SPEAG Workshop Series 2016 @ EUCAP 2016

Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Time: 11.00 - 14.00
Venue: Room B. Rinerhorn
Cost: the workshop is provided at no cost
Catering: lunch, coffee/drinks and delicious chocolate is provided for free

Limited seating is available - registration is required and will be handled on a first-come first-served basis.

If you are interested in attending the workshop, please send an email to semx-workshop@speag.swiss with your name and affiliation.

The workshop will preview SPEAG’s latest innovations and product updates. Moreover, invited speakers from industry and academia will demonstrate the performance of SPEAG’s tools to solve their challenges in the fields of EM assessment, complex antenna systems, wearable devices and many more.

Please find an overview of the highlighted workshop presentations as follows (in order of appearance).

Free Up Time for Innovation: SPEAG Workshop Series 2016

Part I

Recent Advances in SEMCAD X Matterhorn for the Efficient Design and Optimization of Mobile
In- and On-Body Communication Equipment

Dr. Nicolas Chavannes, Dr. Elaine Barretto
Schmid & Partner Engineering AG, Zurich, Switzerland

In this presentation, recent advances in SEMCAD X Matterhorn for numerical optimization of radiofrequency devices will be highlighted. Our experts will present the latest technological developments to address a variety of engineering challenges, including safety assessment, electromagnetic interference and compatibility (EMI/ EMC), antenna design, and dosimetry. Of particular interest are enhancements for exposure assessment of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, analysis and optimization of in- and on-body wireless devices, and the simulation of 5G wireless systems, which will be illustrated with various examples. SEMCAD X Matterhorn – from both technological and usage points of view – strives to push computational limits towards ever greater realism.

The Influence of the User’s Head and Hand on OTA and SAR Performance of Mobile Communication Devices

Dr. Jaume Anguera
Fractus Corporation, Spain

Antennas for wireless handset devices operate in a quite hostile environment: small ground planes, small space for the antennas, coupling with other antennas, etc. Moreover, performance needs to be satisfactory not only in a free-space scenario but also in a real environment that takes the user into account. In this sense, head and hand interaction with the antenna in most of cases causes detuning, absorption, and specific absorption rate (SAR) of electromagnetic (EM) radiation by tissues. Prior to laboratory testing, an EM analysis that enables rapid parametric analysis, physical insights, and further optimization should be performed. Some examples of the use of SEMCAD X software to analyze the performance small antennas operated close to head and hand phantoms will be presented to demonstrate the advantage of being able to predict detuning, absorption, and SAR.

RF EMF Exposure Evaluation of an Ultra-High-Density Wireless Access Network

Dr. Wout Joseph
University of Ghent, Belgium

A novel wireless access architecture (ATTO) that will allow bitrates of 100 Gb/s with very high reliability is
evaluated from an exposure point of view. The concept is based on very small so-called ATTO-cells (typical size 15 × 15 cm2) that are integrated into a floor and optimized for establishment of a 100 Gb/s communication stream to any mobile object positioned on the floor. Absorption of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) has been assessed by both finite-difference time-domain simulations in a 3D heterogeneous male phantom and validation measurements of electric fields and specific absorption rate in a homogeneous phantom.

Part II

SPEAG's Next Generation Measurement Solutions for Evaluation, Optimization, and Compliance
Testing of Wireless Communication Equipment and In-/On-Body Devices

Dr. Sven Kühn
Schmid & Partner Engineering AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Antenna design for in- and on-body applications imposes various challenges to antenna engineers, including
but not limited to consideration of the effects of the human body, battery life-time, compliance with exposure
and implant safety regulations, radiofrequency co-existence, as well as considerable space limitations. This
presentation features SPEAG’s test solutions for in- and on-body antennas: DAK-TL, a dielectric assessment
system for the evaluation of antenna substrates; EM phantoms for over-the-air and reliable body-loading effect testing; cDASY6 and cSAR3D SAR test systems for compliance testing and production quality assurance with respect to safety regulations; OH4VNA, a photonic vector network analyzer port extension for the characterization of small antennas removing cable artifacts; and ICEy, a near-field scanning system for coexistence evaluation, featuring algorithms for the correlation of near-field effects with the far-field radiation performance.

SEMCAD X Simulations: Sample Case Studies at Plextek Consulting

Dr. Marcus Walden
Plextek Consulting, UK

In this talk, some sample case studies of antenna and electromagnetic problems that Plextek Consulting have
addressed through the use of SEMCAD X will be provided. All-important engineering sanity checks – comparisons between simulations and measurements and/or published work – have established confidence in this powerful electromagnetic simulation tool and resulted in numerous successful designs covering the radio spectrum from VHF to mm-wave frequencies.

Development of Microwave Breast Imaging and Sensing Systems at the University of Calgary

Dr. Jeremie Bourqui
University of Calgary, Canada

Microwave breast imaging and sensing is a major research area pursued by the Applied Electromagnetics Group at the University of Calgary. From sensor design to imaging of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived breast model, SEMCAD X has become the single simulation tool (now joined by Sim4Life) used to develop this emerging technology over the past 10 years. As a result, this technology has recently moved into clinical testing on breast cancer patients.