) for 5G Applications
by Dr. Tarik Abdul Latef, University of Malaya
This paper presents the design of multibeam-electronically steerable parasitic array radiator (MB-ESPAR) as a new multibeam antenna (MBA) for future 5G wireless communication applications. It is a 3-element switched beam array where switching has been implemented by PIN-diodes. Enhancement of impedance bandwidth has been achieved by employing dielectric resonator on top of patch resonator as a compact constituent radiating element of the ESPAR array designed at 15 GHz. The achieved impedance bandwidth is more than 24% which is the widest in comparison to DR based ESPARs in the literature. The antenna achieves main beam radiation angle of with maximum gain of 8.26 dBi. Over conventional MBAs, MB-ESPAR offers advantages of small size, low cost, low complexity, wider bandwidth and high gain/radiation efficiency and is deemed quite useful for modern/future communication systems.
About the speaker:
Tarik Abdul Latef received his B.Eng. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Oita University, Japan in 1997, M.Eng. in RF and Wireless Communication from Leeds University, United Kingdom in 2005 and Ph.D. from University of Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2011. He is a Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya. His research interests are Circularly Polarized Antenna as well as Multibeam Array Antenna (Phased Array and ESPAR).
Invited Speaker 3
Compact Z-Slotted Patch Antenna for UHF Metal-Mountable Tag
By Dr. Eng-Hock Lim, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
In recent years, applications of UHF RFID tagging systems (860 MHz-960 MHz) have been growing rapidly in many sectors such as retail, logistics, transportation, and tracking management. Passive UHF tag, which is a transponder composed of a microchip and a microwave antenna, is able to provide long read range at low cost. However, mounting a UHF tag antenna on metal is challenging as its radiation performance can deteriorate significantly. When a tag antenna is placed in the vicinity of a conductive surface, the radiated fields of the image current and the antenna itself cancel out each other, resulting in poor radiation efficiency. In this talk, the design tradeoffs of the metal-mountable UHF tag antenna will be discussed. Folding techniques will be introduced for designing various flexible tag antennas using the soft PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrate. It will be shown that tag miniaturization can be achieved by shorting the patch to the ground. A narrow Z-shaped slot is also introduced for frequency tuning purpose. It will be shown that designing a UHF tag antenna usually requires strenuous effort to make tradeoffs between radiation efficiency, impedance bandwidth, and circuit size.
About the speaker:
Eng-Hock Lim was born in Selangor, Malaysia. He received his B. Sc. (electrical engineering) from National Taiwan Ocean University, M. Eng. (electrical and electronic engineering) from Nanyang Technological University, and Ph.D. (electronic engineering) from City University of Hong Kong. He served as the Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions of Antennas and Propagation from 2013 to 2016. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. He is also the Chairperson of the Center for Communication Systems and Networks. His current research interests include RFID tag antennas, reflectarray/transmitarray, and multifunctional antennas.
Invited Speaker 4
A Sustainable and Fast Approach to Filter Design for 5G Implementation
by Associate Professor Dr Wong Peng Wen, Universiti Technologi Petronas
The shift of spectrum to mm-wave for 5G implementation has caused a significant impact onto the filter industry in terms of design techniques, prototyping and manufacturing capabilities. As such a cost effective and sustainable approach has to be developed in order to accommodate the need of various form factor and flexibility of filter design and implementation. This talk will focus on the design and development of 5G filter based on novel chain-function polynomial. The fast and high tolerance properties of the design will enable the industry to move forward in meeting the demands for 5G implementation.
About the speaker:
Peng Wen Wong (M’05 – SM’17) graduated from University of Leeds in 2005 with BEng ( 1st Class Hons.) degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He received Switched Reluctance Drive Award in EE Engineering. He did his PhD study in University of Leeds, UK from 2007-2009 fully funded by UK Ministry of Defense under DTC program . During his PhD, he was involved in UK DTI funded project, developing process design kits for multilayer system-in-package modules. Currently he works as Associate Professor in Universiti Teknologi Petronas and received outstanding researcher award in 2013, publication award in 2014 and Potential Academy Award of the Year in 2015. His research interests include reconfigurable filter, lossy filter design, millimeter-wave waveguide filter and passive filter miniaturization techniques. He has secured various research grants from government and industries since 2008 and published more than 80 papers including an article in IEEE microwave magazine. He serves as reviewer for IEEE Transaction on Microwave Theory and Technique, IEEE Wireless & Component Letter, IET Antenna & Propagation and PIERS. He was the former chair of IEEE ED/MTT/SSC Penang Chapter (2016 -2017) and founding chair of IEEE International Microwave, Electron Devices and Solid-State Symposium IMESS 2016. Dr. Wong has served as invited speakers locally and internationally including APMC 2017 and keynote speaker at ICCSP2017. He is currently the advisor of IEEE Penang Joint Chapter and served as technical chair in IMESS 2017 and 2018. He is also the Associate fellow of AAET.
