ross murch

4D Multiport Antennas: Space-Time Design

Exploiting the 4th dimension (4D), time, can open up enhanced electromagnetic performance and new phenomena. For example in antenna arrays it can be used to reduce sidelobes while in electromagnetic propagation it can provide time reversal through Cauchy sources. It has not been widely utilized in multiport antenna design mainly due to the use of full digital transceivers for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems, which can provide all the functionality of 4D multiport design anyway. However with the advent of massive MIMO and ultra-massive MIMO in wireless communication, full digital systems are no longer possible and hybrid beamforming and antenna reconfiguration are necessary. In other words 4D multiport antenna design is becoming important. In this talk methods to perform 4D multiport antenna design are introduced. A particular focus is on methods that do not cause bandwidth expansion so that they are compatible with wireless communication spectrum requirements. Techniques to implement pulse shaping, OFDM and hybrid beamforming are described based on varactors and PIN diodes. Beamspace formulations along with far-field decompositions of scattering based on the Theory of Characteristic Modes (TCM) are harnessed for analyses of the systems. A basic introduction to 4D electromagnetic radiators is also provided as background.

Prof. Murch (S'84-M'90-SM'98-F'09) is currently a Chair Professor in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study both at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He is known for his research on multiple antenna technology including multiuser-MIMO, compact multiport antennas and multiport energy harvesting. His current research focus is creating new RF wave technology for making a better world and this includes RF imaging, ambient RF systems, energy harvesting, electromagnetic information theory, 6G, IoT, multiport antenna systems and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. His unique expertise lies in his combination of knowledge from both wireless communication systems and electromagnetics and he publishes widely in both areas. In total his research contributions include over 200 journal publications and more than 20 patents while successfully supervising more than 50 graduate research students. Professor Murch also has a strong interest in education, enjoys teaching and has won five teaching awards. Prof. Murch was Department Head at HKUST from 2009-2015, is an IEEE, IET, HKIE, and FHKEng Fellow. He has been a David Bensted Fellow, Simon Fraser University, Canada, an HKTIIT fellow at Southampton University, U.K and has spent sabbaticals at MIT, USA AT&T, USA Allgon Mobile Communications, Sweden Imperial College London, He has served IEEE in various positions including IEEE area editor, technical program chair, distinguished lecturer and Fellow evaluation committee. Professor Ross Murch received his Bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. From 1990-1992 he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Dundee, UK. He joined HKUST in 1992 as an Assistant Professor and has remained at HKUST in Hong Kong since then, where he is now a Chair Professor.