• Electromagnetics Alumni Event

    Virtual - Zoom

    We are inviting several alumni members from the electromagnetics group, University of Toronto, Canada who are working in industry at senior positions and in academia as Professors to provide an insight on career choices after graduation. We are planning it as a semi-formal event where the speakers would share their experiences and the attendees could ask them questions. Zoom link will be provided to the registered participants. Contact: IEEE UofT AP-S Student Chapter Panelists: Dr. Michael Selvanayagam, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, NY Dr. Rubaiyat Islam, AMD, Canada Dr. Marco Antoniades, Ryerson University, Canada Dr. Loic Markley, University of British Columbia, Canada Dr. Utkarsh Patel, AMD Canada

  • [AP-S Seminar Series] Low Profile Antennas for Chip-to-Chip Data Communications: A Research Story, Prof. Kathleen Melde

    Virtual - Zoom

    Abstract: In this talk, we present our recent research involving the development of low profile antennas that are used to replace wired interconnects in multi-chip modules in electronic packaging. This presentation will discuss the evolution of chip-compatible pattern adaptable mm-wave antenna modules to be used in massively multicore computers. The result is an enabling technology that overcomes technology bottlenecks that are prevalent when wired lines are used in interconnect busses. While device technologies have scaled, the interconnection layers have not. The limits are in the pitch of the input and output (I/O) for chip-to-chip communications and losses due to physical transmission lines. This is a unique type of pattern adaptable antenna array in that the antenna patterns are in the same plane as the antenna elements. This is quite a departure from many other types of reconfigurable antennas where the patterns are broadside (90 degree angle) to the antennas. The approach is new in that it leverages mm-wave technology (60GHz) so that the antenna size is small. 60GHz allows the work to leverage the already-developed transceiver work done for WPAN technologies. 60GHz also has a natural attenuation at large transmission distances, which means sufficient isolation and elimination of interference outside of the MCMC system. The research impacts antenna technology, packaging technology (circuit stacking and advanced packaging), and wireless systems testing on an experimental testbed. The talk will focus on the story behind how the technology progresses and how the research unfolded along the way. Contact: UofT AP-S Student Chapter

  • Surface Electromagnetics: Physics Exploration and Engineering Applications

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/286143

    Abstract: From frequency selective surfaces to Huygens metasurfaces, novel electromagnetic surfaces have been emerging in both scientific exploration and engineering applications. Many intriguing phenomena occur on these surfaces, and novel devices and applications have been proposed accordingly, which have created an exciting paradigm in electromagnetics, the so-called “Surface Electromagnetics (SEM)”. This presentation will review the development of various electromagnetic surfaces, as well as state-of-the-art concepts and designs. The fundamentals of SEM will be summarized and the frontier topics will be prospected, including their promising applications in microwaves, THz, and optic regimes. Speaker(s): Prof. Fan Yang, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/286143

  • IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Distinguished Lecture – Prof. Levent Sevgi

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S3G4, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/282006

    EM diffraction is critical in many applications including antennas and propagation. Understanding and visualizing EM wave – object interaction is crucial in designing new antenna systems, in predicting path losses through complex propagation paths, etc. In order to do that wave pieces such as diffracted waves, Fringe waves, etc., should first be studied on canonical structures. Then, complex objects can be investigated by using HFA as well as numerical methods in hybrid form intelligently. EM wave scattering from waves – objects interaction has long been investigated. Interesting wave phenomena, diffraction, occur when objects have sharp edges and tips. Methods known as High Frequency Asymptotics, such as Geometric optics (GO), Physical Optics, (PO), Geometrical Theory of Diffraction, (GTD), Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD), Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD) and Theory of Edge Diffraction (TED) have been successfully applied to variety of EM problems. Recently, numerical methods, such as Finite Difference time Domain (FDTD), Method of Moments (MoM) and Finite Element Method (FEM) have also been used in modeling EM diffraction. These powerful methods, together with novel approaches, have shown to be successful not only in modeling EM diffraction but also in distinguishing wave pieces such as scattered waves, diffracted waves, Fringe waves, etc., which is very important in visualizing and understanding complex wave – object interaction. This talk will review all these approaches, use recently developed EM virtual tools and present comparisons through canonical examples. Speaker(s): Levent Sevgi, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S3G4, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/282006