Invited Speaker 5
Milmeter-Wave Beamforming MIMO Antenna Design for 5G Wireless Communication
by Associate Professor Dr Muzammil Jusoh, Universiti Malaysia Perlis
The design of beam steerable multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna design is proposed for 5G wireless communication systems operated at 38 GHz frequency. In this research, the proposed antenna is constructed from a single driven element that fed by coaxial probe, while four parasitic elements surrounded the driven element with shorting pin integration embedded inside the substrate which represent by a copper strip material. Based on a Yagi-Uda patch antenna concept, the four parasitic elements act either as reflector or director depending on the shorting pin arrangement. By adjusting the status of shorting pin location either ON or OFF mode simultaneously on the parasitic elements, the radiation pattern can be varied, thus achieving the radiation configurability. This shorting pin could lead to the electrical dimensional changes of the antenna that control the performance in terms of beam steering and return loss. By managing the ON and OFF state condition of the integrated shorting pin, nine beam steering angles can be achieved. The presented Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna comprises two identical patch elements with D separation distance on the same substrate. The significant parameters performance such as mutual coupling and correlation coefficient are been observed. Both antenna designed and simulated using CST Studio Suite operated within 37 to 39 GHz resonant frequency. The 2×2 MIMO antenna provides the most optimum results with bandwidth impedance of 1.783 GHz (4.7%) and achieve the reflection coefficient of -20 dB at 38 GHz application. The efficiency of the presented antenna has successfully achieved more than 80% with high gain of more than 7dBi. The proposed antenna is a potential candidate in point-to-point wireless base station terminal applications.
About the speaker:
Muzammil Jusoh is currently working with Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) as an Associates Professor and researcher based in School of Computer and Communication Engineering (SCCE). Experienced as RF and Microwave Engineer for Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) Company from 2006-2009 which used to be an engineer (team leader) of Specialized Network Services (SNS) Department based in TM Senai Johor. Do preventive and corrective maintainance of ILS, NDB, DVOR, repeater, microwave system, VHF and UHF based on contract wise; Department Civil Aviation (DCA), TUDM, PDRM, ATM, Tanjong Pelepas Port (PTP), MCMC and JPS (Hidrologi Dept.). He has received PhD in Communication Engineering from UniMAP in 2013. While received MsC. (2010) in Electronic Telecommunication Engineering and Bachelor Degree (2006) in Electrical-Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He holds an H-Index of 13 (SCOPUS) and has published over 132 technical papers in journals and proceedings including the IEEE Access, IEEE Antenna and Wireless Propagation Letter (AWPL), Microwave and Optical Technology Letter (MOTL), International Journal on Antenna and Propagation (IJAP), Progress in Electromagnetics Research (PIER) and Radio Engineering Journal and more than 50 conference papers. His research interests include antenna design, reconfigurable beam steering antenna, wearable antenna, MIMO, UWB, wireless on-body communications, in-body communications (implantable antenna), wireless power transfer, RF and microwave communication system. Currently, supervising a number of PhD and MsC students and also managing few grants under Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. Moreover, Dr Muzammil is an IEEE Member (MIEEE), a Member of IET (MIET) and has received his Chartered Engineering on July 2017.
Invited Speaker 6
Channel Capacity Enhancement using MIMO Antenna
by Dr. Rohani Bakar, Yokohama National University
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is developed as a system that is capable to deliver larger capacity content in wireless communication systems hence many researches reflecting on that purpose. MIMO antenna utilizes parameters such as polarization, radiation pattern and array configuration in order to improve the capacity. This paper presents a discussion on channel capacity improvement utilizing polarization diversity technique with directional beam antenna. Three different antennas that share the same MIMO characteristics are introduced where not only simulation results, proper channel propagation measurement also are presented as a validation to real indoor communication environment.
