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Utilization of electromagnetic wave (EMW) sensors in an underwater environment has the potential to increase the data rate compared to acoustic-based sensors because of the ability to use larger signal bandwidth. Nevertheless, EMW signals has the drawback of large signal attenuation in underwater, attributed to the high relative permittivity and conductivity of water compared to the atmosphere, hence employment of wide signal bandwidth is necessary to balance the data rate-attenuation trade-off. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of both narrowband and wideband EMW signal propagation underwater and devise a path loss model for both cases.

Path loss measurement was conducted using a point-to-point configuration in a laboratory water tank while transmitting narrowband and wideband signals between a pair of wideband underwater antennas. The wideband underwater antennas use buffer-layer structures as the impedance matching layer to optimize the antenna performance when operating underwater. The path loss for narrowband signal was modeled using a multi-layer propagation equation in lossy medium considering losses at the medium boundaries. For the case of the wideband signal, a modified version of the model introducing power integration over bandwidth is adopted. These models were formulated through numerical simulations and verified by measurements.

The measured narrowband path loss marked an 80 dB attenuation using 800 MHz at 2 m distance. The proposed narrowband model agrees well with the measurements, with approximately 3 dB modeling error. Utilization of the proposed wideband path loss model resulted in a reduction of the gradient of the path loss curve compared to the case of the narrowband signal. The measured wideband path loss at 2 m distance underwater was approximately −65 dB, which has been shown to enable a working signal-to-noise ratio of 15 dB. This proves the potential of realizing high data rate transmission using the wideband signal.

The paper proposed a wideband propagation model for an underwater EMW sensor network, using power integration over bandwidth. The effectiveness of using wideband EMW signals in reducing path loss is highlighted, which is seldom discussed in the literature. This result will be of useful reference for using wideband signals in designing a high data rate transmission system in underwater wireless sensor networks, for example, in link budget, performance estimation and parameter design of suitable transmission scheme.

An online survey was run to investigate the broadband Internet users in Britain. A sample of 1,594 Internet users replied to questions that asked them about their different uses of the Internet and reasons for using this medium. Comparisons were made between respondents (33 per cent) who said they had a high‐speed of “broadband” Internet connection and those (67 per cent) who had a narrowband connection. Broadband users were more likely to be male and older than narrowband users. Broadband respondents were also likely to be more experienced Internet users, having had longer Internet access and being more frequent users. Broadband respondents were more advanced Internet users than narrowband respondents, being more likely to engage in consumer and financial transactions online and to exchange software and files with other users. Evidence emerged among all Internet users in the sample that online behaviour was displacing off‐line media use. Internet users felt that they had reduced the time they spent in reading newspapers and watching television.

Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation for wideband sources has attracted a growing interest in the recent decade because wideband sources are incorporated in many real-world applications such as communication systems, radar, sonar and acoustics. One way to estimate the DOAs of wideband signals is to decompose it into narrowband signals using discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and then apply well-established narrowband algorithms to each signal. Afterwards, results are averaged to yield the final DOAs. These techniques require scanning the full band of wideband sources, ultimately degrading the resolution and increasing complexity. This paper aims to propose a new DOA estimation methodology to solve these problems.

The new DOA estimation methodology is based on incoherent signal subspace method (ISSM). The proposed approach presents a criterion to select a single sub-band of the selected narrowband signals instead of scanning the whole signal spectrum. Then, the DOAs of wideband signals are estimated using the selected sub-band. Therefore, it is named as single sub-band (SSB)-ISSM.

The computational complexity of the proposed method is much lower than that of traditional DFT-based methods. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed methodology are theoretically investigated, and computational complexity is also addressed.

To verify the theoretical analysis, computer simulations are implemented, and comparisons with other algorithms are made. The simulation results show that the proposed method achieves better performance and accurately estimates the DOAs of wideband sources.

Modern wireless communications need novel microwave components that can be effectively used for high data rate and low-power applications. The operating environment decides the severity of the noise coupled to the transceiver system from the ambient environment. In a deep fading environment, narrowband systems fail where the wideband systems come for rescue. Thus, the microwave components are ought to switch between the narrowband and wideband states. This paper aims to study the design of a bandpass filter to meet the requirements by appropriately switching between the dual narrowband frequencies and single ultra-wideband frequency band.