  • Practical Antenna Solutions Enabled by Soft and Hard EM Surfaces and Metasurfaces by Prof. Erik Lier

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/302402

    Please join us for an upcoming talk on Feb 07, 4-5 pm (Eastern Time) by Prof. Erik Lier titled "Practical Antenna Solutions Enabled by Soft and Hard EM Surfaces and Metasurfaces", as part of the 2021-2022 IEEE AP-S seminar series. Abstract: The presentation will describe how the concept of electromagnetically soft and hard surfaces and later metamaterial horns (metahorns) came about. The talk will also discuss practical antenna solutions enabled by these EM techniques, as well as future opportunities and challenges in antenna and RF designs. About Speaker: Dr. Erik Lier received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. He started working as a university scientific assistant and later as a research scientist at the Electronics Laboratory (ELAB/SINTEF) at the university, carrying out national and international research on microwave antennas and feed components for the European Space Agency (ESA), INTELSAT, INMARSAT and other satellite organizations and radar companies. He spent a year at UCLA as a visiting scholar studying phased array antenna technology. He co-invented the concept of “Soft and Hard electromagnetic surfaces” which is related to the field of electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures and complex surfaces. Since 1990 he has been with Lockheed Martin Space, where he has been involved in developing new spacecraft antenna and payload technology. He was instrumental in building up shaped reflector capability in the company which resulted in winning the Asiasat-2 satellite program. He has been involved in the development and modernization of the GPS satellite payload for over more than 20 years. His main research interest and contribution has been in the field of phased array antennas, including design, analysis, system engineering, calibration and test. He was the phased array architect for two phased arrays launched into space. He headed up the internal metamaterials research collaboration effort within the company, which has included university collaboration and has led to several groundbreaking and practical metamaterial-enhanced antennas for space and ground applications. He is granted 37 US patents, has authored and co-authored over 140 journal and conference papers, including two papers in the journal Nature, co-authored one book and authored a book chapter. He received the 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Harold A. Wheeler Applications Prize Paper Award. He is a Lockheed Martin Senior Technical Fellow, a Life Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of IET. Speaker(s): Erik Lier Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/302402

  • Fast Solvers for Electromagnetics-Based Analysis and Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems

    Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/303190

    The design of advanced integrated circuits and microsystems from zero to terahertz frequencies calls for fast and accurate electromagnetics-based modeling and simulation. The sheer complexity and high design cost associated with the integrated circuits and microsystems prevent one from designing them based on hand calculation, approximation, intuition, or trial and error. The move towards higher frequencies and heterogeneous technologies stresses the need even more. However, the analysis and design of integrated circuits (ICs) and microsystems impose many unique challenges on electromagnetic analysis such as exponentially increased problem size and extremely multiscaled system spanning from nano- to centi-meter scales. These challenges become new driving forces of the advancement of Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) in recent years, since past techniques do not address them well. In this talk, recent advances in fast direct solvers of O(N) (optimal) complexity will be presented, including both direct PDE and IE solvers, for addressing the ultra large problem size encountered in the IC design problems. In these solvers, the underlying dense or sparse system matrix is directly inverted or factorized in O(N) complexity. To show how these solvers work, a series of new accuracy controlled fast matrix arithmetic will be elaborated including the representation of a dense matrix of O(N2) elements using O(N) parameters with controlled accuracy, subsequent matrix-matrix multiplication, matrix factorization, and inversion performed in O(N) complexity with directly controlled accuracy. The application of these fast algorithms to the design and analysis of industry product-level integrated circuits and systems will be presented. Comparisons with direct and iterative solvers in the past will be made, which demonstrate the clear advantages of the new O(N) direct solvers. Co-sponsored by: Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto Speaker(s): Dan Jiao Biography: Dan Jiao received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA, in 2001. She then joined the Technology Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Division, Intel Corporation, until September 2005, where she was a Senior CAD Engineer, Staff Engineer, and Senior Staff Engineer. In September 2005, she joined Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, as an Assistant Professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She is currently a Professor with Purdue University. She has authored 3 book chapters and over 300 papers in refereed journals and international conferences. Her current research interests include computational electromagnetics; high-frequency digital, analog, mixed-signal, and RF integrated circuit (IC) design and analysis; high-performance very large scale integration (VLSI) CAD; modeling of microscale and nanoscale circuits; applied electromagnetics; fast and high-capacity numerical methods; fast time-domain analysis, scattering and antenna analysis; RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave circuits; wireless communication; and bioelectromagnetics. Dr. Jiao has served as a reviewer for many IEEE publications and conferences. She is an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology. She was the recipient of the 2013 S. A. Schelkunoff Prize Paper Award of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, which recognizes the Best Paper published in the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation during the previous year. She has been named a University Faculty Scholar by Purdue University since 2013. She was among the 85 engineers selected throughout the nation for the National Academy of Engineerings 2011 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. She was the recipient of the 2010 Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Teaching Award, the 2008 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the 2006 Jack and Cathie Kozik Faculty Start Up Award (which recognizes an outstanding new faculty member of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University), a 2006 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Award under the Young Investigator Program, the 2004 Best Paper Award presented at the Intel Corporation’s annual corporate-wide technology conference (Design and Test Technology Conference) for her work on generic broadband model of high-speed circuits, the 2003 Intel Corporation Logic Technology Development (LTD) Divisional Achievement Award, the Intel Corporation Technology CAD Divisional Achievement Award, the 2002 Intel Corporation Components Research Award, the Intel Hero Award (Intel-wide she was the tenth recipient), the Intel Corporation LTD Team Quality Award, and the 2000 Raj Mittra Outstanding Research Award presented by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/303190

