RF Technologies
Tyndall’s pioneering RF research programme addresses fundamental research challenges in
in an era defined by rapid technological advancements.
Our mission is to create generalised RF front-ends and antenna interfaces which have low size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) as well as multiple levels of tunability and the ability to expand communications to frequencies that are currently under-utilised or unexplored, such as those in the millimetre-wave part of the spectrum.
Research Challenge
Wireless communication systems have become an essential part of our lives, from mobile phones and media streaming to health monitoring and smart transportation. The Next Generation of Wireless (6G) will dramatically change the way we live, work, and socialize leading to a more connected, sustainable, and intelligent world.
However, the existing wireless infrastructure of 4G and early 5G cannot handle the unprecedented growth of end-users and devices due to the lack of bandwidth at “legacy” communication bands and the increasing complexity of RF hardware. Both of which are needed to support the required 6G complexity.
Our goal is to solve the challenge of spectrum scarcity while enabling wireless connectivity to many more devices and applications and make the 6G vision a reality.
Our Research Focus
Our research is on the intersection of electromagnetic analysis, RF circuit design, high-frequency integration methods and RF characterization techniques for RF passive and active components (filters, power dividers/combiners, phase shifters, matching networks, gain stages), antenna elements and RF co-designed front-end chains. For more than 15 years, we have been developing RF components for wireless communication transceivers, radar and space communication systems as well as for RF instrumentation. We examine novel RF design concepts and integration techniques that facilitate architectures with highly-miniaturized volume, multiple levels of transfer function adaptivity and combined RF signal processing actions. Furthermore, we investigate low-cost, hybrid integration/manufacturing schemes that enable the realization of tunable RF components for frequencies as low as 10s of MHz (UHF band) to as high as 100 GHz (W-band). We give a particular emphasis on novel RF filter synthesis techniques that allow us to create single- and multi-band high-quality factor filters (Q> 1,000) with multiple levels of RF tuning namely center frequency, bandwidth, transfer function, all within the volume of a single RF components. We specialize on RF designs that include 3D waveguide transmission lines, acoustic-wave resonators, planar and single-/multi-layer lumped-element resonators.
Recent Publications
D. Psychogiou, R. Gómez-García, “Reflectionless Adaptive RF Filters: Bandpass, Bandstop, and Cascade Designs“, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 65 (11), (2017).
K. Zhao, D. Psychogiou, “Three Dimensional Printed Vertically-Stacked Single-/Multi-Band Coaxial Filters and RF Diplexers“, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 71 (11), (2023).
D. Psychogiou, J. Steele, “Wideband Broadside-Coupled Line Baluns Enabled by Multimaterial Additive Manufacturing“, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, (2024).
Recent Projects
- Highly-versatile RF FRONT-end antenna IntERfaceS (RF-FRONTIERS), funded by SFI
- Dynamic RF Test and Characterization Suite for High Performance, Highly-Flexible RF and Microwave Front-Ends and Antennas (Flexi-RF), funded by SFI
- Multi-Functional Millimetre Wave Massive MIMO Transceiver for Joint Communication and Sensing (M4-JCAS), funded by SFI CONNECT.
Recent Awards
Prof Dimitra Psychogiou has been awarded the following:
- 2023 IEEE MTT-S Outstanding Young Engineer Award
- 2021 SFI Research Professorship
- EuMA 2021 Roberto Sorrentino Prize
- 2020 NSF CAREER Award
- 2020 URSI Young Scientist Award.