The design and implementation of a compact microwave filter with reconfigurable bandwidth characteristics are presented in this paper. The proposed filter is constructed using a hexagonal ring with shorted perturbation along one corner. The filter is capacitively coupled to the external excitation source. External stubs are connected to the corners of the hexagonal resonator to obtain dual passband characteristics centred at 2.1 and 4.5 GHz. The external stubs are configured to achieve bandwidth reconfigurable characteristics. PIN diodes are used with a suitable biasing network to obtain reconfiguration. In the reconfigured state, the proposed two-port filter offers a continuous bandwidth from 2.1 to 5.9 GHz. The roll-off rate along the band edges is improved by increasing the order of the filter.

The proposed filter operates in two states. In state 1, the filter operates with dual frequencies centred around 2 and 4.5 GHz with insertion loss less than <1 dB and return loss greater than 13 dB with a peak return loss of 21 and 31 dB at 2.1 and 2.15 GHz, respectively. In state 2, the filter operates from 2.1 to 5.9 GHz with insertion loss less than 1 dB and return loss greater than 12 dB. The filter exhibits four-pole characteristics with a peak return loss greater than 22 dB. Thus, the fractional bandwidth of the proposed filter is 17% and 16% in state 1, whereas the fractional bandwidth is 95% in state 2.

The proposed filter is the first of its kind to simultaneously offer miniaturization and bandwidth reconfiguration. The proposed second-order filter has two-pole characteristics in the narrowband state, whereas four-pole characteristics are realized in the wideband state. The growing interest in 4G and 5G wireless communications makes the proposed filter a suitable candidate for operation in the rich scattering environment.

Imaging is a really difficult problem when systems are implemented in the near‐field region and real‐time needs. The purpose of this paper is to consider a novel system model and present a narrowband 2‐D imaging algorithm in the near‐field region and under the real time constraint.

The first part of this paper proposes a novel approximation for the round‐trip distance of the near‐field echoed data based on a 2‐D synthetic aperture planar array. The second part of this work proposes a near‐field narrow imaging algorithm based on the above system model. Narrowband waveforms are employed in the array system, so that the range alignment and decoupling in range‐azimuth are not necessary.

The errors of the proposed approximation are much smaller as compared with those of the Fresnel approximation. For example, the errors of the proposed approximation are negligible when the antenna is fixed at (0, 0). In other cases, the errors are decreased by almost 50 percent. Compared with 2‐D plane array, the synthetic aperture plane of the paper reduces the number of antennas. Finally, numerical simulation results verify the validity of the imaging algorithm.

The near‐field difficulty is solved by the adoption of the proposed approximation. The theoretical analysis and simulation results verify the validity of the imaging algorithm in the near‐field region and under the real time constraint.

In the literature, while designing broadband matching networks, transducer power gain (TPG) is used to measure the transferred power. Generally, in TPG expressions, load and back-end impedances of the matching network are used. This study aims to derive a new quality factor-based TPG expression.

In deriving the new expression, narrowband L type-matching network design approach is used and the new expression in terms of back-end quality factor, load quality factor and output port quality factor is obtained. Then, a broadband-matching network design approach using the derived TPG expression is proposed.

Two broadband double-matching networks are designed by using the proposed design approach using the derived TPG expression. Performances of the designed-matching networks are compared with the performances of the matching networks designed by means of simplified real frequency technique which is a well-known technique in the literature, and it is shown that they are nearly the same.

In broadband-matching problems, generally an impedance-based TPG expression is used, and it must be satisfied by the designed broadband-matching networks. But, in the literature, there is no quality factor-based TPG expression that can be used in broadband-matching problems. So, this gap in the literature has been filled by this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the properties of simplified physical and corresponding numerical human body models (phantoms) and verify their applicability to path loss modeling in narrowband and ultra-wideband on-body wireless body area networks (WBANs). One of the models has been proposed by the authors.

Two simplified numerical and two physical phantoms for body area network on-body channel computer simulation and field measurement results are presented and compared.

Computer simulations and measurements which were carried out for the proposed simplified six-cylinder model with various antenna locations lead to the general conclusion that the proposed phantom can be successfully used for experimental investigation and testing of on-body WBANs both in ISM and UWB IEEE 802.15.6 frequency bands.

Usage of the proposed phantoms for the simulation/measurement of the specific absorption rate and for off-body channels are not within the scope of this paper.