About the speaker:
Rohani Bakar was born in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. She received the B.E. degree in Communication and Computer from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bandar Baru Bangi in 2004, and the M.S. degree in Telecommunication and Information Engineering from Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shan Alam in 2012, and Dr. Eng. Degree in Physics, Electrical and Computer from Yokohama National University, Yokohama in 2016. From 2004 to 2012, she was with Hitachi Electronics and Products, Malaysia, as an Engineer in Quality Analysis and Control for Hitachi Media Electronic Japan. Since 2016, she has been an Assistant Professor with the Division of Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, YNU. Her current research interests include MIMO antenna system, array antenna design, channel capacity, small base station antenna, and characteristic mode analysis.
Invited Speaker 7
Flexible Antenna with High Impedance Surface Based on Polydimethylsiloxane Substrate for WBAN Applications
by Dr. Samsul Haimi Dahlan, Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia
The study of flexible dielectric material as substrate has been increasingly considered in the recent years. The desirable substrate for wireless body area network (WBAN) application should be flexible, waterproof, stretchable, withstand against harsh environment and under bad weather condition. Based on this features, textile materials are not suitable for the design of WBAN applications especially when antenna tends to operates either in harsh environment or under bad weather condition. Therefore, an alternative flexible substrate that can comply with aforementioned features is considered and in this case a polymer known as the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Based on PDMS substrate, an antenna integrated with high impedance surface (HIS) is designed and studied for WBAN application at 2.4 GHz. The design demonstrates a good performance in term of gain and efficiency which are 6.4 dBi and about 65% respectively. Furthermore, the design has reduced the radiation towards the body by 26 dB. The integrated design is investigated when operates near the human body, as well as the specific absorption rate (SAR) is studied to ensure its safety. This proposed antenna with high impedance surface is considered as an ideal candidate for application of WBAN.
About the speaker:
Samsul Haimi Dahlan received the Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1999, Masters Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2005, and the Ph.D Degree in Signal Processing and Telecommunications from the Universite de Rennes I, France in 2012. In 1999 he joined Intel Test Tooling Operations and involved in the design and development of integrated circuit test socket contactors. From 2001 to 2004, he was with Seagate Malaysia involved in hard disk head electrical test and qualifications. In 2004 he joined Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHM) attached to the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Faculty. He is currently an Associate Professor with the faculty and holds the position as the head of Research Center for Applied Electromagnetic (EMCENTER) since 2015. He is one of the ALUMNI for the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship programme with the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK and holds several intellectual property rights on several innovative products. He has authored and co-authored more than 30 ISI/Scopus journals and over 30 conference papers. His research interests include Optical-Microwave generator, focusing system (dielectric lens and transmit array’s synthesis), advance antenna design, material characterization techniques, and Computational Electromagnetic. He is currently supervising a number of bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D students and involved in several research projects sponsored by the industry and government agencies.
Invited Speaker 8
Implementation Polydimethylsiloxane based Stretchable conductive ink (SCI) for printable-stretchable electronic devices towards a heterogeneous integration system
by Associate Professor Dr. Asrulnizam, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract: Next generation electronics system will be towards a heterogeneous integration between sensing device and micro controller unit (MCU). Demand on robustness and high sensing performance, printable electronic technology becoming an alternative for sensor fabrication method compared to conventional semiconductor processing photolithography technique. Thus in this paper, a development of stretchable conductive ink (SCI) by implementing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a binder mixed with silver nano particle was formulated and characterized. For characterization on feasibility, SCI was tested by printing a simple thermal circuitry system on Teflon poly-urethane (TPU) substrate which SCI function as a circuit trace with a complete surface mounted technology (SMT) hybrid component as shown in Figure 1. SCI was evaluated and characterized in term of conductivity, stretchablity and reliability. This work also proof a heterogeneous integration between rigid SMT components on stretchable substrate. Then, towards a battery less application device, application SCI as a near field communication (NFC) inductor and micro sensor also will be introduced.
