SBIR Phase I: Multifunctional Reconfigurable Antenna Development for 5G Small Cells

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is its capability to create a positive impact for every wireless system. This project concentrates on the antenna element along with control algorithms and targets commercial wireless communication applications, i.e., 5G cellular small cells. As any wireless platform uses an antenna, an advancement accomplished for this element will create a positive impact for every wireless system. For example, the tactical military antennas must not only have reduced size, signature and cost, but must also ensure that maximum efficiency, dynamic mutual coupling tolerance and coverage area are achievable at all times, for any frequency and in any kind of environment. The proposed multifunctional reconfigurable antenna (MRA) technology with dynamically changeable properties is ideal for military and commercial antenna applications. Society will benefit from the increased array of applications of wireless networks driven by the proposed innovative design principles and MRA technologies. This project also has a strong educational component and will provide excellent opportunities to train students at undergraduate and graduate levels in interdisciplinary fields that combine wireless communication theory, antenna design, and fabrication technologies. If successful, this project will significantly enhance accessing the wireless spectrum. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project targets to revolutionize the way wireless communication is performed by developing a new class of antenna technology called multifunctional reconfigurable antenna (MRA). The frequency band, radiation pattern and polarization properties of an antenna directly impact the coverage, capacity, and quality of service achieved by wireless networks. Particularly, 5G and beyond wireless systems must employ multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology to attain improved spectral efficiency, advanced interference management capability, higher network capacities and energy efficiencies with reduced cost, size and weight. However, achievement of this represents a significant challenge particularly if the MIMO systems use legacy antenna technology, which has not seen much change since the invention of antennas more than 100 years ago. The intelligence of these systems is limited to adaptive signal processing, which are optimized in isolation independent from antenna properties that are assumed fixed. The proposed MRA technology enables a single antenna element to dynamically change its properties, thereby the joint optimization of all system parameters (environment, EM wave properties, and communication algorithms). Success on this frontier has the potential to revolutionize the antenna systems in terms of agility, performance, power consumption, cost, and size.