The proposed simplified phantom can be easily made with a low cost in other laboratories and be used both for research and development of WBAN technologies. The model is most suitable for wearable antenna radiation pattern simulation and measurement.

Presented results facilitate applications of WBANs in medicine and health monitoring.

A new six-cylinder phantom has been proposed. The proposed simplified phantom can be easily made with a low cost in other laboratories and be used both for research and development of WBAN technologies.

The paper aims to present the novel design approach for a low power LC-voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO) design with low phase noise that too targeted at the most sought band of Bluetooth applications. Owing to their crucial role in a wide variety of modern applications, VCO and phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizers have been the subject of extensive research in recent years. In fact, VCO is one of the key components being used in a modern PLL to provide local frequency signal since a few decades. The complicated synthesizer requirements imposed by cellular phone applications have been a key driver for PLL research.

This paper first opted to present the recent developments on implemented techniques of LC-VCO designs in popular RF bands. An LC-VCO with a differential (cross-coupled) MOS structure is then presented which has aimed to compensate the losses of an on-chip inductor implemented in UMC’s 130 nm RF-CMOS process. The LC-VCO is finally targeted to embed onto the synthesizer chip, to address the narrowband (S-Band) applications where Bluetooth has been the most sought one. The stacked inductor topology has been adopted to get the benefit of its on-chip compatibility and low noise. The active differential architecture, which basically is a cross-coupled NMOS structure, has been then envisaged for the gain which counters the losses completely. Three major areas of LC-VCO design are considered and worked upon for the optimum design parameters, which includes Bluetooth coverage range of 2.410 GHz to 2.490 GHz, better linearity and high sensitivity and finally the most sought phase noise performance for an LC-VCO.

The work provides the complete design aspect of a novel LC-VCO design for low phase noise narrowband applications such as Bluetooth. Using tuned MOS varactor, in 130 nm-RF CMOS process, a high gain sensitivity of 194 MHz/Volt was obtained. Thus, the entire frequency range of 2415-2500 MHz for Bluetooth applications, supporting multiple standards from 3G to 5G, was covered by voltage tuning of 0.7-1.0 V. To achieve the low power dissipation, low bias (1.2 V) cross-coupled differential structure was adopted, which completely paid for the losses occurred in the LC resonator. The power dissipation comes out to be 8.56 mW which is a remarkably small value for such a high gain and low noise VCO. For the VCO frequencies in the presented LO-plan, the tank inductor was allowed to have a moderate value of inductance (8 nH), while maintaining a very high Q factor. The LC-VCO of the proposed LO-generator achieved extremely low phase noise of −140 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz, as compared to the contemporary designs.

Though a professional tool for inductor and circuit design (ADS-by Keysight Technologies) has been chosen, actual inductor and circuit implementation on silicon may still lead to various parasitic evolutions; therefore, one must have that margin pre-considered while finalizing the design and testing it.

The proposed LC-VCO architecture presented in this work shows low phase noise and wide tuning range with high gain sensitivity in S-Band, low power dissipation and narrowband nature of wireless applications.

The on-chip stacked inductor has uniquely been designed with the provided dimensions and other parameters. Though active design is in a conventional manner, its sizing and bias current selection are unique. The pool of results obtained completely preserves the originally to the full extent.

The aim of this paper is to look at the extent to which the bandwagon effect played a part in digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband adoption combined with the regulatory measures, the slowdown in the cable industry and the changes within the telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom (UK). The dynamics of broadband deployment, broadband adoption against a real‐world supply‐demand equation and the factors that influenced the outcome in the UK are examined in detail.

This paper combines historic facts and socio‐economic analysis done from archival research and interview material to examine the outcome in which the less‐heralded copper DSL technology outpaced cable broadband adoption. The analysis delves into the influence of the bandwagon effect and the two types of outcome associated with it i.e. network externalities and the complementary bandwagon effects.

The paper argues that the deployment of broadband technologies in the UK has not taken place solely on the merits of the technology or factors such as speed, end‐user demand and costs. A combination of factors related to regulatory decisions, status of industry finances, commercial expediency, short‐term technical benefits and the bandwagon effect are argued to be at work.

The paper is useful for historians, policy makers, regulators and communications industry analysts given its focus on broadband deployment in the UK in correlation to the bandwagon economics.