  • Integrated Solar-Pannel Antennas by Prof. Reyhan Baktur

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Please join us for an upcoming talk on Apr 13, 3-4 pm (Eastern Time) by Prof. Reyhan Baktur titled "Integrated Solar-Pannel Antennas," as part of the 2021-2022 IEEE AP-S seminar series. Abstract: Conformal Integration of antennas with solar panels has wide applications, from small spacecraft, Mars rovers, to self-powered wireless sensors. It is particularly beneficial when the surface real estate is a major challenge, such as a CubeSat. A strategic integration not only reduces the development cost, promotes a robust communication link, but also increases the mission capacity by allowing more science instruments to be mounted on the CubeSat. This lecture covers different conformal antenna designs for solar panel integration, from UHF to Ka band. It includes antennas integrated under solar cells, around solar cells, and optically transparent antennas integrated on top of solar cells. It also covers low gain and high gain design. The high gain design mainly focuses on reflectarray antenna, which may be beneficial to those who wishes to study the subject. As these antennas are integrated with solar panel, a unique and complex subsystem, effects of solar cells on the antenna and vice versa need to be analyzed and quantified. The lecture presents analysis of a typical space-certified solar cell, extracted model, experimental set-up to quantify the interaction between solar cells and the integrated antennas. About Speaker: Dr. Reyhan Baktur is an associate professor at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Utah State University (USU). Her research interests include antennas and microwave engineering with a focus on antenna design for CubeSats; optically transparent antennas; multifunctional integrated antennas, sensors, and microwave circuits. She is affiliated with the Center for Space Engineering at USU, the Space Dynamics Laboratory (the university affiliated research center), and collaborates with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Baktur is an AdCom member of IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, and is active in US National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science, serving as the vice chair for commission B, and the inaugural chair for the Women in Radio Science. She is passionate and committed to electromagnetic education and student recruiting by introducing CubeSat projects in undergraduate classrooms. She is the recipient of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society’s (APS) the Donald G. Dudley Jr. Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2013 and has been actively serving IEEE APS student paper competition and student design contest. Dr. Baktur’s lectures will focus on CubeSat Development Basics, Link Budget Analysis and Development, Antenna Designs for CubeSats and Small Satellites, Transparent Antennas, and Class Projects for Electromagnetic Courses