About the speaker:
Associate Professor Dr. Asrulnizam bin Abd Manaf received the Bachelor Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan in 2001. Then, he worked as Electrical Engineer at Toyo-Memory Technology Sdn. Bhd at Kulim High Tech Park, MALAYSIA before he further his master degree at Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan. He received Master Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2005. He pursued his Ph.D study in Keio University, Japan in 2006. He received Ph.D in Engineering from Department of Applied Physic and Physico Informatics, School of Fundamental Science and Technology, Keio University Japan in 2009. Since 2009, he joined the school of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia as a senior lecturer. Then, promoted to Associate Professor in 2015. He has graduated 7 Ph.D students and 16 MSc students. Currently, 6 Ph.D students and 2 MSc under supervision. He has authored and co-authored 60 international technical journal or conference papers. He won several innovation award at national and International Invention competition. Currently he has 2 patent filings for DNA sensor and CMOS based tuneable inductor. His current research interest implementation micro 3-dimension fabrication technique for micro fluidic based lab on chip devices, micro fludic based memristor and tuneable inductor, micro fluidic Thermoelectric Generator (mTEG), Graphene-based transistor, and stretchable-printable electronic sensing devices. From 1st January 2016, he appointed as academic staff at Collaborative Microelectronic Design Excellence Center (CEDEC), Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Invited Speaker 9
Hexagonal Array Antenna Design for Wireless Communication Systems
by Dr. Nurul H. Noordin, Universiti Malaysia Pahang
Abstract: This paper presents 6-faceted array of antennas in hexagonal arrangement with 360° azimuthal scanning property. With this property, the main beam directivity gain is maintained and consistent throughout the 360° scanning. The radiation pattern and directivity gain at desired angle are compared with 3 other structures; 2-element triangle; 2-element square and octagonal arrangement. Each of the array structures is simulated with the CST Design Suite. Simulation results show that the proposed hexagonal structure can be steered to a full range or 360° and the main beam directivity throughout the 360° scanning with an average 7.41dB gain and standard deviation of 0.11 which is consistent. The proposed hexagonal arrangement array antenna is fabricated on a FR4 (1.6 mm) substrate with 4.3 permittivity.
About the speaker:
Nurul H. Noordin received the B. Eng and M.Sc. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She later obtained the PhD. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Edinburgh, UK. In 2006, she joined the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, as a lecturer. Her current research interest includes antenna design, electronic system design, adaptive array antenna and engineering education. She is a registered professional engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM).
Invited Speaker 10
Reconfigurable MIMO Antenna for Wireless Communication Based on Arduino Microcontroller
by Dr. Evizal Abdul Kadir, Universitas Islam Riau
Wireless communication is common use on devices to send or exchange information such computer peripheral, mobile device, home appliances, etc. Every device embedded with wireless module and contribute electromagnetic, thus high possibility of occurring interference. One of method how to control interference is by controlling signal to transmit as well as power, thus in this research designed reconfigurable MIMO antenna to control antenna radiation pattern to reduce interference issue in wireless communication. The antenna designed in 2.4 GHz band because most and common use of devices peripheral using unlicensed band as well as for Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). The designed antenna is 4×4 MIMO which operate at 2.4 and 2.6 GHz for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Long Term Evolution (LTE). The system radiation pattern is configured using an Arduino Microcontroller to driven PIN diode to switch he beam. Simulations and measurements are in good agreement with the configuration of the single antenna and 2×2 and 4×4 MIMO. The antenna is operational between 2.387 and 2.628 GHz, whereas the simulated and measured reflection coefficients are obtaining at least -24.3 dB. The MIMO antenna designed to improve data communication, especially in mobile communication systems.
About the speaker:
Evizal Abdul Kadir received his Master of Engineering (M.Eng) and PhD in Wireless Communication at Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2008 and 2014 respectively. He is currently as Lecturer and researcher in Universitas Islam Riau (UIR) Indonesia. He has been worked in several companies that provide system solution in Wireless Communication and Radio Frequency (RF) as well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), currently is continuing his research activity related to the Wireless Communication System, Antenna, Remote Sensing, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and Wireless and Mobile Monitoring System
Invited Speaker 11
Implementation of Remote Antenna Unit and Outdoor/Indoor Unit (ODU/IDU) for Multi-Service Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) System
by Dr Siti Maisurah Mohd Hassan, TM R&D Sdn Bhd
This paper presents the implementation of remote antenna unit (RAU) and outdoor/Indoor Unit (ODU/IDU) for multi-service radio-over-fiber System. The development work involves selection of frequency band, defining the RoF system specification, link budget analysis, RAU and ODU/IDU transceiver design and measurement of the complete downlink and uplink transmission system. Band 5 LTE signal source is used to carry high-definition video for the downlink and uplink transmission which propagates at LMCS frequency band. Experimental results show that the video transmission is able to achieve an EVM as low as 3% for 1080p video sample.
About the speaker:
Siti Maisurah binti Mohd Hassan received the B.Eng.(Hons.) degree in electronics with a major in telecommunications and the M.Eng.Sc. degree from Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia, in 2003 and 2009, respectively. She obtained her Ph.D. degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2017. She is currently a Researcher with the Connected Mobility Laboratory, Telekom Research & Development Sdn. Bhd., Cyberjaya. Her current research interests include RF and millimeter-wave circuit design, radio-over-fiber and 5G system integration.