  • Distributed Phased Arrays: Challenges and Recent Progress

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/311733

    There has been significant research devoted to the development of distributed microwave wireless systems in recent years. The progression from large, single-platform wireless systems to collections of smaller, coordinated systems on separate platforms enables significant benefits for radar, remote sensing, communications, and other applications. The ultimate level of coordination between platforms is at the wavelength level, where separate platforms operate as a coherent distributed system. Wireless coherent distributed systems operate in essence as distributed phased arrays, and the signal gains that can be achieved scale proportionally to the number of transmitters squared multiplied by the number of receivers, providing potentially dramatic increases in wireless system capabilities. Distributed array coordination requires accurate control of the relative electrical states of the nodes. Generally, such control entails wireless frequency synchronization, phase calibration, and time alignment, but for remote sensing operations, phase control also requires high-accuracy knowledge of the relative positions of the nodes in the array to support beamforming. This lecture presents an overview of the challenges involved in distributed phased array coordination, and describes recent progress on microwave technologies that address these challenges. Requirements for achieving distributed phase coherence at microwave frequencies are discussed, including the impact of component non-idealities such as oscillator drift on beamforming performance. Architectures for enabling distributed beamforming are reviewed, along with the relative challenges between transmit and receive beamforming. Microwave and millimeter-wave technologies enabling wireless phase-coherent synchronization are discussed, focusing on technologies for high-accuracy internode ranging, wireless frequency transfer, and high-accuracy time alignment. The lecture concludes with a discussion of open challenges in distributed phased arrays, and where microwave technologies may play a role. Speaker(s): Prof. Jeffrey Nanzer Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/311733 Biography: Jeffrey Nanzer (S’02-M’08-SM’14) received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering and computer engineering from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA, in 2003, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, in 2005 and 2008, respectively. From 2008 to 2009, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin, where he was involved in designing electrically small HF antennas and communication systems. From 2009 to 2016, he was with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA, where he created and led the Advanced Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Technology Section. In 2016, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, where he is currently the Dennis P. Nyquist Associate Professor. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 refereed journal and conference papers, authored the book Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Remote Sensing for Security Applications (Artech House, 2012), and co-authored chapters in the books Wireless Transceiver Circuits (Taylor and Francis, 2015) and Short-Range Micro-Motion Sensing: Hardware, signal processing and machine learning (IET, 2019). His current research interests include distributed arrays, radar and remote sensing, antennas, electromagnetics, and microwave photonics. Dr. Nanzer was a founding member and the First Treasurer of the IEEE APS/MTT-S Central Texas Chapter. He is also a member of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Education Committee and the USNC/URSI Commission B. He was a recipient of the Outstanding Young Engineer Award from the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society in 2019, the DARPA Director’s Fellowship in 2019, the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2018, the DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2017, and the JHU/APL Outstanding Professional Book Award in 2012. He has served as the Vice-Chair for the IEEE Antenna Standards Committee from 2013 to 2015 and the Chair of the Microwave Systems Technical Committee (MTT-16) of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society from 2016 to 2018. He is also an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION.

  • Higher Order Globally Constraint-Preserving FVTD and DGTD Schemes for Time-Dependent Computational Electrodynamics (Prof. Dinshaw Balsara, U. of Notre-Dame)

    Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/312555

    Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is the art of solving PDEs on a mesh hierarchy with increasing mesh refinement at each level of the hierarchy. Accurate treatment on AMR hierarchies requires accurate prolongation of the solution from a coarse mesh to a newly-defined finer mesh. For scalar variables, suitably high order finite volume WENO methods can carry out such a prolongation. However, classes of PDEs, like computational electrodynamics (CED) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), require that vector fields preserve a divergence constraint. The primal variables in such schemes consist of normal components of the vector field that are collocated at the faces of the mesh. As a result, the reconstruction and prolongation strategies for divergence constraint-preserving vector fields are necessarily more intricate. In this seminar, we present a fourth order divergence constraint-preserving prolongation strategy that is analytically exact. Extension to higher orders using analytically exact methods is very challenging. To overcome that challenge, a novel WENO-like reconstruction strategy is invented that matches the moments of the vector field in the faces where the vector field components are collocated. This approach is almost divergence constraint-preserving; so we call it WENO-ADP. To make it exactly divergence constraint-preserving, a touch-up procedure is developed that is based on a constrained least squares (CLSQ) based method for restoring the divergence constraint up to machine accuracy. With the touch-up, it is called WENO-ADPT. It is shown that refinement ratios of two and higher can be accommodated. An item of broader interest in this work is that we have also been able to invent very efficient finite volume WENO methods where the coefficients are very easily obtained and the multidimensional smoothness indicators can be expressed as perfect squares. We demonstrate that the divergence constraint-preserving strategy works at several high orders for divergence-free vector fields as well as vector fields where the divergence of the vector field has to match a charge density and its higher moments. We also show that our methods overcome the late time instability that has been known to plague adaptive computations in Computational Electrodynamics. Co-sponsored by: Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), University of Toronto Speaker(s): Prof. Dinshaw Balsara, Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/312555 Biography: Dinshaw S. Balsara received the Ph.D. degree in computational physics and astrophysics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, in 1990. He is currently a Professor with the Department of Physics and the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Notre Dame. He has developed computational algorithms and applications in the areas of interstellar medium, turbulence, star formation, planet formation, the physics of accretion disks, compact objects, and relativistic astrophysics. Many of the algorithms developed by him for higher order methods have seen extensive use and have been copiously cited.,Dr. Balsara was the recipient of the 2014 Department of Energy Award of Excellence for significant contributions to the Stockpile Stewardship Program and the 2017 Global Initiative on Academic Networks Award from the Government of India. He serves the community as an Associate Editor of Journal of Computational Physics and Computational Astrophysics and Cosmology.

  • High Order Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) for Divergence Constraint-Preserving Schemes (Prof. Dinshaw Balsara, U. of Notre Dame)

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/312557

    Join the IEEE Toronto Electromagnetics & Radiation Society Chapter for a talk on High Order Adaptive Mesh Refinement, presented by Professor Dinshaw S. Balsara. Abstract: Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is the art of solving PDEs on a mesh hierarchy with increasing mesh refinement at each level of the hierarchy. Accurate treatment on AMR hierarchies requires accurate prolongation of the solution from a coarse mesh to a newly-defined finer mesh. For scalar variables, suitably high order finite volume WENO methods can carry out such a prolongation. However, classes of PDEs, like computational electrodynamics (CED) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), require that vector fields preserve a divergence constraint. The primal variables in such schemes consist of normal components of the vector field that are collocated at the faces of the mesh. As a result, the reconstruction and prolongation strategies for divergence constraint-preserving vector fields are necessarily more intricate. In this talk, we present a fourth order divergence constraint-preserving prolongation strategy that is analytically exact. Extension to higher orders using analytically exact methods is very challenging. To overcome that challenge, a novel WENO-like reconstruction strategy is invented that matches the moments of the vector field in the faces where the vector field components are collocated. This approach is almost divergence constraint-preserving; so we call it WENO-ADP. To make it exactly divergence constraint-preserving, a touch-up procedure is developed that is based on a constrained least squares (CLSQ) based method for restoring the divergence constraint up to machine accuracy. With the touch-up, it is called WENO-ADPT. It is shown that refinement ratios of two and higher can be accommodated. An item of broader interest in this work is that we have also been able to invent very efficient finite volume WENO methods where the coefficients are very easily obtained and the multidimensional smoothness indicators can be expressed as perfect squares. We demonstrate that the divergence constraint-preserving strategy works at several high orders for divergence-free vector fields as well as vector fields where the divergence of the vector field has to match a charge density and its higher moments. We also show that our methods overcome the late time instability that has been known to plague adaptive computations in Computational Electrodynamics. Co-sponsored by: Center for Computational Science and Engineering, University of Toronto Speaker(s): Prof. D. S. Balsara, Register: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/312557 Biography: Dinshaw S. Balsara received the Ph.D. degree in computational physics and astrophysics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, in 1990. He is currently a Professor with the Department of Physics and the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics. He has developed computational algorithms and applications in the areas of interstellar medium, turbulence, star formation, planet formation, the physics of accretion disks, compact objects, and relativistic astrophysics. Many of the algorithms developed by him for higher order methods have seen extensive use and have been copiously cited. Dr. Balsara was the recipient of the 2014 Department of Energy Award of Excellence for significant contributions to the Stockpile Stewardship Program and the 2017 Global Initiative on Academic Networks Award from the Government of India. He serves the community as an Associate Editor of Journal of Computational Physics and Computational Astrophysics and Cosmology.

  • Overview of CubeSats: from Concept to Orbit, by Prof. Reyhan Baktur

    Room: EPH 225, Bldg: Eric Pallin Hall, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), 87 Gerrard St East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Distinguished Lecture Please join us for an upcoming lecture on 27 Apr. 2023 at 11 am – 12 pm (Eastern Time) by Prof. Reyhan Baktur, from Utah State University, USA. Overview of CubeSats: from Concept to Orbit CubeSats are modular and standardized modern small satellites. They have been gaining steady popularity as educational projects, low-cost space exploration vehicles for technology demonstrations, multi-point observations of space environment, and monitoring/reporting proper deployment of expensive deep space instruments. With rapid advancement of electronics, novel mechanical design, and aerospace technology, new progress in CubeSats is emerging every day. This calls for interests and early involvements of creative young minds. The objective of this presentation is to convey the basics of CubeSat development cycle, launch methods, typical CubeSat orbits, link budget analysis, various antenna solutions, and feasible classroom projects. For the interests of young professionals in electrical engineering, this lecture features a tour of several recent CubeSat missions and antenna designs for spacecraft, ground station, and radio beacon. Biography Dr. Reyhan Baktur is an associate professor at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Utah State University (USU). Her research interests include antennas and microwave engineering with a focus on antenna design for CubeSats; optically transparent antennas; multifunctional integrated antennas, sensors, and microwave circuits. She is affiliated with the Center for Space Engineering at USU, the Space Dynamics Laboratory (the university affiliated research center), and collaborates with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Baktur is an an IEEE Antennas and Propagation (APS) Distinguished Lecturer of 2022-2024, AdCom member of IEEE APS, and is active in US National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science, serving as the vice chair for commission B, and the inaugural chair for the Women in Radio Science. Co-sponsored by: Toronto Metropolitan University Speaker(s): Reyhan Baktur, Room: EPH 225, Bldg: Eric Pallin Hall, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), 87 Gerrard St East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • Terahertz Chip-Scale Systems: A New Design Paradigm

    Room: BA1230, Bldg: Bahen Center for Information Technology, 40 St George St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Silicon-based Terahertz systems is a field that is only about a decade old. In this time, we have seen a phenomenal growth of silicon systems operating at THz frequencies for a wide range of applications in sensing, imaging and communication. It can be argued that both the ‘THz gap’ and the ‘technology and applications gap’ is closing in meaningful ways in the THz range. Technologies beyond 100 GHz focusing on sensing, imaging and wireless back-haul links are getting attractive as we enter into a new area of highly dense network of autonomous systems requiring ultra-high speed and reliable links. In order to move beyond this inflection point as Moore’s law continue to slow, I will discuss why we need to look beyond the classical ‘device’-level metrics of efficiency and sensitivity of THz sources and detectors towards holistic ‘system’ level properties such as scalability and programmability. Such properties are critically important for applications in sensing and imaging, as evidenced across sensor fusion technologies across mmWave, IR and optical frequencies. In this talk, I will highlight approaches that cut across electromagnetics, circuits, systems and signal processing, to allow for such reconfigurability in THz signal synthesis and sensing, yet realized with devices that are themselves not very efficient. Particularly, we will demonstrate approaches to THz beamforming arrays, CMOS sensors reconfigurable across the three field properties of spectrum (100 GHz-1000 GHz), beam pattern and polarization (Nature Comm’19), programmable THz metasurfaces with CMOS tiling (Nature Elec’20), and enabling dynamic spectrum shaping (ISSCC’21, JSSC’21) and physically secure sub-THz links (ISSCC’20, Nature Elec’21). In the end, I will comment on what could be the major directions for the field in the coming decade. Speaker(s): Kaushik Sengupta, Room: BA1230, Bldg: Bahen Center for Information Technology, 40 St George St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada